Delivering on its promise to bring CNG to its premium Nexa range, Maruti has launched CNG versions of Baleno and XL6
One of the early entrants in CNG space, Maruti Suzuki has continued to expand its CNG portfolio. In a new milestone, CNG has been introduced for Nexa range cars – Baleno and XL6. Earlier, CNG option was available only with Arena cars such as WagonR, Swift, Dzire, Alto, Celerio, Ertiga, S-Presso and Eeco.
Maruti currently has the largest portfolio of CNG cars and these two new entrants will further boost its presence. Other active players in this space are Hyundai and Tata Motors. Baleno CNG and XL6 CNG will rival upcoming Altroz CNG and Kia Carens CNG, respectively.
Maruti XL6 CNG Walkaround
Just like Baleno, XL6 CNG is also Rs 95k costlier than its petrol counterpart. It is priced at Rs 12.24 lakh. XL6 CNG is being offered with only base-spec Zeta trim, which means a limited set of features. It won’t be getting features such as dual-tone body colour, backdoor spoiler, blacked-out B and C pillar and chrome garnish on fender.
Inside, XL6 CNG will miss out on leather wrapped steering wheel, leatherette seats, ventilated seats, UV glasses, SmartPlay Pro infotainment system and voice assistant. In terms of safety, XL6 CNG will have to do without a 360° camera and tyre pressure monitoring system. Take a look at the detailed walkaround video below, credited to Yash9w.
XL6 CNG has the 1.5-litre K15C petrol motor that churns out 88 hp and 121.5 Nm. When running on petrol, the output is 101 hp and 136 Nm. XL6 CNG gets only the 5-speed manual gearbox. Fuel efficiency of 26.32km/kg is probably the best in segment.
Maruti Baleno CNG
Baleno becomes the first premium hatch in its class to get CNG option. It will be available in Delta and Zeta trims with 5-speed manual transmission. Baleno CNG Delta and Zeta trims are priced at Rs 8.28 lakh and Rs 9.21 lakh, respectively. In comparison to their petrol counterparts, CNG versions of Baleno are costlier by Rs 95,000.
Visually, there are no major changes to Baleno CNG. Except some specific details such as CNG badging. As CNG is being offered with only mid-spec Delta and Zeta trims, there will be quite a few features that won’t be available.
For example, top-spec Alpha variants have some exclusive features such as UV cut glass, LED fog lamps, leather wrapped steering wheel, head-up display, auto dimming IRVM, auto folding ORVMs, 9-inch touchscreen, ARKAMYS Surround Sense and 360° surround view camera. For getting these features, users can probably wait for upcoming Glanza CNG that will be available in top-spec V trim.
Engine performance numbers are down to 77.5 hp and 98.5 Nm with the CNG variant, as compared to 90 hp and 113 Nm of Baleno petrol. Boot space is almost fully utilized with the 55-litre CNG fuel tank. However, mileage gets a big boost with Baleno CNG at 30.61km/kg.
