big car little engine

[ChinaTom]

I absolutely need to know what a 1.4 Skoda Superb drives like. Anyone know?Also, I have been arsing around with the "Build your own Volvo" bit again (kind of considering a new C30 this year) and have found it possible to spend £36,568 on an S80 with a 1.6 diesel (OK, options galore). Who in their right mind is going to part with even the basic £21.5k for a S80 1.6 diesel? Would it move? The only person to buy this will be the one who thinks it's cool to have the trip meter naturally reset back to 000 again before he needs to fill up.

[Pete-M]

I absolutely need to know what a 1.4 Skoda Superb drives like. Anyone know?Also, I have been arsing around with the "Build your own Volvo" bit again (kind of considering a new C30 this year) and have found it possible to spend £36,568 on an S80 with a 1.6 diesel (OK, options galore). Who in their right mind is going to part with even the basic £21.5k for a S80 1.6 diesel? Would it move? The only person to buy this will be the one who thinks it's cool to have the trip meter naturally reset back to 000 again before he needs to fill up.

I knew a chap who had a Mk4 Cortina with a low compression 1.1 out of an Escort in. That was sl-o-o-o-o-o-o-w.Didn't know about the 1.4 Superb though.

[Milford Cubicle]

The 1.4 Superb has the trick TSI engine, 123bhp/148 lb-ft of torque, so it probably goes quite well.

[Station]

You could get a 1.4 SPi Vectra. Shitty car, shitty engine.

[Timewaster]

A mate bought a 1.1 Golf mk.1 from the local shite auction a few years ago. It (predictably) ran like a bag of nails which he assumed he could cure with the usual points, leads, plugs fettle.The hope was also that it would make it go at an aceptable speed rather than being overtaken by wildlife.He made it run sweetly, but would it go?No, frankly it would be quicker to walk. Carb stripped off and cleaned, brakes checked for binding, checking for anything he could to cure it.Turned out the problem was the 850 Polo engine that someone had previously fitted!! Back to the auction..........

[Station]

Oh My God, 850!

[Negative Creep]

1.3 in the Sierra must be pretty grim........

[dollywobbler]

In some markets, you could get the Citroen BX with a 1.1!Barkas vans are pretty enormous for a 992cc motor.

[Minimad5]

1.3 Capri ... surely it wouldnt peel the skin off moldy milk ?

[Dukestar25]

Montego 1.3L orPeugeot 405 1.4 Both embarassingly slow IMO...

[retrogeezer]

My dad had a Sierra Sapphire with a 1.6 engine and that was gutless.

[Dukestar25]

My dad had a Sierra Sapphire with a 1.6 engine and that was gutless.

It wasn't the 'Laser' model from circa 1990 was it? These for some reason were engineered for economy over performance and, predictably enough, achieved neither...

[Albert Ross]

Don't forget the 1600 Pinto Granada for the European markets.....and the 1300 Mk3 Cortina Estates....BMW 518 Auto anyone?

[garethj]

Barkas vans are pretty enormous for a 992cc motor.

But that's a 2 stroke engine. Twice as many power strokes per revolution means (almost) twice the power as a 4 stroke.

[Richard]

Didn't some markets get a 1100 Sierra?

[wuvvum]

Germany got the Mk2 Escort with a sub-1-litre engine. I think they did the early '80s Passat as a 1.3, although we never got that here. What I did have once was a B-plate Mk2 Golf with a 1043cc engine - that was actually surprisingly nippy as it was so low-geared.Going back to the VW 1.4 TSI engine - I still reckon the most incongruous application of that engine is in the Tiguan - surely a big(gish) 4x4 needs a big, meaty, torquey engine, not a hairdryer that relies on half a dozen assorted blowers to make its power?

[wuvvum]

Barkas vans are pretty enormous for a 992cc motor.

But that's a 2 stroke engine. Twice as many power strokes per revolution means (almost) twice the power as a 4 stroke.

Having driven Bodieanddoyle from Retrorides' Wartburg, it doesn't work quite like that... It goes OK for what it is, but it feels more like a 1.3 than a nearly-2-litre lump. Although he reckons it'll go better once he's fitted an expansion exhaust to it...

[retrogeezer]

My dad had a Sierra Sapphire with a 1.6 engine and that was gutless.

It wasn't the 'Laser' model from circa 1990 was it? These for some reason were engineered for economy over performance and, predictably enough, achieved neither...

It may well have been, it was very basic that I do remember. He didn't keep it long.

[Dead_E23]

BMW 518 Auto anyone?

No thanks. My Dad had one. It was glacially slow, but had the most powerful brakes of any car I've ever driven and seemed to be mechanically almost indestructible. Alarming snap oversteer too - mmmm.

[r.welfare]

I've driven a BMW 316i auto (E36). Glacial ain't the word. Horrible gearbox too, with incredibly slow/jerky changes - I told my mate to walk away, but he still bought it.VAG can't seem to build the 1.4TSI quick enough, my dad got quoted something like 8 months' delivery on a Golf Plus, so chose a Qashqai instead. Very popular with company car drivers due to loooow CO2, particularly with the DSG (which needs both clutches doing every 40k, apparently).

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

My dad's just bought a Golf with the 1.4 TSI. He had to wait about five months. I've not driven it, but he traded down from a 2.0 Turbo Laguna, and is happy with the performance.

[Torsten2001]

I've driven the 1.6 Diesel C30 over distance and it's a sparkling performer, not too economical if you hoof it though!

[whitevanman]

Now my dodgy memory may be worse than usual........but I seem to remember reading that the Mk3 Cortina came with 1100 Kents as taxis in some Caribean Island or other......MOAR POWER

[r.welfare]

I heard it was the Mk2, and it was a taxi driver special for Greece or summat, 1.1 Kent as you say.How about a 1.1 Mk1 Scirocco, or a 1.2 (presumably the same engine as in the Nova/early Astra?) Manta - why were we denied such beauties?!

[Rocket88]

I absolutely need to know what a 1.4 Skoda Superb drives like. Anyone know?

 

Yup. Equivalent of about a good "old money" 2 litre [in fact, a lot better, although a lttle lacking in torque]

[Jon]

IIRC , years ago (at least 5 or 6) in the Reader's Cars section of PC mag there was an old guy from Italy who had owned one of those MK2 Escorts from new - it was a 4 door and had an absurdly small engine, like 800cc.... I think it stemmed from the cc-related taxation classes in Italy. I think it also had slightly different steel wheels.I also remember that the at the launch of the Fiat Doblo car version you could specify a 1.2 model. And the same with the MK4 Astra hatches, despite it not being an option (in the UK at least) for the MK3.

[Father Ted]

I also remember that the at the launch of the Fiat Doblo car version you could specify a 1.2 model. .

Here ya go - a wheelchair accesible one too

[hammy]

1.3 Capri, 1.3 Sierra, 1.3 Montego, 1.1 Escort (Mk3/4) all spring to mind as underpowered examples

[scooters]

my old 1979 Volvo 244 DL auto saloon was about as tedious as you like to drice - the combo of the 2.1lt engine the crappy borg warner 3 speed with low ratios and the weight of the car all added up to an underpowerd car with worse MPG than an XJ6. Top whack was about 80mph and rest assured you did not want to go faster than that as the suspension in the older 244's was nowhere near as good as in the later 240 models.for modern generic GM shite I am using a top of the range Insignia 1.8 at the moment. Has all the toys - electric everything weighs a tonne but is chronically underpowered with the 1.8 petrol lump in it - in Tdi or Cdi form it is a quick and reasonable car - in petrol form with all that gubbins it is stick the cruise on at 70 and don't think about the outside lane type car!I've come to the conclusion in my motoring capers that power is king and consequently I usually drive what my late father used to describe as "fat bastard" cars, which is apt given my ability to dodge salad! Present fleet includes:1955 Slipt screen moggy1988 Daimler XJ401979 Daimler Sov1997 850 AWDI've another 1992 Daimler XJ40 turning up next week so the '88 one is up for grabs

[M'coli]

for modern generic GM shite I am using a top of the range Insignia 1.8 at the moment. Has all the toys - electric everything weighs a tonne but is chronically underpowered with the 1.8 petrol lump in it - in Tdi or Cdi form it is a quick and reasonable car - in petrol form with all that gubbins it is stick the cruise on at 70 and don't think about the outside lane type car!

I've driven one too and heartily agree, far too heavy a car for the engine, and what does it need 6 gears for? 5th is redundant, leave it in 6th and drop to 4th or third if you need to gather momentum. It did manage a cruise-controlled 43mpg on the run from Yorkshire to Brum and back, however.