Autogas systems for Aussie Opels?
Opel strengthens Euro lineup with LPG dual-fuellers, but decision still to be made for locally-delivered carsOpel has added a new LPG option to its Astra hatch and Meriva compact MPV lineups in its home market. But don't expect to see it here any time soon.
Both are now available in Europe with a new 1.4-litre turbocharged ecoFLEX dual-fuel engine. Switchable between LPG and petrol modes, the engine comes in two power specs: Astra models get the more powerful 103kW version producing 200Nm of torque, while the Meriva gets an 88kW version good for 175Nm.
Opel claims combined cycle CO2 emissions of 124g/km for the Meriva — running on LPG — 129g/km for the Astra five-door (pictured) and 132g/km for the Astra Sports Tourer wagon.
The new engine arrives in the wake of Opel’s mid-2011 launch of LPG Corsa models with a 1.2-litre ecoFLEX. That engine in LPG mode is good for 61kW, 83Nm (63/85 petrol) and 110 g/km CO2. Next, in the northern autumn, the company will expand the 1.4 ecoFLEX option to the Zafira MPV and the Insignia sedan.
As fuel prices continue to rise and legislative demands on emissions tighten, LPG and compressed natural gas (CNG) are slowly gaining popularity in Europe. Opel is giving autogas options an increasingly visible spot in its lineup, with several compressed natural gas (CNG) versions of the Zafira available as well. The company has sold more than 60K vehicles across Europe, around 80 per cent of them in Italy.
LPG costs up to 40 per cent less to fill and run than petrol, on top of tax incentives in Germany for the 10-15 per cent advantage it delivers in CO2 emissions. Opel says it’s put a fair amount of work into optimising this generation of LPG engines to bridge the gap between the parallel fuel systems. The result, it says, is that ‘both elements communicate better with one another’, with higher efficiency in both and minimum total emissions.
Asked about the likelihood that Australians will see the factory LPG option, local spokeswoman Michelle Lang told motoring.com.au at this point the company’s main concern is launching the core models later this year. “So our hands are probably full enough for the immediate future.”
The local arm “may consider and explore [the idea] at a much later stage,” she said.
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