oilhammer
Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Subjective. I would call it excessive, yes. People here often refer to the ALH as "slow", with its meager 90hp. Yet they can cruise along just fine at triple digit speeds, can move along just fine with traffic. That same platform in Europe got at least two engines that were only 75hp, the 1.9L SDI and the 1.6L gas engine.
I've driven nearly a half million miles in a car with only 52hp , and had one with 48hp, and I won't even tell you about all my rear engined dubs I have owned. They all did the job they needed to do.
Don't get me wrong, a powerful engine is a rush, no doubt, and I like the thrill as much or more than a lot of people. But I am also realistic and know that I can only go so fast, and only accelerate so fast, due to road conditions, traffic, laws, etc. I also realize that in certain cases, a more powerful engine is less stressed, which means it will be more durable, and can not be as inefficient as you'd think in comparison. But to talk to some people, you'd think that it simply is "impossible" to drive a car that doesn't have some impressive tire smoking power. Truck buyers are the worst, which is why we have all these tiny wang mouth breathers buying up big pickups like crazy. And most of them scoff at the thought of a 300hp V6 ( yet V8s from just a few years ago barely made 200hp). So what gives? What changed? Something in our water?
In the end, I stand by my claim that we (Americans) only get the engines that are on the higher end of the output scale in models that are sold elsewhere. Look it up, pick anything that is sold globally or at least in a significant market outside North America. They get manual transmissions, too.
Ford Transit:
Standard engine for us: 3.7L gas V6, optional engine 3.2L diesel I5 and a TWIN TURBO 3.5L gas V6. All automatic.
Other markets: gas and diesel (mostly diesel) 4 cyl engines starting at 2.0L displacement, and of course bolted to a proper manual gearbox. The gas V6s are JUST for us.
Fiat Doblo (sold here as the Ram Promaster City):
Standard engine for us, and the ONLY engine: 2.4L gas, bolted to (you guessed it) a slushbox.
Other markets get a choice of 1.3L, 1.4L, 1.6L, 2.0L gas and diesel engines... and of course, that wonderful manual transmission.
Ford is killing off the Focus for us, but we only got the big gas engines save for the 1.0L turbo I3. Other markets will not only continue to get the car, they also get choices of gas and diesel engines of sizes ranging from 1.5L to 2.0L.
Toyota Yaris:
When we could get it (we no longer can... we just get the Yaris iA, which is a reskinned Mazda):
US market: 1.5L gas engine. That's it.
Other markets: gas and diesel from 1.0L to 1.8L (yes, they DID get a more powerful version, but also several much LESS powerful). But while on the topic of Yaris, the Mazda supplied version has three engine choices globally, a 1.3L gas, 1.5L gas, and 1.5L diesel. Which ONE do you think we get? Yep, the biggest gas engine.
I've driven nearly a half million miles in a car with only 52hp , and had one with 48hp, and I won't even tell you about all my rear engined dubs I have owned. They all did the job they needed to do.
Don't get me wrong, a powerful engine is a rush, no doubt, and I like the thrill as much or more than a lot of people. But I am also realistic and know that I can only go so fast, and only accelerate so fast, due to road conditions, traffic, laws, etc. I also realize that in certain cases, a more powerful engine is less stressed, which means it will be more durable, and can not be as inefficient as you'd think in comparison. But to talk to some people, you'd think that it simply is "impossible" to drive a car that doesn't have some impressive tire smoking power. Truck buyers are the worst, which is why we have all these tiny wang mouth breathers buying up big pickups like crazy. And most of them scoff at the thought of a 300hp V6 ( yet V8s from just a few years ago barely made 200hp). So what gives? What changed? Something in our water?
In the end, I stand by my claim that we (Americans) only get the engines that are on the higher end of the output scale in models that are sold elsewhere. Look it up, pick anything that is sold globally or at least in a significant market outside North America. They get manual transmissions, too.
Ford Transit:
Standard engine for us: 3.7L gas V6, optional engine 3.2L diesel I5 and a TWIN TURBO 3.5L gas V6. All automatic.
Other markets: gas and diesel (mostly diesel) 4 cyl engines starting at 2.0L displacement, and of course bolted to a proper manual gearbox. The gas V6s are JUST for us.
Fiat Doblo (sold here as the Ram Promaster City):
Standard engine for us, and the ONLY engine: 2.4L gas, bolted to (you guessed it) a slushbox.
Other markets get a choice of 1.3L, 1.4L, 1.6L, 2.0L gas and diesel engines... and of course, that wonderful manual transmission.
Ford is killing off the Focus for us, but we only got the big gas engines save for the 1.0L turbo I3. Other markets will not only continue to get the car, they also get choices of gas and diesel engines of sizes ranging from 1.5L to 2.0L.
Toyota Yaris:
When we could get it (we no longer can... we just get the Yaris iA, which is a reskinned Mazda):
US market: 1.5L gas engine. That's it.
Other markets: gas and diesel from 1.0L to 1.8L (yes, they DID get a more powerful version, but also several much LESS powerful). But while on the topic of Yaris, the Mazda supplied version has three engine choices globally, a 1.3L gas, 1.5L gas, and 1.5L diesel. Which ONE do you think we get? Yep, the biggest gas engine.
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