ONE happy convert is Bryn Speed, a 30-year-old married father of two young children from Heaton Chapel, Stockport.

Five months ago, he paid £5,600 for a seven-year-old Land Rover which had already been converted to LPG. The price was about £1,000 above non-converted Landrovers and, instead of being in the boot, two LPG tanks have been attached under the chassis.

‘‘I couldn’t afford to run a Land Rover unless it was LPG,’’ said Bryn. ‘‘It does about 20 or 30 to the gallon on petrol. With gas, it only maybe does 25 to the gallon but it’s half the price of petrol.’’

The relatively few number of fuel stations where LPG is available means Bryn has occasionally been forced to switch to petrol, especially on longer trips up and down the country as a member of Trafford Rowing Club. He has also noticed a degree of sluggishness when the Land Rover is powered by gas, especially when his car is loaded up with as many as four boats and seven fellow rowers and their luggage.

A simple flick of a switch means that the same engine can use petrol instead of gas, a practice often required when the engine is first started. He also described the gas option as ‘‘not so good’’ around town.

‘‘But I would definitely go for another car like this — next time I would go for a bigger engine,’’ said Bryn, a training officer.

‘‘I was looking for a Range Rover. I wanted something big.

‘‘You always have to put a bit of petrol in it just in case. There need to be more stations where LPG is available.’’

Tweet