The Citroën CNG C3 recharged by the Natural Gas.
Keywords: CNG, gas, natural gas, C3, Citroën, recharge, compression, home
Convinced of the benefits of natural gas as fuel, Citroën is partnering with Gaz de France to design a bi C3 works with gas. You can refuel at home, in your own garage! From spring 2005.
Over the past four years, the PSA group has made real efforts to protect the environment. First big blow, the particulate filter to which the competition has since converted. If the two brands of the group benefit from it, this accessory is especially associated with Peugeot which draws all the fruits in terms of image.
Not to be outdone, Citroën has made a lot of talk this year with its C3 Stop & Start, capable of cutting its engine at red lights. In comparison, its C3 1.4 Natural Gas study, which was also exhibited at the Paris Motor Show, aroused much less interest from the general public. Is it due to a confusion in the minds between CNG and LPG? Explanations.
Connect your C3 to the wall compressor and the CNG filling will begin. And that, at home.
NGV (Vehicle Natural Gas) differs from LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) by its state: naturally gaseous for the first, liquid from refining for the second. CNG is in fact the on-board equivalent of propane or butane gas in your car that you use for cooking (in returnable bottles or in a network).
CNG is not a new fuel. More than 400.000 vehicles have adopted it in Italy, European champion in the field. This explains the presence in the Fiat catalog of the gas-powered Multipla Natural Power. France is already in third place behind Germany thanks to the fleets of buses and urban maintenance vehicles converted to NGV.
The main advantage of CNG: it reduces CO20 emissions by around 2% compared to gasoline and it emits neither sulfur oxides nor lead.
Another point not to be overlooked in France where the distribution network is not very developed on our roads, CNG can be obtained more easily than LPG. There are certainly even fewer stations offering CNG than LPG, but the refueling of CNG can be done from a domestic source. Understand that the C3 CNG will compete with your gas stove!
Beside the classic fuel door, a second filler pipe for gas.
Gaz de France, Citroën partner, has in fact planned to install a specific compressor in the garage of the purchaser of each C3 Natural Gas. Until then, this offer was reserved for business customers. The gas is compressed to 200 bars in the fifty liter tank housed in the bottom of the trunk of the car.
First condition, therefore, to have a private room where to sleep his little Citroën! Second condition: take out a subscription with your GDF agency. Third condition: consider plugging in your C3 in the evening, to be sure to have a full tank the next morning. Because charging takes a few hours all the same.
Like its green color, this C3 1.4 aims to satisfy customers who are increasingly concerned about the environment. Its range in CNG mode varying between 200 and 300 km, this car is primarily intended for daily use on short trips. Otherwise you will have to switch to super unleaded mode.
It is nonetheless true that Citroën is showing itself for the moment particularly averse to detail, not communicating information as crucial as actual consumption and the final sale price, including or not including the tax assistance granted to this type. vehicles. A position which clearly reflects the lack of consistency in the policy of our successive governments in this area.