Renault introduces the Renault Clio Bi-Fuel. Although it is slightly more expensive than the petrol version, it has 10 extra hp and runs on dirt-cheap LPG. But the question is how long it will really be beneficial to drive on LPG. Last summer we complained that the updated Renault Clio was not available as Bi-Fuel in the Netherlands. After all, in its home country of France you could drive it on LPG. Moreover, its technical brother, the Dacia Sanderoalso available with LPG installation in the Netherlands. Follow the news about fuel prices and road tax!
Price Renault Clio LPG vs. Clio petrol
Nearly three months later, our complaint was honored. Because just like the Renault Captur, the Renault Clio has recently been included in the price list again as the TCe 100 GPF Bi-Fuel. The Evolution version costs 24,690 euros, the more luxurious Techno version costs 26,690 euros. In both cases, the additional cost of the LPG variant is 800 euros. But for that money, in addition to an LPG system, you also get 100 hp instead of 90.
When is a Clio Bi-Fuel worth it?
So it doesn’t seem like a bad idea at all to buy a Renault Clio or Captur Bi-Fuel. But is that also true? Based on the consumption specified by the factory, an annual mileage of 15,000 and the current road tax rates, a Clio on LPG will cost you 1,607 euros per year in fuel and road tax on an annual basis. The cost of petrol is 1949 euros per year.
How much cheaper on LPG?
With the LPG Clio you save 342 euros annually. This means that you could pay off the additional cost of 800 euros in less than three years. If you drive more kilometers, this sum will look even more favorable for the Clio Bi-Fuel. But unfortunately there is a big catch. The tax plan recently approved by the Senate throws a huge cloud in the works of LPG drivers.
Huge increase in road tax for LPG cars
However, that party will come to an end from 2026. Then the reduced allowance will expire and that will have enormous consequences. For example, the owner of a Clio Bi-Fuel will no longer pay 784 euros per year in road tax, but 1368 euros. An increase of 584 euros! For comparison: the petrol version costs ‘only’ 564 euros in road tax. This means that from 2026 you will have to ‘close’ a tax gap of more than 800 euros every year… In the short term – apart from the higher purchase price – you will soon be cheaper per month with a Renault Clio Bi-Fuel. In the longer term that will be a different story. From 2026, the tipping point will only be at more than 22,000 kilometers per year. That is well above the annual mileage of the average Dutch motorist.