BS4 and BS6: How BS6 is better for the environment? | Should we buy BS4 or BS6?

Nowadays a big decision haunts us when we want to buy any vehicle pertaining to the new emission norms, we should buy a BS4 vehicle or go for the new line-up of BS6 vehicles?

Before we get to that lets see till what time consumers can buy the BS4 vehicles. Well, even though the time for buying these BS4 vehicles is coming to an end, consumer still have time till 24th April before the dealerships bring down the curtains on these vehicles thanks to the relaxation of the deadline from the Supreme court and due to this there has been marginal relief for the automotive manufacturers. So, consumers might just have to rush to the dealerships as soon as the lockdown ends.

Before you go and buy any vehicle, first you need to know the changes that were made in a BS6 engine. Let’s talk about diesel engines first, in diesel engines the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) unit converts nitrogen oxide (NOx) in diatomic nitrogen and water with the use of catalysts. The SCR unit uses AdBlue to reduce the nitrogen oxide emissions, so when the exhaust gases come in contact with the AdBlue fluid, urea is converted to ammonia and carbon dioxide and in turn, the ammonia converts NOx into nitrogen and water vapour. Whereas, in case of petrol engines the pollutants are treated after the combustion process and helps in trapping pollutants like NOx and particulate matter.

Now, whether a consumer should go for purchasing a BS4 vehicle, you could. The BS6 norms are entirely towards making the world a better place with the reduction in the amount of particulates and nitrogen oxide in the exhaust gasses. The BS6 exhaust emissions are 25 per cent cleaner in case of petrol and 80 per cent cleaner in case of diesel than its predecessor BS4.

Before we just onto the conclusion, let us understand why BS5 was not introduced in India? For the implementation of the BS4 norms it took India seven years, so in order to prevent this delay and also in an effort of reducing the pollution, the government decided to skip the BS5 norms completely.

For making the job of buying a vehicle easier let’s jot down these points. Well, if you want to keep your car for a long period, like 10-14 years from now, then go for the BS4 vehicles hands down because of the huge discounts and the fewer differences in between the resale value of used BS4 and BS6 vehicles. Whereas, if you are planning to keep your vehicle for a short duration of four to five years, then you should go for the BS6 vehicles as it will ensure that you get a higher resale value. Most of you must have some doubts about the BS6 fuel regarding its compatibility, don’t worry because BS6 fuels are completely compliant with the BS4 vehicle’s, in fact it will make your vehicle more eco-friendly. The BS6 fuel does that by having less content of sulphur, the BS6 fuel has 10mg/kg of sulphur compared to 50mg/kg of BS4 grade fuel. This in turn means having a much cleaner fuel as it reduces the emission of harmful pollutants like carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons.

If you are looking at it from the environment friendly point of view, then BS6 is downright the best option, just that you might need to shell out more money in terms of the cost of the vehicle and also for the service that comes later on.

For all the consumers thinking of buying the BS4 vehicles this might be one of the prime times because the discounts on these vehicles are just hard to ignore. For example we have a discount of Rs 40,000 on the Honda Ciaz and a whopping Rs2,00,000 on the Renault Duster and if you were thinking of buying a Jaguar XE, then you just got lucky with a discount of Rs10lakh. Well, the list just goes on and with just 10 days to buy all these vehicles, it just might turn out to be fist fight for getting the vehicle you need.

We believe that your doubts must have been solved till now. But in case you are still not clear, don’t think just hit us up and we would be glad to guide you.