Undesirable, uneconomical, unkillable? The 1.8 litre curse.

[pandamonium]

I was pondering this the other day, do we still come across cars that nobody wants, but are at least reliable? 

 

It would appear to me that 1.8 litre cars are the pariah of the automotive world, being not very sporty, but not economical either.

 

For instance, my ex drives a 2004 Astra 1.8 Automatic. It is shit on fuel, high insurance etc, not particularly fun or engaging to drive, but seems pretty bulletproof. 

 

Like this

 

 

 

Are there any others like this, where the 1.8 ends up being the forgotten hero?

 

Am I talking utter nonsense? (It happens occasionally)

[Jim Bell]

.

 

At least it's economical though.

[DVee8]

The latest Nissan Primera's were 1.8 petrol.I say latest the last cars  are around 12 years old.Big heavy car for a smallish engine.

 

I always thought the 1.5 was a strange engine size but this seems to be the way now.

[mk2_craig]

1.8 was some sort of company car tax threshold in the 1980s wasn't it? Hence the popularity of Cavaliers and Sierras in that engine size. Plus bigger stuff, wasn't there Granada and Carlton 1.8s? BMW 518 too

[sierraman]

Focus Mk1 1.8 another pointless engine size. Not to bad on fuel on the motorway but people want the 1.6 in this size.

[pandamonium]

Yeah, I'm referring to where they become undesirable as used cars, due to a stupid size engine.

 

I guess 2.0 cars fall in there too nowadays, as most cars are a lot heavier too.

[Jazoli]

.20180827_144936.jpg

 

At least it's economical though.

 

Snap

 

I like mine, but by god its dull, even compared to a diesel Bora.

 

It seems everyone wants 1.2 litre petrols or 'loking 4 a cheep car, must b deasel m8'

 

The amount of wanted ads I see on FB and the like saying the above, people have been brainwashed and don't even consider a 1.8 Avensis (for example) as they believe they are uneconomical, even though they are generally cheaper to buy, the fuel is cheaper, there's a lot less to go wrong and the fuel economy is similar to a diesel anyway, muppets.

[mercrocker]

The 1.8 version of the M102 that I have in the 190E is a bit pointless.   I gather as Mk2 Craig says that it dates back to that company car tax bracket which is I think why Mk2 Cavs were 1.8 instead of 2 litre to begin with.    

 

Its hard to compare 25 year old cars with each other but the 1.8 seems definitely to lose out over the 2.0 versions (I haven't tried a 2.3).    

 

To make matters worse MB saw fit to chuck a "1.8" badge on the boot lid 

[adw1977]

The list price for a 1.8 Sierra was the same as for the equivalent 1.6, which suggests they weren't very popular even when new!

[Kiltox]

1.8 auto Astra H has been deeply undesirable from new

 

Dirt cheap from 3 years old because Motability bought a metric fuck tonne of them

[Bren]

Small capcity V6's are pointless - just as expensive to run as their bigger engined siblings put power outputs comprarable to their smaller engined bretheren.

[Zelandeth]

Let's not forget that the 1.8 litre Sierra didn't have reliability on its side either given the tendency for them to eat their piston rings and valve stem oil seals unless meticulously maintained. We had one at about 60K miles that used nearly as much oil as petrol.

 

Granted...still drove perfectly!

[Ghosty]

318i.

[riek]

Focus Mk1 1.8 another pointless engine size. Not to bad on fuel on the motorway but people want the 1.6 in this size.

 

1.6 performance with 2.0 fuel economy. 

[MikeR]

1.8 Meriva

 

not only a Meriva but a 1,8 Meriva ....... with a Vauxhall badge as well

 

thirsty , clattery , shit steering , tinworm loving subframes , barge like handling and crap gearchange ..and more expensive to tax and insure

 

nothing a trip to the scrappies would not fix ....killed mine on a last holiday trip and scrapped it , never looked back

[GeordieInExile]

Small capcity V6's are pointless - just as expensive to run as their bigger engined siblings put power outputs comprarable to their smaller engined bretheren.

My 75 KV6 2.0 was a thirsty thing but my word was it smoooooooth.

[riek]

in the E46 3 Series, the three 6-pot petrols (320i, 325i, 330i) all have basically the same fuel economy figures. So why would you buy either of the two smaller ones?

[cort1977]

My Dad once had a 1.8 Carlton that was pretty unkillable until I wrapped it around a lamppost.  Sorry Dad.

[Snipes]

The Toyota vvt 1.8 should be alright at about 130bhp.

The lean-burn, pre vvt 1.8 7AFE made about 115, the same as higher tune 1600s.

[Split_Pin]

Economy of a 2 litre, performance of a 1.6.

[BorniteIdentity]

My 75 KV6 2.0 was a thirsty thing but my word was it smoooooooth.

The 2.0 is regarded by many to be smoother and superior to the 2.5. They are smashing little things.

[oldcars]

The list price for a 1.8 Sierra was the same as for the equivalent 1.6, which suggests they weren't very popular even when new!

My father got one for towing.

[Asimo]

I think much damage has been done to the Uk car market by this weird insistance on classifying engines by swept volume. FFS, just because it can be measured with a ruler!

Nobody cares, anywhere else in the world,* about the size of the holes in their engines. So many other details are more important and more interesting!

 

**Excluding the weird and distorted world of motorsport.

[Tamworthbay]

318i.

most of which aren’t 1.8s due to bmw’s Delightfully simple* product listing system.

[sierraman]

I’ve a 1.8 Mondeo, in fact I’ve had several, it’s quite good on fuel, not as quick obviously as the 2.0 but adequate enough for me.

[forddeliveryboy]

The list price for a 1.8 Sierra was the same as for the equivalent 1.6, which suggests they weren't very popular even when new!

I used to deliver Sierras all round the North and up to Scotland in the summer hols, the 1.6 was a bit slow, the 2.0 quick enough but thirsty, the 1.8 was as quick in real world driving and as economical as the 1.6. I seem to remember the 1.8s had better damping and received the latest little updates first.

 

Similarly, where a Passat or 80 was more than brisk enough with the 1.8 (and relatively lairy with K-Jetronic and the extra 20hp over the 90bhp carby ones), the 1.6s were flat and had to be rowed along with the gearlever.

[sierraman]

Cavalier 1.8i’s used to be a good deal as well, plenty quick enough and good on motorway.

[beko1987]

This is quite a touching thread, because Amy's 1.8 zafira

 

Is shit on fuel

Stinks of oil when hot

Rattles its tits off when cold

Under the rocker cover is a load of crusty smeggy oil crust

The oil filter was caving in on itself when I gave it a service

 

Yet it plods on quite happily! And has done for a long time, and hopefully will do for a long time yet! Reminds me, it's due an oil change soon...

[Cavcraft]

I was pondering this the other day, do we still come across cars that nobody wants, but are at least reliable? 

 

It would appear to me that 1.8 litre cars are the pariah of the automotive world, being not very sporty, but not economical either.

 

For instance, my ex drives a 2004 Astra 1.8 Automatic. It is shit on fuel, high insurance etc, not particularly fun or engaging to drive, but seems pretty bulletproof. 

 

Like this

astra..jpg

 

 

 

Are there any others like this, where the 1.8 ends up being the forgotten hero?

 

Am I talking utter nonsense? (It happens occasionally)

 

Astra H and automatic? That bullet proof bit isn't going to last long, I'm afraid.

[Richard]

I think much damage has been done to the Uk car market by this weird insistance on classifying engines by swept volume. FFS, just because it can be measured with a ruler!

Nobody cares, anywhere else in the world,* about the size of the holes in their engines. So many other details are more important and more interesting!

 

**Excluding the weird and distorted world of motorsport.

 

Ireland and Italy do, and I'm sure many other countries do too.