How would you like to travel 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) before having to fill up your vehicle with gas? That’s pretty impressive right? Well, as impressive as it may sound it’s also a bit misleading as the Opel Adam LPG actually has two fuel tanks. Opel/Vauxhall has added an LPG (Liquified Petroleum Gas) version to Adam’s lineup for Europe.
The new Opel Adam 1.4 LPG ecoFlex has been optimized to not only run on gasoline but also Liquified Petroleum Gas which is cleaner and about fifty-percent cheaper than gasoline. When the vehicle is in LPG mode, the 86 horsepower Adam is capable of averaging 6.9L/100km (34.1 mpg) which is not all that bad. And when in gasoline mode, the vehicle returns a combined fuel economy of 5.1L/100km (46.1 mpg).
In Germany, LPG fuel costs less than half the price of gasoline so fuel costs are around 50 percent lower when driving a similarly powerful vehicle with a gasoline engine. These numbers sound fantastic but we should point out that when in LPG mode, the vehicle isn’t as fuel efficient as it is in gasoline mode. The company has to make certain modifications to the 1.4-liter ecoFlex engine in order to run on LPG such as reinforced valves and valve seats, and an adapted engine management system.
In order to the luggage capacity of the Opel Adam LPG to be unaffected, engineers designed the tank to be installed under the vehicle floor in the rear of the car. The Adam in LPG mode has a driving range of 500km, but once that tank is empty, it can continue to drive an additional 700km on gasoline. There is range indicator that shows LPG, gasoline, and total driving range. Switching between LPG and gasoline mode can be done either automatically or with a push of a button on the instrument panel.
In Germany, the Opel Adam LPG pricing starts at $21,565.
