EV vs CNG | Long Term Running Cost Test | Feat. Tata Tiago

The EV has a much lower running cost if charged at home, but recovering the price premium can take a decade

There's no denying that electric vehicles have an inherent advantage in terms of running costs. If charged at your residence, the per kilometre costs are possibly a third of what you'd pay for an equivalent petrol-powered vehicle. 

But, there's a gassy twist to the tale. Enter CNG. A fuel that's more affordable, and also more efficient. How does an EV stack up against a CNG-powered car? Does the running cost advantage hold up, especially considering the substantially higher up front cost? 

To answer these questions, we lined up two Tiagos — one EV and one powered by CNG. Can the EV justify a Rs 2.7 lakh premium?

So to come to a conclusion, and to resolve the conflict of EV vs CNG, we took the Tata Tiago EV, and its CNG counterpart, and decided to put them to a test. At the end of the test, we found out the per kilometre cost of both, along with the number of years it will take for the EV to recover its price premium, which in this case, is Rs 2.7 lakh.

Starting Expenses

* Home charging cost will differ based on your location

* CNG cost will differ based on your location

The Tiago EV, with a 24 kWh battery pack, was charged to 100 percent at home, where full charge cost us Rs 288. The Tiago CNG was also filled to the brim at a cost of Rs 800.

Testing Parameters

Both versions of the hatchback were driven for around 150 kilometres. We started from our office in Pune, headed to Lonavala via the Mumbai-Pune expressway and came back to Pune via the old Mumbai-Pune highway. This concluded our 100 km highway run, where we encountered long straight roads, elevations, and ghat sections.

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The second part of the run was done in Pune’s city traffic, where we drove both cars for approximately 50 kilometers. Here, we got some open roads, along with some bumper to bumper traffic. At no point during our drive did we put the Tiago CNG on petrol mode.

Drive Impressions

During our drive, we got to experience both cars, and how they perform in different conditions. The Tiago EV’s performance was consistent throughout the highway and city runs. Its acceleration is quick, there was no delay in the power delivery, and overtakes were effortless. It was also very quiet and the only thing we could hear was the tyre noise.

The Tiago CNG, on the other hand, gave us mixed experiences. Inside the city, we didn’t notice much of a drop in power compared to petrol and we could easily overtake others around us. We had the AMT (automated manual transmission) variant and the gearbox functioned with little lag.

But on the highways, the lack of power was very evident. Getting to higher speeds took time, and we had to plan overtakes well in advance. The engine also became very loud under acceleration, which after a while became very annoying.

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It was clear that the EV’s drive experience was far better than that of the CNG, and even if we compared it to petrol or diesel, the EV will offer a much smoother and exciting drive.

Test Results

Once our drive was over, we took the EV to a fast charging station and the CNG to the CNG pump. Both cars were driven 150 odd kilometres, and once both were topped up, we got our results.

* DC fast charging cost will differ based on your location and the charging station

* CNG cost will differ based on your location

With these results, we were able to calculate the per kilometre cost for both cars

* Calculated using the Units consumed at the end of the test (20.20) multiplied by the per unit cost of home charging (Rs 12)

Here, we can clearly see that if you charge the EV only at home, your per kilometre is less than half of the per kilometre cost of CNG. But, if you charge your EV with a DC fast charger, the per kilometre cost is almost the same as CNG.

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Now, since the Tiago EV commands a price premium of Rs 2.7 lakh over the Tiago CNG, it will take some years to break even, and become more cost efficient. So, to figure out the number of years and the kilometres you need to drive to recover that cost, we came up with some use cases.

Cost Recovery

If you charge the Tiago EV only at home, you’ll need to drive it over 1.23 lakh kilometers to recover the price premium. If you drive it 1000 km each month, it will take 10 years to break even. If you drive 2000 km a month, it will take 5 years, and if you drive 3000 km a month, your break even period will drop down to 3.5 years. Here is a more detailed explanation.

Now, since you’ll charge your EV at a DC fast charging station from time to time, your per kilometre cost will go higher. You’ll also drive the Tiago CNG on petrol mode occasionally, which will increase its per kilometre cost. In those cases, the time taken to recover the higher price premium will increase and so will the required kilometres. 

Verdict

It’s clear that if you are planning to buy the Tiago EV over its CNG counterpart, you’ll need to have a very high mileage to break even in a short period of time. If you drive 40 to 60 kilometers a day, picking the CNG will be a better option as it will be more affordable from day one and more fuel efficient. The only drawback will be a sub par performance, which you’ll have to get used to.

But if your daily drives are north of 80 km, the EV will make more sense as it will break even in less than 5 years, and after that the running cost will be much lower than CNG. Also, if you like to enjoy your drives, and want something more exciting, the Tiago EV will be a better choice for you.