Opel has combined economical, low-emission compressed natural gas propulsion with powerful turbocharger technology in the Zafira 1.6 CNG ecoFLEX Turbo. Starting at 25,430 euros, it allows Opel to ring in a new era of CNG with impressive performance. The new Zafira's rated output of 150 hp and maximum torque of 210 Nm between 2 300 and 5 000 rpm ensure plenty of power in all situations. The high torque not only allows a more powerful drive, it also keeps energy consumption low in everyday use. The seven-seater accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 11.5 seconds and has a top speed of 200 km/h. In the MVEG cycle, it consumes just 5.1 kg of natural gas per 100 km. This cor-responds to a CO2 emission figure of just 139 g/km – a new best-in-class in this vehicle and power category. Expressed in terms of the driver and all six passengers, this translates into just under 20 grams per seat and kilometer when the Zafira is fully loaded. The Zafira CNG is also ideally equipped when it comes to safety: the high-strength steel gas tanks and stainless steel gas pipes are safely located outside the impact zone. This was already confirmed by ADAC in a crash test conducted with the first Zafira CNG: "The gas tanks stored in a metal compartment remained in their original position during both frontal and side collisions, despite body deformation. They are therefore optimally protected against damage. The entire gas system stayed tightly sealed, also a result of the safety valves that automatically close on the tanks," said the automobile club experts, summing up the test results. In addition, the results clearly showed that the risk of fire with natural gas vehicles is no higher than normal. This is also due to the fact that natural gas is much less flammable than gasoline or diesel, and in the highly unlikely event of a leak, it dissipates immediately. Automakers, driven by ever-toughening government standards and a desire to end dependency on foreign oil, have all been experimenting with alternative fuels and technologies. Although electric vehicles have gotten most of the press, theirs is not the only green technology available. Natural gas cars run cheaper, cleaner and more efficiently than gasoline engines; plus they never need to be plugged in. Compressed natural gas, or CNG, has many advantages over fossil fuels. Firstly, it burns cleaner. CNG has 97 percent less carbon monoxide and 30 percent less carbon dioxide than gasoline. Secondly, natural gas is plentiful in the US. Thirty-two states are now commercially producing it. Lastly, CNG is about half the cost of gasoline. Natural gas vehicles are growing in popularity. This has been driven in recent years by the medium- to-heavy duty market. Natural gas is now widely used in transit buses, school buses, refuse trucks, package delivery trucks, and vehicles used in ports. One thing these all have in common is that they can be refueled at a central location. This is not the case with cars and light trucks that travel where natural gas might be difficult to find. This could have contributed to the lack of interest in natural gas vehicles by general consumers in the past. In recent years, companies like Clean Energy have successfully driven natural gas vehicle use by building fueling stations and supplying natural gas under multi-year contracts to fleets at costs significantly less than the per-gallon cost of gasoline or diesel. Fleet use should lead to greater consumer use in the future.
