Fiat has expanded further its acclaimed ‘Natural Power’ range with the introduction of the Qubo Natural Power featuring the fuel-and-emission reducing combination of a powertrain that is able to operate on gasoline and methane.

Fiat has expanded further its acclaimed ‘Natural Power’ range with the introduction of the Qubo Natural Power featuring the fuel-and-emission reducing combination of a powertrain that is able to operate on gasoline and methane. Fiat has been a strong proponent of the introduction of methane as a fuel alternative believing that it represents the most appropriate current source for protecting the atmosphere and enhancing sustainable mobility, and the Qubo now joins other  “Natural Power” models in the Fiat range including the Panda and Grande Punto which are already enjoying strong market success.

The Fiat Qubo Natural Power is fitted with a robust 1.4-litre 4-cylinder Euro-5 compliant engine that turns out 70 bhp and is capable of running on petrol or methane. It comes in two equipment and trim specification versions – Active and Dynamic – which are priced at 16,400 and 17,900 euros respectively in Italy where the model is being launched this week. Thanks to its emission levels of just 119 g/km the Qubo Natural Power can take advantage of Italian government incentives that will continue to run until December 31 (although cars may be registered up to March 31, 2010). The incentives will shave 5,000 euros in total (3,500 euros for purchasing a methane vehicle and an additional 1,500 euros for scrapping an older car) off the list price, meaning that the Active trim version can be bought for 11,400 euros for the rest of the year although a special launch promotion that runs until the end of September means that this has been brought down even further to 9,500 euros (Active).

Fiat has been the foremost pioneer of methane technology for more than a decade and is the European leader in this field, being the first and only OEM to offer a comprehensive range of bi-fuel “Natural Power” vehicles that adhere to this ecological line, stretching from the ultra-compact A-segment Panda through the Supermini category (Grande Punto) to the ‘free space’ Doblò and now the Fiorino van-based Qubo. Fiat produces the most efficient cars in Europe according to JATO Dynamics.

Methane is regarded by Fiat as the optimum technical solution from an ecological standpoint, and is the “cleanest” fuel available. In relation to diesels, cars running on methane don’t emit particulates and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions are reduced by around 90 percent. When running on petrol the methane propulsion guarantees reduction in NOx by a half, while hydrocarbons are reduced by almost three-quarters and CO2 by a quarter, contributing to a significant reduction in greenhouse gases, and particularly so in urban and city centre areas where the Qubo Natural Power is firmly targeted.

Add to this the fact that methane costs approximately half the price of petrol and this means that double the number of kilometres can be covered for the same expense. As an example the journey from Milan to Rome, a distance of some 600 kilometres, can be covered in the Qubo for 51 euros if fitted with the 73 bhp 1.4 litre petrol engine option, or for 29 euros if fitted with the 75 bhp 1.3 litre Multijet 16v turbodiesel engine; however running on Natural Power the journey will cost just 22 euros in the Qubo. Add in the Italian government’s 3,500 euro incentive bonus for buying methane-powered cars plus the current 1,500 euros for the ‘scrappage’ scheme and the cost of the Qubo Natural Power becomes even more attractive.

This efficiency and low environmental impact has led to rapidly growing demand for methane-powered vehicles across Europe and especially in Italy where during the last 12 months, 7 percent of all new cars have been specified with methane and of these over 90 percent have been Fiat models. Methane has also been boosted by the favour of the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency], a key U.S. body which has come down firmly on the side of methane’s merits over petrol, GPL or diesel, and which means that an expansion of Fiat’s technology stateside will create further economies of scale.

Safety is fully dealt with as Fiat vehicles are OEM with the “Natural Power” option which is thus fully integrated and so the Qubo Natural Power is subject to all crash test procedures as well as other safety feature integration. Methane isn’t toxic either and also has an inferior density to air which prevents dangerous concentrations building up in the atmosphere in the event of an accidental spillage. It also means that the vehicles are perfectly safe to be parked in underground garages, taken on ferries or used in long tunnels.

The biggest drawback to choosing methane so far has been the lack of a broad Italy-wide refuelling network, however this is growing very quickly and currently numbers 692 distributors with a further 48 sites planning to add methane shortly. From today Fiat has also introduced a useful search engine on its official website (www.fiat.com) that allows visitors to type in their address to find the nearest methane fuelling station, including telephone contact numbers as well as days and hours of opening.

The need to refuel though is reduced by the impressive range of the Qubo Natural Power as it can cover 300 km on a full tank which equates to 77 litres (13.2 kg of methane pressured to 200 bars) and adding in the 45 litre capacity of the petrol tank a total range of more than 940 km can be achieved. The methane tanks have been carefully integrated into the design so as to minimise the loss of space and the car is still able to offer users 250 litres of baggage stowing area. The fuelling of the car has been integrated so that the two systems can work independently or in tandem. Methane is the default choice, providing it is available, while the system switches automatically to petrol for the starting cycle. During normal running the car only switches to petrol when the methane supply is exhausted but this can be overridden by the driver with the simple pressing of a button on the dashboard, and vice-versa.

The 1.4 litre engine and ‘dual fuel’ system has been developed by Fiat Powertrain Technologies and is hooked up to a 5-speed manual gearbox. Running on methane the engine has maximum power of 70 bhp at 6,000 rpm and peak torque of 10.6 kgm (104 Nm) at 3,250 rpm. Top speed is 150 km/h while 0-100 km is achieved in 17.5 seconds. The Qubo Natural Power also comes with a 30,000 km warrantee.