RE: PH Blog: It's time to focus on the triple
Discussion
Limpet said:
I am just trying to remember the last naturally aspirated four pot I drove (that wasn't installed in a Type-R Honda) that was anything other than bland, lifeless and completely devoid of character. I'd choose this over a yawn-o-matic NA 1.6 any day of the week. If it were more economical, that would just be a bonus.
I'm convinced the reason diesels are so popular now is as much to do with the bland awfulness of most modern 'family car' petrol engines, as it is to do with recent improvements in diesel driving characteristics and outputs.
I think this is where the engine from the old Puma was good. Not "VTEC" fun - but pretty good none the less - and sounds nice when it hits the power cam. Mine I seem to get between 35 and 40mpg depending on how I drive it.I'm convinced the reason diesels are so popular now is as much to do with the bland awfulness of most modern 'family car' petrol engines, as it is to do with recent improvements in diesel driving characteristics and outputs.
It's a shame they stopped making that engine, as it had a lot of potential. The newer 1.6 just isn't quite the same...
Yes, but that's the whole point - small, NEDC-optimised 'eco' engines don't tend to get anywhere close to their published mpg figures on the road; larger and/or older ones (the Ibiza falls into both categories, its current replacement gets by with either a 1.2 litre triple or a 1.6 litre four than no one buys because of the taxation advantages of the former) get much closer.
1-2 years ago a large survey of a fuel card provider indicated a pretty much linear relationship between 'offical' CO2 emission ratings and how much more fuel they use in reality: with cars sporting figures around the 100 g/km mark, the average difference was about 40%, with cars rated at about 200 g/km the difference between official mpg and the reality was very small, and drivers of 'gas guzzlers' that are rated at 300 g/km on average manage to beat the official mpg figures.
1-2 years ago a large survey of a fuel card provider indicated a pretty much linear relationship between 'offical' CO2 emission ratings and how much more fuel they use in reality: with cars sporting figures around the 100 g/km mark, the average difference was about 40%, with cars rated at about 200 g/km the difference between official mpg and the reality was very small, and drivers of 'gas guzzlers' that are rated at 300 g/km on average manage to beat the official mpg figures.
I've had the 125ps version of one of these for a couple of weeks now.
33mpg round town driving compared to ~20mpg from the old 535 V8 and 23mpg from the 3.2 Boxster S, and that shoots upto 50mpg on motorways @ 65mph or so.
The thing I liked about it on the test drive wasn't really the mpg, it was the little turbo makes it feel like a diesel (albeit a small one).
It kicks in at 1550rpm and even at 90mph, squeeze the pedal and it spools up and does it's job very nicely.
Compared to the last "new" car I drove, a 2011 1.6 Astra, which was as bland and boring as they could possibly make it, this is a lot more fun to drive.
Oh, the "Eco" indicators don't like me, 1 out of 6 petals for gear changes, 1/6 for anticipation, 4/6 for speed. Living in a city of dual carriageways and roundabouts is never going to be great for mpg or anticipation though.
I did consider a small diesel for about 0.00001 of a second, but every manufacturer charges at least a £1.5k premium for an oil burner, and with the oil now dearer than petrol and me only living 10 miles from work I'd be chucking money down the drain if I got an oil burner. Pointless.
33mpg round town driving compared to ~20mpg from the old 535 V8 and 23mpg from the 3.2 Boxster S, and that shoots upto 50mpg on motorways @ 65mph or so.
The thing I liked about it on the test drive wasn't really the mpg, it was the little turbo makes it feel like a diesel (albeit a small one).
It kicks in at 1550rpm and even at 90mph, squeeze the pedal and it spools up and does it's job very nicely.
Compared to the last "new" car I drove, a 2011 1.6 Astra, which was as bland and boring as they could possibly make it, this is a lot more fun to drive.
Oh, the "Eco" indicators don't like me, 1 out of 6 petals for gear changes, 1/6 for anticipation, 4/6 for speed. Living in a city of dual carriageways and roundabouts is never going to be great for mpg or anticipation though.
I did consider a small diesel for about 0.00001 of a second, but every manufacturer charges at least a £1.5k premium for an oil burner, and with the oil now dearer than petrol and me only living 10 miles from work I'd be chucking money down the drain if I got an oil burner. Pointless.
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