Photo: Skoda
Volkswagen Group has the largest fleet of cars powered by compressed natural gas, over a dozen of them. And today, one more has been added in the form of the Scala G-Tec.
While we're not surprised the model has been developed and launched, the engine chosen is a little disappointing. You see, VW Group has two CNG engines, the 1-liter 3-cylinder it uses for small cars like the Polo or SEAT Arona and the 1.5-liter for compacts like the Golf and Octavia.
And for some reason, even though it's bigger than a Golf, the Skoda Scala gets the 1.0 G-Tec system for much smaller cars. Now, the displacement itself is not the problem here, just the fact that a 90 horsepower unit might have trouble pushing a heavier hatchback with extra fuel tanks.
As we've already established, we are dealing with a 3-cylinder turbocharged unit. It can still run on gasoline like a normal 1.0 TSI, but it's limited in this regard by a tank that only holds 9 liters. Most of the driving is done using CNG or compressed natural gas, stored in three tanks.
This gives it a range of 410 km, plus another 220 km on gasoline. The advantages of this fuel are that it emits about 25% less CO2, with considerably lower nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions as well and no particulates. It should also be cheaper as well.
Refueling is done via a second port under the gas flap, but trunk space seems to have been shrunk down to just 339 liters compared to the normal 467 liters. At this moment, we don't know how much this model costs, but a Golf TGI with 130 HP and a DSG (the Scala is manual-only) currently retails for €30,300
"Natural gas will play a key role in Skoda’s engine portfolio over the coming years in order to lower CO2emissions. Our natural-gas engines are becoming more and more popular with our customers because of their low emissions. And anyone driving a Škoda Scala G-Tec will in future also benefit from comparatively low fuel costs in many countries," Christian Strube, Skoda Board Member for Technical Development, explains
And for some reason, even though it's bigger than a Golf, the Skoda Scala gets the 1.0 G-Tec system for much smaller cars. Now, the displacement itself is not the problem here, just the fact that a 90 horsepower unit might have trouble pushing a heavier hatchback with extra fuel tanks.
As we've already established, we are dealing with a 3-cylinder turbocharged unit. It can still run on gasoline like a normal 1.0 TSI, but it's limited in this regard by a tank that only holds 9 liters. Most of the driving is done using CNG or compressed natural gas, stored in three tanks.
This gives it a range of 410 km, plus another 220 km on gasoline. The advantages of this fuel are that it emits about 25% less CO2, with considerably lower nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions as well and no particulates. It should also be cheaper as well.
Refueling is done via a second port under the gas flap, but trunk space seems to have been shrunk down to just 339 liters compared to the normal 467 liters. At this moment, we don't know how much this model costs, but a Golf TGI with 130 HP and a DSG (the Scala is manual-only) currently retails for €30,300
"Natural gas will play a key role in Skoda’s engine portfolio over the coming years in order to lower CO2emissions. Our natural-gas engines are becoming more and more popular with our customers because of their low emissions. And anyone driving a Škoda Scala G-Tec will in future also benefit from comparatively low fuel costs in many countries," Christian Strube, Skoda Board Member for Technical Development, explains
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