Opinions on modern small petrol turbo engines
Discussion
I'm on about the likes of any 'eco' minded turbo engine seen in many medium sized cars. The Ford Ecoboost has probably been about the longest and rivals seem to be catching up with the technology, but what are they really like real world long term?
I'm looking to change as I normally do every 2 years or so and in doing so possibly ditch the diesel. Currently do an average of 18k miles a year. I know they are boring to drive but can they better the 40mpg I currently get out of my 'performance' diesel?
Test drove a Kia Cee'd 1.4 turbo 138bhp today, found it a little noisy but pulls the car along ok. Computer showed an average of 35mpg over 6k miles but its normally driven by a salesman with the occasional test drive. I have spotted that Vauxhall also have a similair engine in the Astra with 150 bhp and claiming 50+ to the gallon, they just seem too optimistic.
I'm looking to change as I normally do every 2 years or so and in doing so possibly ditch the diesel. Currently do an average of 18k miles a year. I know they are boring to drive but can they better the 40mpg I currently get out of my 'performance' diesel?
Test drove a Kia Cee'd 1.4 turbo 138bhp today, found it a little noisy but pulls the car along ok. Computer showed an average of 35mpg over 6k miles but its normally driven by a salesman with the occasional test drive. I have spotted that Vauxhall also have a similair engine in the Astra with 150 bhp and claiming 50+ to the gallon, they just seem too optimistic.
I've been pretty impressed with my Peugeot 308 GT line over the last year. It's currently on 36000 miles, 16000 of this by me at 300 miles a week commuting and two 1000 mile holiday trips fully loaded. Performance is more than adequate considering the size of the car to the engine size but a low kerb weight of 1090kg helps. It averages about 43mpg, drives nicely and the build quality is very much improved in the latest gen pugs.
Edited by kuro on Friday 28th December 21:00
The thing is if you're doing 18k a year a diesel really makes sense the thing is in reality a diesel will be better & normally quicker in the real world.
As an example here's the Giulietta:
1.4T Giulietta 170bhp
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
2.0d Giulietta 175bhp
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
The thing is a 2.0d is great on in gear acceleration the vs a small petrol is normally but most of these small engined turbo cars normally have shorter gearing which ultimately hurts economy.
Get the drivetrain that suits you best.
As an example here's the Giulietta:
1.4T Giulietta 170bhp
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
2.0d Giulietta 175bhp
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
The thing is a 2.0d is great on in gear acceleration the vs a small petrol is normally but most of these small engined turbo cars normally have shorter gearing which ultimately hurts economy.
Get the drivetrain that suits you best.
Edited by ZX10R NIN on Friday 28th December 22:22
Buzypea said:
I had a 2016 Astra 1.6 petrol turbo with 200bhp. Plenty quick enough and averaged 44mpg over the 27,000 miles I drove it. I was so impressed I’ve just leased another one.
(I can already hear the collective boo’s now I’ve mentioned the L word
)
It's probably 1.4 and under that the OP is talking about although I've heard good things about the 1.6 turbo. If it's that economical that's pretty impressive for the performance it offers. I had a 2016 1.6 diesel Sri which was a decent enough car but I didn't think it was that well built, I always thought the previous J model felt more solid.(I can already hear the collective boo’s now I’ve mentioned the L word
)"...most of these small engined turbo cars normally have shorter gearing which ultimately hurts economy."
Not all of them. I have a 998cc three pot Boosterjet petrol in the 2017 Baleno. Never drops below 54 mpg. Motorway at 75 mph or so is 57 mpg. Car is brisk enough for 110 HP. Outside of cities it's getting Prius levels of fuel economy for half the new Prius price.
Engines aside, most of the B/C segment 100-120 HP eco cars are very similar in terms of interiors and driving experience, many with rear drum brakes and torsion bar suspension. The VW and Volvo interiors are slightly nicer than many.
Much as I prefer diesels, they come with a 10p a litre fuel price increase, plus unkown future fuel/VED levies and city taxes. With 55 mpg from a cheaper petrol engine the case for diesel isn't so clear cut, unless you need the torque.
On the other hand some of the newer diesels are reaching 75 mpg, but with a £1200 or so greater purchase cost and the 10p a litre fuel price disadvantage.
Not all of them. I have a 998cc three pot Boosterjet petrol in the 2017 Baleno. Never drops below 54 mpg. Motorway at 75 mph or so is 57 mpg. Car is brisk enough for 110 HP. Outside of cities it's getting Prius levels of fuel economy for half the new Prius price.
Engines aside, most of the B/C segment 100-120 HP eco cars are very similar in terms of interiors and driving experience, many with rear drum brakes and torsion bar suspension. The VW and Volvo interiors are slightly nicer than many.
Much as I prefer diesels, they come with a 10p a litre fuel price increase, plus unkown future fuel/VED levies and city taxes. With 55 mpg from a cheaper petrol engine the case for diesel isn't so clear cut, unless you need the torque.
On the other hand some of the newer diesels are reaching 75 mpg, but with a £1200 or so greater purchase cost and the 10p a litre fuel price disadvantage.
Edited by Slushbox on Saturday 29th December 08:03
I've had a Fabia 1.2 TSI 110 since March 2017 (bought it brand new), one of the last of the 1.2s before they switched to the 1.0 3 pot. Its got almost 20,000 on the clock now.
For a 1.2 the engine is remarkably flexible but very long geared, for example if you're doing 60 in sixth you need to drop to fourth to get any usable torque for an overtake for instance.
I went from a 12 plate 1.6 CRDI Hyundai i30 to the Fabia as I do about 11k a year and wasn't seeing much benefit of the black pump. The TSI I find is very weather dependent in terms of fuel economy - I get around 48mpg in summer but about 40-42 in winter.
The best small turbo engines I've come across are the Suzuki Boosterjet units - very flexible, economical and cheap to run. I know a few people who've had issues with the Ford Ecoboost engines but others who's cars have been faultless.
For a 1.2 the engine is remarkably flexible but very long geared, for example if you're doing 60 in sixth you need to drop to fourth to get any usable torque for an overtake for instance.
I went from a 12 plate 1.6 CRDI Hyundai i30 to the Fabia as I do about 11k a year and wasn't seeing much benefit of the black pump. The TSI I find is very weather dependent in terms of fuel economy - I get around 48mpg in summer but about 40-42 in winter.
The best small turbo engines I've come across are the Suzuki Boosterjet units - very flexible, economical and cheap to run. I know a few people who've had issues with the Ford Ecoboost engines but others who's cars have been faultless.
We've got the 1.2TSI 105PS in a Fabia, with the older 5-speed 'box. Economy is similar, mid/high-40s in summer or on a run, and low-40s in winter or with shorter trips. We've had 50mpg a couple of times on longer lower speed trips. It's refined enough for a 4-pot in a shopping car, and very turbo-diesel like in its response, wakes up about 1500rpm and doesn't reward you for pushing it much past 5000rpm.
Mikey G said:
I'm on about the likes of any 'eco' minded turbo engine seen in many medium sized cars. The Ford Ecoboost has probably been about the longest and rivals seem to be catching up with the technology, but what are they really like real world long term?
I'm looking to change as I normally do every 2 years or so and in doing so possibly ditch the diesel. Currently do an average of 18k miles a year. I know they are boring to drive but can they better the 40mpg I currently get out of my 'performance' diesel?
Test drove a Kia Cee'd 1.4 turbo 138bhp today, found it a little noisy but pulls the car along ok. Computer showed an average of 35mpg over 6k miles but its normally driven by a salesman with the occasional test drive. I have spotted that Vauxhall also have a similair engine in the Astra with 150 bhp and claiming 50+ to the gallon, they just seem too optimistic.
A small petrol turbo will be half the car that your 6cyl merc is. Mpg might be a tad better but it wouldn’t be worth the performance sacrifice imo, especially when you are spending so much time in the car. I'm looking to change as I normally do every 2 years or so and in doing so possibly ditch the diesel. Currently do an average of 18k miles a year. I know they are boring to drive but can they better the 40mpg I currently get out of my 'performance' diesel?
Test drove a Kia Cee'd 1.4 turbo 138bhp today, found it a little noisy but pulls the car along ok. Computer showed an average of 35mpg over 6k miles but its normally driven by a salesman with the occasional test drive. I have spotted that Vauxhall also have a similair engine in the Astra with 150 bhp and claiming 50+ to the gallon, they just seem too optimistic.
We've got the new VW 1.5 TSi petrol in Mrs GP's Skoda Karoq and I've been pretty impressed with it. We've had car from new and have just ticked over 5000 miles. It pulls well, is responsive and plenty quick enough in the real world for a family car as I don't go mad when the kids are in the car. Economy is good, we see 37-38 around town and get 50mpg on a motorway run in Eco mode with the cruise in at 75-80mph. The cylinder deactivation works well and is seamless too.
Thanks all, some interesting comments
I know any replacement is going to be a considerable step back in quality and performance and thats what i'm finding difficult. 90% of the time i'm commuting to work so dont tend to use the performance unless i'm overtaking tractors
So its kind of wasted on me..
Jag_NE said:
A small petrol turbo will be half the car that your 6cyl merc is. Mpg might be a tad better but it wouldn’t be worth the performance sacrifice imo, especially when you are spending so much time in the car.
This is the thing, I very rarely keep any car longer than 2 years, 3 at most as I get bored with them. And the Merc is ticking so many boxes with the only negatives being its a diesel and the mileage has crept past 123k which means another year and it'll be over 140k. Since buying it I have been pretty much in negative equity on the loan but its getting to the crossover now where if I have a chance to break away from it all even I will. I know any replacement is going to be a considerable step back in quality and performance and thats what i'm finding difficult. 90% of the time i'm commuting to work so dont tend to use the performance unless i'm overtaking tractors
So its kind of wasted on me..We have a 1.6 n/a and 1.2 turbo version of the same car (similar output). The turbo engine is much quicker and more efficient than the bigger engine. Neither are particularly flexible, although as a biker I'm quite used to dropping a cog or two for a gradient.
I've had enough with modern diesels, they're probably fine when new, but they're inevitably going to clog up and start having expensive problems after a few years. My mum's diesel car was unfixable at 9 years old and 50,000 miles. Worth getting on a lease or selling every two years if you do a high mileage though.
I've had enough with modern diesels, they're probably fine when new, but they're inevitably going to clog up and start having expensive problems after a few years. My mum's diesel car was unfixable at 9 years old and 50,000 miles. Worth getting on a lease or selling every two years if you do a high mileage though.
kieranblenk said:
I've had a Fabia 1.2 TSI 110 since March 2017 (bought it brand new), one of the last of the 1.2s before they switched to the 1.0 3 pot. Its got almost 20,000 on the clock now.
My missus has one of these, 110bhp four pot.Currently on 46mpg with no resets since April 2017
I tried the newer 3 cylinder one, didn't like it, made our 1.2 four pot feel refined so keeping that one for now.
And the newer car is £140 Rfl, ours is £20 Rfl, that pays for the servicing at £120 per year saving.
My daughter has a Vw Up with the lowest powered 1.0 triple.
That constantly returns 60mpg.
One day I thought I'd try to see if I could get the quoted mpg, managed 71mpg on a 40 mile run mostly through roadworks at 50mph.
The 3 cylinder in the Up doesn't feel refined but it suits the car if that makes sense?
It's built for absolute economy so sort of accept that it's down on a cylinder.
Swapped a 1.6 Ecoboost Focus for Mondeo 2.0 Diesel for two reasons. I don't like the Government telling me what not to do and the moaning from the kids in the back saying they want more legs room.
Incidentally, my wife's 1.0 Focus is a nimble and quick little hatch back. The only irritation is the flashing sign on the dash telling me to put it into 6th gear while driving at 30.
Incidentally, my wife's 1.0 Focus is a nimble and quick little hatch back. The only irritation is the flashing sign on the dash telling me to put it into 6th gear while driving at 30.
I’ve also got a 1.2 tsi 110 Fabia. It’s plenty powerful for everyday driving and felt much better to drive than the n/a competitors. I usually average over 45mpg with most of my driving at less than 40mph. On the motorway 50mpg is easy and I’ve even had it up to 75mpg over a 30 mile journey.
It’s been completely reliable for 2 years and 24k miles with literally nothing going wrong.
It’s been completely reliable for 2 years and 24k miles with literally nothing going wrong.
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