Info on Engines in Today's New Cars
- Thread starter Sierra048
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This, but swap Buick and Ford, imo
Wow! So many replies with great information. Very much appreciated. I want to respond to everyone but I lack the time right now. All of your comments will be considered. Quickly, I wasn't aware the Buick was made in China. Not a whole lot that isn't anymore. Turbos? Still unsure after all of the comments. I'll have t do a lot of research on them. Our Frontier has not seen a dealership since the day we bought it. Hybrids I know nothing about and never considered one. Again, more research needed. As to the Sienna, my wife wants a mid-sized SUV. She's had a minivan. Nothing against the Sienna, I'm sure it's a great vehicle.
I also forgot to list another vehicle we looked at. The Toyota Rav 4 with the 2.5l, 203 hp. Wife wasn't wowed by it but it is more along the lines of what we'll eventually end up with.
Please keep the comments coming as I value your opinions.
I also forgot to list another vehicle we looked at. The Toyota Rav 4 with the 2.5l, 203 hp. Wife wasn't wowed by it but it is more along the lines of what we'll eventually end up with.
Please keep the comments coming as I value your opinions.
Yeah I thought pretty hard about that. Those two are pretty interchangeable but the issue with cracking ring lands on the earlier LTG's really irked me. My 2012 Regal GS has the earlier LHU 2.0 turbo with 270 HP and 295 TQ. Very similar numbers to the LTG with none of the same issues that the LTG's have dealt with.
the Buick uses the LSY 2.0 Turbo I believe...active fuel management and start/stop if that's important to you as well...
the GF's LTG in her 2013 Malibu 2.0 Turbo hasn't had any issues but it has had full synthetic oil (even when it was spec'd for synthetic blend) and premium, 93 octane fuel almost since new...
Bill
the GF's LTG in her 2013 Malibu 2.0 Turbo hasn't had any issues but it has had full synthetic oil (even when it was spec'd for synthetic blend) and premium, 93 octane fuel almost since new...
Bill
IMO gas mileage is going to be a major concern going forward.
One thing that you should be aware of on the turbocharged vehicles... in the real world with real traffic and real drivers, the city MPG is not going to be as good as the EPA rating would suggest. It is the number one complaint that I hear from owners. The city MPG can be downright miserable if you keep your foot in it too much.
As others have advised, if I were you I would be looking closely at the Hybrids. Whatever you buy now will likely see $6/gal+ gas.
As far as Toyotas are concerned, above the Rav4 you have the slightly larger and fancier Venza, your wife might like it better than the Rav. Above that you have the very well regarded mid-size Highlander. On the Highlander you have a choice of either a strong, reliable, and durable NA 3.5L V/6 with a gear-type automatic transmission, or a Hybrid powertrain that gets 35ish MPG in the real world (but I have heard reports of 40+ MPG). There is another thread here where new Venza owners are reporting 45 mpg on their first tanks (before the vehicles are even broken-in).
One thing that you should be aware of on the turbocharged vehicles... in the real world with real traffic and real drivers, the city MPG is not going to be as good as the EPA rating would suggest. It is the number one complaint that I hear from owners. The city MPG can be downright miserable if you keep your foot in it too much.
As others have advised, if I were you I would be looking closely at the Hybrids. Whatever you buy now will likely see $6/gal+ gas.
As far as Toyotas are concerned, above the Rav4 you have the slightly larger and fancier Venza, your wife might like it better than the Rav. Above that you have the very well regarded mid-size Highlander. On the Highlander you have a choice of either a strong, reliable, and durable NA 3.5L V/6 with a gear-type automatic transmission, or a Hybrid powertrain that gets 35ish MPG in the real world (but I have heard reports of 40+ MPG). There is another thread here where new Venza owners are reporting 45 mpg on their first tanks (before the vehicles are even broken-in).
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Last year we test drove a 2017-2018 (can't remember 100% now) Toyota Rav4 Hybrid. Amazing vehicle, on extended test drive fuel economy averaged close to 40mpg, and never dropped below 31mpg, even under hard acceleration. Adaptive cruise control and lane departure warning were a nice touch and worked flawlessly. Interior style was really cool as well, I may include a couple pics similar to the one we test drove.
In the end we decided to go with a 2012 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. While older, it was in better condition overall, $2k cheaper, a much more powerful V6, and we could live with the 27mpg instead of 40mpg that RAV4 was providing. Highlander is a lot more comfortable suspension and interior wise. Kind of like going from Ikea futon to a La-Z-Boy chair. But overall the RAV4 Hybrid was an awesome vehicle, a great value, just not right for us.
On Monday we ventured down to a busy area a few hours south of us to do some Christmas shopping. The area was saturated with new car dealers so we decided to try and test drive any of the vehicles on our list that might be available, except for the Envision which we have decided to pass on.
First one we test drove was the Mazda CX5 Grand Touring model. We thought it was ok. Wasn't real excited about the 4 cylinder engine. Wife thought is was a little smaller than what she wanted. Dealer wasn't tacking on an ADM. What they were doing was adding a few useless dealer added options and charging $1500 - $1600 each for them. Salesperson admitted they were doing that to give customers who might be interested the feeling they were at least getting something for the jacked up price instead of an in your face ADM.
Second vehicle we test drove was the 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe. This one had the 2.5L turbo (281 hp). It was plenty powerful enough. The size was right and the wife liked it. The only thing we didn't like about it was the airplane cockpit like feel to the console area. I requested a test drive in the regular non-turbo model (191 hp) so I could compare the two drivetrains. The non-turbo didn't appeal to us at all. Sounded kind of buzzy and didn't like the 2.5L non-turbo pushing 4000 lbs of car around. All new Santa Fes had a $5000 ADM added to MSRP.
Third vehicle we test drove was a 2021 Ford Edge with the 2.0L turbo. Wife really liked this one for it's size, power, comfort and the way it drove. Plenty of room with the seats folded down for cargo. 2.0L turbo pushed it along quite nicely. I was surprised the Ford dealer worked off of MSRP without an ADM and offered a $1000 discount and 0% financing. Something to think about should we move forward.
The fourth and final test drive was the 2022 Nissan Pathfinder with the 284 hp V6. Drove really nice with plenty of get up and go. Came with a third row seat which we really don't need and would probably keep it down for storage space. Wife liked this one a lot too but had worries that it might be a little bit bigger than we need. This Nissan dealer had a $5000 ADM on top of MSRP.
So quite the education in today's new car market. Not sure what we'll do. Probably just wait for things to settle down.
First one we test drove was the Mazda CX5 Grand Touring model. We thought it was ok. Wasn't real excited about the 4 cylinder engine. Wife thought is was a little smaller than what she wanted. Dealer wasn't tacking on an ADM. What they were doing was adding a few useless dealer added options and charging $1500 - $1600 each for them. Salesperson admitted they were doing that to give customers who might be interested the feeling they were at least getting something for the jacked up price instead of an in your face ADM.
Second vehicle we test drove was the 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe. This one had the 2.5L turbo (281 hp). It was plenty powerful enough. The size was right and the wife liked it. The only thing we didn't like about it was the airplane cockpit like feel to the console area. I requested a test drive in the regular non-turbo model (191 hp) so I could compare the two drivetrains. The non-turbo didn't appeal to us at all. Sounded kind of buzzy and didn't like the 2.5L non-turbo pushing 4000 lbs of car around. All new Santa Fes had a $5000 ADM added to MSRP.
Third vehicle we test drove was a 2021 Ford Edge with the 2.0L turbo. Wife really liked this one for it's size, power, comfort and the way it drove. Plenty of room with the seats folded down for cargo. 2.0L turbo pushed it along quite nicely. I was surprised the Ford dealer worked off of MSRP without an ADM and offered a $1000 discount and 0% financing. Something to think about should we move forward.
The fourth and final test drive was the 2022 Nissan Pathfinder with the 284 hp V6. Drove really nice with plenty of get up and go. Came with a third row seat which we really don't need and would probably keep it down for storage space. Wife liked this one a lot too but had worries that it might be a little bit bigger than we need. This Nissan dealer had a $5000 ADM on top of MSRP.
So quite the education in today's new car market. Not sure what we'll do. Probably just wait for things to settle down.
I’m curious about this. Was it the power? The 4 cylinder engine is the standard now. Is she looking for a V6? That would change the parameters quite a bit.
Yes, for sure it is, but people are reporting all kinds of funky issues with their Pathfinders with the 9spd over on a Pathfinder board I frequent. I'd imagine it's more of a Nissan thing than ZF though.
Some have been in the shop for weeks or longer. Weird shifting, not going into gear, etc. It's making the CVT equipped 2013-2021 models seem like a cream puff so far.
Wife had no issue with the power. That one was on me. Her concern was it might be a little small for her liking. Everything else was fine. I hadn't driven a four cylinder engine since the late 70's. Newly wedded with little money at the time, I bought a 4 cylinder economy car until we could get on our feet. Kept that car three months and got rid of that gutless POS like a bad habit. Swore I'd never have another one, and haven't to this day. I know the trend is moving towards practically everything having four cylinder engines. The turbo models we drove did seem to provide adequate HP but come with the complexity associated with it. If a non-turbo 4 cylinder was my only choice in engines, the CX5 would be a strong contender. Sorry for not explaining this better earlier. In any case, the deal breaker, should we have liked it enough to try and buy it, was the ludicrous ADM in the form of worthless add on's.
Yep.That's Nissan's VQ35 engine, isn't it ? Pretty reliable....
Ford's 2.0 turbo is a very long lasting engine. With proper maintenance, a good synthetic oil and frequent oil changes, it will likely last forever. It's become the engine of choice for some fleets.
Here is an interesting teardown of the 2.0 with 170K miles. Absolutely nothing worn or wrong with the engine. It had been in an accident that broke the crank pulley off.
Here is an interesting teardown of the 2.0 with 170K miles. Absolutely nothing worn or wrong with the engine. It had been in an accident that broke the crank pulley off.
Thanks Cujet. Extremely happy to hear that. The Ford Edge with this engine has turned out to be her favorite after test driving all the vehicles we did last week. Going to go to the dealership today and make an offer on one of the two new Edges they have in stock. Maybe they will be looking to move one before the new year. If not, no big deal.
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I was just talking to my brother-in-law about this engine the other day, he works at a Ford dealer and swears by this thing. Says it actually gives good power, fuel economy, and reliability. Interesting. I think they’re putting this engine in almost everything thing now, which probably is a good sign. I’d like to do a little more research on it - there’s some Ford techs that I think talk about it on YouTube...and if I remember, the oil change interval is very important with these. And that’s the rub if you’re buying used. A lot of these engines have probably been used pretty hard as family haulers, and probably not maintained all that well. So, careful investigation would have to be required when buying used, I’d think. But interesting that I’ve heard about this engine twice now in less than a few days.
I really like the eCVT and Hybrid combo in my Prime. It feels like my Jeep/HEMI combo did with torque all over the place, and averages 55mpg or so in my drive cycle. It's far superior to my CX5 with it's 2.5 turbo in every way as far as a powerplant goes. It's dual injected, so to avoid carbon build up issues, as well. Many DI engines have transitioned to a dual design in later iterations/revisions.
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Just thought I'd update this thread. The wife and I talked last weekend and decided that we would make an attempt to purchase the Ford Edge we test drove before Christmas since it was still available. It was the vehicle my wife like the most out of all the vehicles we test drove. On Monday we visited the dealership again, test drove the vehicle one last time, and sat down with the salesman to see if we could make it happen. We couldn't make the deal that day. Throughout the next few days we were able to negotiate a deal that was acceptable to us. We picked it up late Thursday afternoon. I like it and the wife is ecstatic. This dealer worked from MSRP with no ADM. It was a better deal than I had anticipated which is why we purchased it. This process was the most relaxed, non-combative new car purchase, from negotiating through finance, that I have ever experienced.
The car we bought is loaded with tech. We were overwhelmed. The salesman did his best to explain the tech to us but we left there a little befuddled. Fortunately this dealership has an employee who's main function is to explain technology to new buyers. He was off Thursday so we have an appointment on Monday to meet with him and try to get a grasp of all the features this car has to offer. I mention this because this purchase is the first in my lifetime where I purchased an extended service plan just to cover all the tech this car has along with the additional complexity of the turbo.
I appreciate all who offered suggestions and advice. I never thought we would buy a new car during this time of tight inventories and pricing shenanigans that we experienced last week when test driving multiple brands of vehicles.
The car we bought is loaded with tech. We were overwhelmed. The salesman did his best to explain the tech to us but we left there a little befuddled. Fortunately this dealership has an employee who's main function is to explain technology to new buyers. He was off Thursday so we have an appointment on Monday to meet with him and try to get a grasp of all the features this car has to offer. I mention this because this purchase is the first in my lifetime where I purchased an extended service plan just to cover all the tech this car has along with the additional complexity of the turbo.
I appreciate all who offered suggestions and advice. I never thought we would buy a new car during this time of tight inventories and pricing shenanigans that we experienced last week when test driving multiple brands of vehicles.
Is this a trend for Nissan, do you think ? Away from Jatco CVTs ?
