[franzbrandi]

Hi all!I'm Francesco, from Italy.
I'm a proud owner of a '99 Mazda MX-5 (NB) and, since petrol is becoming too expensive, I decided to buy a CNG-powered VW Up (VW ecoUp!). According to the VW declarations, I would be able to spend 3‚¬ of fuel every 100 km (with my actual car, 100 km cost me 15-16 ‚¬ of petrol!!). Moreover, because of its 79 g CO2/km, ecoUp! is the less polluting car in the world (among internal combustion engine cars). These facts made me decide to buy the car, to have them both, using the new car on week days and the roadster for the weekends. With my current mileage/year, the amount of money saved using the ecoUp in week days instead of the roadster, should be more than sufficient to pay possession taxes and insurance of the MX-5.

Here in Italy the ecoUp! will be sold from the beginning of 2013. I'm really looking forward to have it in my garage!! [Black up version, if available with CNG engine!]

 

[move up!]

Benvenuto, amico!
I would love to get the compressed natural gas Eco-Up!, but we can't get them in the UK. I don't think the government has the money to install a network of CNG pumps at filling stations. I read something a while ago about a compressor that one can install in your own garage at home, which compresses gas from your domestic gas supply, and then fills up your car, but I guess the government won't get road fuel tax, and so that one won't go far...

 

[ducatikid]

Good luck with that purchase. Please tell us how it goes.

 

[franzbrandi]

Benvenuto, amico!
I would love to get the compressed natural gas Eco-Up!, but we can't get them in the UK. I don't think the government has the money to install a network of CNG pumps at filling stations. I read something a while ago about a compressor that one can install in your own garage at home, which compresses gas from your domestic gas supply, and then fills up your car, but I guess the government won't get road fuel tax, and so that one won't go far...

Yes, it would be very expensive to build a CNG pump network from scratch. Italy has, for historical reasons, a widespread network, and the diffusion is increasing too (as far as I know, in many areas new service stations can't be built if CNG and LPG pumps are not installed together with diesel oil and petrol).
I also read about the domestic compressor. It costs a lot (I think 5000-6000 ‚¬), so it's affordable for business fleet vehicles (also for fiscal reasons), or for privates with high mileage and a CNG pump far from home. Here in Italy taxes are charged also on domestic CNG, so government earn money also from domestic refuelling. To be true, taxes for domestic CNG are higher than taxes for CNG from filling stations. Anyway, the profit margin of the owner of the CNG filling station compensate for the higher domestic CNG price and the electricity used by the domestic pump, so they say that the final prices are comparable.

 

[move up!]

Thank you. That's very interesting.

I wonder if the CNG up! can be filled with LPG as an alternative? I know CNG and LPG are slightly different gases, but maybe the car's ECU could be programmed to compensate? We do have a network of LPG pumps here.

 

[franzbrandi]

I don't know but I don't think so. I think plugs are different; LPG uses different cylinders too, much thinner and lighter than CNG ones, because the latter is stored at much higher pressures (8-12 atm VS 200-250 atm). And I think there are a lot of sensors to change. Given that a petrol car is usually transformable to a LPG car, I think it's much better to buy a petrol car and to convert it. Moreover, the CNG up! should cost 2000 or 3000 more than the petrol one. So, even if possible, I think it's not convenient.

 

[Privatedoc]

APPARANTLY, we will be getting a diesel-electric hybrid up, 2 cylinders and a 25hp electric motor....overall average about 95-100mpg and easily filled up at diesel pumps.....bet there is a bit of a price premium though.

 

[move up!]

Yes, lifted out of the XL1. The up! diesel/electric could become the most fuel-efficient mass produced car available.

 

[franzbrandi]

Updates: I just bought the ecoup.
Highup version, full optional: pearl black, 5 doors, safety pack, drive pack, glass roof, (artificial) leather seats, "triangle" alloy wheels.
The car will not be delivered before next june, though...



Edited by: franzbrandi

 

[Privatedoc]

Nice one franzbrandi.....if we had the filling stations in uk, I'm sure they would sell well.

 

[scarja]

I'm from italy too and waiting for the ECO UP!

You can't put LPG in a CNG car cuz LPG is liquid and CNG is gas so the 2 things are completely different. I'm running a Grande Punto 1.2 LPG at the moment and waiting (ordered 2 weeks ago) for my 5 door CNG UP! (move version + all option packs except M&M), should arrive end of april beginning of may

At the moment you can't get the Black UP! and White UP! in CNG version you have to choose between take,move and high. I don't know if they will change this but I dought it.. Anyway I wanted it red so wasn't interested in the Black or White version.