Dec 12, 2007, 9:36 GMT
Hamburg - The VW subsidiary Skoda is offering the Octavia car with natural gas (CNG) drive, giving it a range of 700 kilometres when using both petrol and gas.
The CNG tank, with a capacity of 17 kilogrammes of gas, has a range of 300 kilometres with a consumption of 5.7 litres per 100 kilometres. The petrol tank holding 55 litres gives it another 400 kilometres, according to the car maker.
In Europe, natural gas is about 50 per cent cheaper than petrol and 30 per cent cheaper than diesel. Carbon dioxide emissions are listed at 145 g/km which is about 20 per cent less than those from the petrol version.
Using CNG performance of the 1.6-litre engine is listed at 65 kW/88 hp compared to petrol drive at 74 kW/102 hp.
The Skoda Octavia CNG 1.6 litre is priced at 20,830 euros (30,609 dollars) in Germany which is about 1,000 euros more than the basic petrol version.
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