Mitsubishi Cedia LPG

Is the LPG option, the first in the premium segment, the answer? Lowering running costs is a sureshot way to enhance a car’s appeal and the LPG route is becoming increasingly popular. It’s not difficult to understand why when you compare the cost per litre of LPG and petrol. The former is around 40 percent cheaper.

The LPG kit in the Cedia is made by BRC of Italy, the only Indian-made components are the storage tank and the sheet metal brackets to hold the tank in place, the rest is all imported. The key component is the sequential injection system for delivering fuel to the Cedia’s 1999cc, four-cylinder engine.

LPG is stored under pressure in the big 48-litre tank in the Cedia boot. From here, it goes via a regulator through the pressure reducer and to the injectors, which are controlled by a 16-bit processor. The LPG Cedia has an additional ECU for the LPG mode that essentially works as a piggyback ECU. The petrol ECU sends information from the oxygen sensor, the manifold-absolute pressure sensor and the engine rpm sensor to the LPG ECU, so there is no need for an extra set of sensors.

The kit is safe too — the LPG tank is double-walled and the system uses corrugated wiring harnesses and copper tubes to prevent gas leakage. In the event of an accident, which is a very likely scenario on Indian roads, a solenoid valve will cut-off fuel supply. And to give you that feel-safe factor, Mitsubishi also supplies a fire extinguisher which is strapped under the front passenger seat.