The price of a factory CNG option and the price of getting into a CNG car are two different numbers, and on most cars the second is much larger. 12 of the 25 cars here offer CNG on the cheapest trim they sell, so the only thing you pay for is the fuel system. On 12 more, CNG starts partway up the range — and reaching it means buying trim as well. On the Maruti Brezza it starts on the cheapest trim, LXi, but on the 1.5 engine rather than the ₹85,000-cheaper 1.0 turbo, so what you buy beyond the CNG there is an engine, not equipment.
The Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder is the widest case. The cheapest CNG Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder is ₹2,40,000 above the cheapest petrol Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder — but only ₹89,000 of that is the CNG system. The remaining ₹1,51,000 is the move from E to S, which you are buying because that is where CNG begins.
What the cheapest CNG version really costs
| Car | Cheapest CNG | Total to get in | The CNG | The trim or engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder | S (not E) | ₹2,40,000 | ₹89,000 | ₹1,51,000 |
| Maruti Baleno | Delta (not Sigma) | ₹1,93,500 | ₹92,500 | ₹1,01,000 |
| Hyundai Aura | S (not E) | ₹1,89,210 | ₹91,200 | ₹98,010 |
| Toyota Rumion | S (not E) | ₹1,90,000 | ₹92,000 | ₹98,000 |
| Maruti Dzire | VXi (not LXi) | ₹1,87,500 | ₹91,000 | ₹96,500 |
| Maruti Brezza | LXi (1.5, not the 1.0 turbo) | ₹1,90,000 | ₹1,05,000 | ₹85,000 |
| Maruti Swift | VXi (not LXi) | ₹1,73,500 | ₹89,500 | ₹84,000 |
| Hyundai Grand i10 Nios | Magna (not Era) | ₹1,73,000 | ₹95,300 | ₹77,700 |
| Toyota Glanza | S (not E) | ₹1,77,000 | ₹1,05,000 | ₹72,000 |
| Maruti Celerio | VXi (not LXi) | ₹1,28,000 | ₹79,500 | ₹48,500 |
| Maruti Eeco | 5-Seater AC (not 5-Seater STD) | ₹1,17,400 | ₹84,500 | ₹32,900 |
| Maruti S-Presso | LXi(O) (not Std(O)) | ₹1,14,500 | ₹82,000 | ₹32,500 |
| Maruti Alto K10 | LXi(O) (not STD(O)) | ₹1,14,500 | ₹84,500 | ₹30,000 |
| Tata Nexon | Smart | ₹95,000 | ₹95,000 | — |
| Maruti Wagon R | LXi | ₹95,000 | ₹95,000 | — |
| Maruti XL6 | Zeta | ₹98,500 | ₹98,500 | — |
| Kia Carens Clavis | HTE | ₹99,900 | ₹99,900 | — |
| Tata Aeris | Smart | ₹1,00,000 | ₹1,00,000 | — |
| Toyota Urban Cruiser Taisor | E | ₹1,02,000 | ₹1,02,000 | — |
| Maruti Fronx | Sigma | ₹1,04,000 | ₹1,04,000 | — |
| Maruti Victoris | LXi | ₹1,05,000 | ₹1,05,000 | — |
| Tata Punch | Smart | ₹1,10,000 | ₹1,10,000 | — |
| Tata Tiago | Smart | ₹1,10,000 | ₹1,10,000 | — |
| Hyundai Exter | HX2 | ₹1,19,300 | ₹1,19,300 | — |
| Tata Altroz | Smart | ₹1,30,000 | ₹1,30,000 | — |
“Total to get in” is the cheapest CNG variant against the cheapest petrol variant of the same car. “The CNG” is that same CNG variant against its own petrol twin — same trim, same gearbox, same engine. The difference between the two is trim, or on the cars noted, an engine. Left out: Maruti Ertiga, Mahindra XUV 3XO — the cheapest CNG variant has no petrol twin at the same trim, so the two halves cannot be separated without guessing at one of them. The Ertiga's CNG is sold only as VXi(O) and ZXi(O), against a plain petrol VXi and ZXi, and treating the (O) as nothing would be the guess.
What to do with this
Where the trim column reads a dash, the decision is only about the fuel: you are paying for a cylinder and nothing else, and the smallest step into CNG is the Tata Nexon and the Maruti Wagon R at ₹95,000 over each car's own cheapest petrol. Where it carries a figure, that figure is equipment — so the question becomes whether the trim is worth its own price, which is the question this site exists to answer. Every car's model page scores that variant against the equipment it adds.
Nothing here is a running-cost calculation. Whether CNG pays back depends on the price of gas in your city and how far you drive. The one CNG price we hold from a supplier is Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL)'s for Delhi, so the payback distances are worked out there, at Delhi prices, in what a factory CNG kit costs, alongside the price of the kit on a matched trim for every car. For every CNG car by price with its certified km/kg, see CNG cars in India.