Can't stand all these buzzy little engines these days
Discussion
I just wanted to articulate some irritation I have that most cars these days seem to have these buzzy little sub 1600cc engines, often turbocharged to cover their size deficiencies
It seems only 5, or maybe 10, years ago that a least someone down your street or in the car park at work had an old V8 engined Rover, or a 10 year old 7 Series BMW, or maybe a tatty old V12 Jag. Even a Mondeo was considered to be a half reasonable everyday choice as it often had a 2 litre lump, & there was always a hotter version available to make it more interesting.
These days when I drive round the M25 on my way to work, I hardly ever see anything remotely interesting with respect to a car with a decent size engine, barring maybe the odd M3 or M5, or maybe an F-Type or older XK. Even those occasions seem very much an exception though - it was not that long ago when you would see something interesting like that most days but not anymore
I know all of the environmental & resultant taxation reasons that have caused these vehicles to disappear, but I just feel it is such a shame that nearly everyone is forced into some small engined insipid shopping trolley.
Only yesterday, I was looking at 3 year old Fiesta ST to introduce some interest into my commute but I just can't get motivated by it at all. The fact is I would like the prospect more if it was 2 litre normally aspirated
I know there are exceptions like V8 full fat Range Rovers, the occasional 911 & so on, & you can all no doubt come up with all manner of further exceptions to my rant, but I for one lament the days when some old 'geezer' in the house opposite was tinkering with his Triumph Stag or XJ6 on a Sunday afternoon so he could get to work on Monday.
Just wanted to get that off my chest, but what a shame 99% of people have boring little motors
It seems only 5, or maybe 10, years ago that a least someone down your street or in the car park at work had an old V8 engined Rover, or a 10 year old 7 Series BMW, or maybe a tatty old V12 Jag. Even a Mondeo was considered to be a half reasonable everyday choice as it often had a 2 litre lump, & there was always a hotter version available to make it more interesting.
These days when I drive round the M25 on my way to work, I hardly ever see anything remotely interesting with respect to a car with a decent size engine, barring maybe the odd M3 or M5, or maybe an F-Type or older XK. Even those occasions seem very much an exception though - it was not that long ago when you would see something interesting like that most days but not anymore
I know all of the environmental & resultant taxation reasons that have caused these vehicles to disappear, but I just feel it is such a shame that nearly everyone is forced into some small engined insipid shopping trolley.
Only yesterday, I was looking at 3 year old Fiesta ST to introduce some interest into my commute but I just can't get motivated by it at all. The fact is I would like the prospect more if it was 2 litre normally aspirated
I know there are exceptions like V8 full fat Range Rovers, the occasional 911 & so on, & you can all no doubt come up with all manner of further exceptions to my rant, but I for one lament the days when some old 'geezer' in the house opposite was tinkering with his Triumph Stag or XJ6 on a Sunday afternoon so he could get to work on Monday.
Just wanted to get that off my chest, but what a shame 99% of people have boring little motors
Edited by volvos60s60 on Saturday 20th January 14:39
volvos60s60 said:
I just wanted to articulate some irritation I have that most cars these days seem to have these buzzy little sub 1600cc engines, often turbocharged to cover their size deficiencies
Yeh, it was so much better back in the 70s and 80s when yer standard-issue repmobile Cortina or Sierra was 1600 (or even 1300), yer standard Escort 1300 (or even 1100), yer average Fiesta 1100 (or even 950)...Oh, hold on...
TooMany2cvs said:
Red 4 said:
I do wonder about the longevity of the engines/ turbos though.
How long's the lease? Job jobbed.
TooMany2cvs said:
Red 4 said:
I do wonder about the longevity of the engines/ turbos though.
How long's the lease? Job jobbed.I don't see how a 3 cylinder 1.0 turbo will be more reliable than say a 4 pot 2.0 n/a engine though, as another poster said.
The less stress on the engine/ ancillaries the better I would have thought.
Willy Nilly said:
TooMany2cvs said:
Red 4 said:
I do wonder about the longevity of the engines/ turbos though.
How long's the lease? Job jobbed.Turbo petrols have been in production cars for longer. Corvair Monza, 2002, 911, 99? All predate Merc's introduction of a turbo-diesel S-class in the late 70s. Kawasaki were putting turbos on bikes at about the same time.
If you look back wider than cars, turbocharged aero engines predated turbocharged trucks.
Red 4 said:
TooMany2cvs said:
Red 4 said:
I do wonder about the longevity of the engines/ turbos though.
How long's the lease? Job jobbed.I don't see how a 3 cylinder 1.0 turbo will be more reliable than say a 2.0 n/a engine though, as another poster said.
The less stress on the engine/ ancillaries the better I would have thought. Generally.
Must say I agree with the OP. I am usually found on rural B roads but on the rare occasion I stray onto a motorway I am astounded by the lack of 'interesting' cars.
It just seems to cement the fact that practically nobody takes an interest or enjoyment from their cars now.
With that said though big engined cars are very expensive to run. I have been car searching for quite a while and was very tempted by a 350z but the high and seemingly ever increasing tax contributed to putting me off. Plus at least with my 2.0 turbo when you are not driving like your arse hair is on fire you can return 30+ MPG.
I dread the day when we can't wring out a petrol engine, I know some electric cars are capable of taking the piss out of ICE cars but they just aren't as fun. All my opinion of course and my hard hat is on ready
.
It just seems to cement the fact that practically nobody takes an interest or enjoyment from their cars now.
With that said though big engined cars are very expensive to run. I have been car searching for quite a while and was very tempted by a 350z but the high and seemingly ever increasing tax contributed to putting me off. Plus at least with my 2.0 turbo when you are not driving like your arse hair is on fire you can return 30+ MPG.
I dread the day when we can't wring out a petrol engine, I know some electric cars are capable of taking the piss out of ICE cars but they just aren't as fun. All my opinion of course and my hard hat is on ready
. I live on a small street, with ordinary folk. They buy cars to travel around the area, and rarely do any distance. Most of them do less than 5k miles per year. Cars are, to them, something they need, to get about in. Nothing more.
Therefore, when I look out of the window, from L>R we have a Corsa, a 206, a Jazz, a Fiesta Fusion, an original C4 Picasso & a Megane. Most have been owned for years & years (Tommy bought the Picasso new in 2004, replacing the K-reg Astra he had before that - for example).
Then there’s me. My current two cars have more engine cc than the rest of the street combined. They all think I’m the weird one. They’re probably right.
The reason you don’t see many ‘interesting’ engines these days is that most people just don’t care. A car is a necessary spend, but it’s one they spend as little as possible on.
>99% of the U K population will never read a thread on pistonheads, so this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
The thing I think you’re actually bemoaning, (and as an enthusiast, so should we all), is the increasing homogenization of the car. FWD for the packaging benefits, lozenge shaped SUV for the aerodynamic efficiency, while being easy to get in/out, and a 4pot turbo for power. The 4-pot to be replaced by hybrid/full electric in due course.
Where’s the rotaries, the flat fours, the v6’s, straight 6 everyman cars? - they all got killed off by emissions legislation, as the market for them was so small ( we’re back to people not caring), it wasn’t worth the investment in making the engine comply.
TL/DR - enthuiasts aren’t sufficiently numerous as a %age of customers to make it worthwhile for the manufacturer to develop anything special. (Generalisation).
Therefore, when I look out of the window, from L>R we have a Corsa, a 206, a Jazz, a Fiesta Fusion, an original C4 Picasso & a Megane. Most have been owned for years & years (Tommy bought the Picasso new in 2004, replacing the K-reg Astra he had before that - for example).
Then there’s me. My current two cars have more engine cc than the rest of the street combined. They all think I’m the weird one. They’re probably right.
The reason you don’t see many ‘interesting’ engines these days is that most people just don’t care. A car is a necessary spend, but it’s one they spend as little as possible on.
>99% of the U K population will never read a thread on pistonheads, so this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
The thing I think you’re actually bemoaning, (and as an enthusiast, so should we all), is the increasing homogenization of the car. FWD for the packaging benefits, lozenge shaped SUV for the aerodynamic efficiency, while being easy to get in/out, and a 4pot turbo for power. The 4-pot to be replaced by hybrid/full electric in due course.
Where’s the rotaries, the flat fours, the v6’s, straight 6 everyman cars? - they all got killed off by emissions legislation, as the market for them was so small ( we’re back to people not caring), it wasn’t worth the investment in making the engine comply.
TL/DR - enthuiasts aren’t sufficiently numerous as a %age of customers to make it worthwhile for the manufacturer to develop anything special. (Generalisation).
volvos60s60 said:
Just wanted to get that off my chest, but what a shame 99% of people have boring little motors
99% of the driving population don't care about what engine is in their car.Have you ever driven any of these engines you despise? I've had a few rentals with small turbo charged engines and they've been quite fun to drive, or at least certainly no less than their larger NA variants/predecessors.
There's a possibility I have to downsize from my 3.0 in the near future and I'll probably go small and light; quite looking forward to it, if I need to do it.
Bobbing along the motorway the other day, and the wife spots a BMW M4. She points at it and says "that looks fast, how big is the engine?" I told her it was a 3 litre straight six, with two turbos.
She screwed her nose up at that, and replied "can't be that fast, then. Your car has a bigger engine than that!"
I spent the next five minutes trying to explain that a BMW M4 would eat my L322 V8 Rangie alive on anything smoother than an off-road course, but she wasn't having it. As of now, the BMW M4 just isn't all that impressive to my missus.
There you go, OP - you have someone in your corner!
She screwed her nose up at that, and replied "can't be that fast, then. Your car has a bigger engine than that!"
I spent the next five minutes trying to explain that a BMW M4 would eat my L322 V8 Rangie alive on anything smoother than an off-road course, but she wasn't having it. As of now, the BMW M4 just isn't all that impressive to my missus.
There you go, OP - you have someone in your corner!
Rather have an N/A 2 litre Fiesta ST than the 1.6 turbo ? I can understand the preference for a honking great V8 but the later Turbo ST is leagues ahead of the earlier 2 litre N/A, almost 50 bhp, a lot more torque, faster and more economical plus loads of scope for more power.
Trouble is with V8, usually attached to a big car with an auto gearbox, great for long distances, but for me, am preffering a boosty turbo four and a manual box.
Trouble is with V8, usually attached to a big car with an auto gearbox, great for long distances, but for me, am preffering a boosty turbo four and a manual box.
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