Opinions on Tiny Turbo Charged Engines?

[E365]

I had a 2015 Focus with the 1.0 EcoBoost “Fox” engine and the Getrag 6-speed manual. Loved the whole package, but sold it because I needed AWD.

Would do about 47 MPG at 70 MPH. Saw tanks over 50 MPG a few times. The entire car was flawless for the 5 years and 90,000 miles I owned it.

 

[antonmnster]

243,000 on my “fragile” n54 bmw. Turbos were done at 20k for wastegate rattle. So only 223,000 on the current ones. And 15 years old.

 

[Bailes1992]

Anyone here own a vehicle with the Ford EcoBoost 995cc 3 banger?

They're everywhere in the UK. They're referred to as the 'Ecoboom' in Ford Circles. They seem to blow up regularly and more recently the 'belt-in-oil' timing belts have been falling to bits, blocking up the oil pickup and bye bye engine.

 

[Pew]

Anyone here own a vehicle with the Ford EcoBoost 995cc 3 banger?

I did. I never had issues with the turbo/longblock itself, just the stuff around it. Then the timing belt snapped but 230K on any timing belt is a bad idea I learned after.

 

[BLND1]

My big VW Atlas is toted around quite nicely by the 2.0T. Maybe not as small as some others mentioned but it is a big vehicle in comparison.

Zero concerns and seems to be a perfectly decent platform.

 

[ctechbob]

I've posted it elsewhere, but the boosted 2.3L in my Ranger, in my opinion, punches way above its weight class. I've now had the opportunity to tow decently heavy with it a few times and at no point was I hurting for power. At normal highway speeds it returns 23+ mpg, more if I were to drive a little slower (physics y0).

I don't really have concerns about longevity on it. I suspect I will keep the truck 200K or so and have a warranty that covers it to 150k. In my opinion, if something is going to break, likely the turbo, it will do it under warranty. I'm doing what I can to keep DI valve deposits down with 5k oil changes and CRC GDI cleaner about every 10k. The motor has an external water pump and timing chain, so I'm expecting the pump to be easy to replace and the chain to go the distance. Plus it is a motor that has been around in boosted form across a couple of different platforms, so it should have had a large number of the big bugs ironed out by now.

Will it be as good as my non-VCM J-Series Honda motors.....umm, that's a tall ask, but I think with proper care I can come close.

 

[Oily_Thing]

There's no replacement for displacement.

 

[Vercingetorix]

Wasn’t there an Italian manufacturer (Lancia?) that ignited the air/fuel mixture inside the turbocharger?

 

[RAR]

I’ve had two turbo sixes (Ford Explorer Sport 3.5 turbo and a BMW 535xi 3.5 twin turbo inline six). Both were very quick for being larger body vehicles. I thoroughly enjoyed driving each one.

When I was getting the Explorer, I test drove the 2.3 turbo 4 version, and would have been just fine with it to be honest. But the turbo six won out.

I have my Mini Cooper S with its 1.6 turbo 4 cylinder, and that is a load of fun to drive on the back roads near me. I am using it more given fuel prices these days, even though it uses premium. I rebuilt the turbo when the bearings failed.

I never used to be a big fan of turbo engines until I owned the recent ones. I remembered the mid 80s turbos and stuck with displacement. The SVO Mustang and Thunderbird Turbo Coupe did hold some interest I’ll admit.

The turbo four Mustang currently offered is also interesting to me, but I’d have to drive it to really know if it’s any good. Opinions vary.

 

[pezzy84]

My big VW Atlas is toted around quite nicely by the 2.0T. Maybe not as small as some others mentioned but it is a big vehicle in comparison.

Zero concerns and seems to be a perfectly decent platform.

IIRC the 2.0T and VR6 in the Atlas make it to 60 MPH within a couple 10ths of a second of each other, 2.0T seems like it would be more agreeable in normal day to day driving with the ultra low RPM and long lasting torque peak. I would have to drive them back to back - I think the VR6 growl is worth the fuel economy penalty.

As for small turbo 4's I'm all about it as long as they are done right and I have driven some that are just not well sorted.

For example (and this is not a tiny 4 banger per say) is the VW Budack 2.0T they dropped in the newest Tiguan and the Passat, they took all the benefits of a small blown 4 and threw them in the trash when they added the Budack cycle. Jekyll and Hyde powertrain - you are trying to scoot across a turn in an intersection and 0-30% throttle will be driving Ms Daisy then you push on further to 40% throttle which sends the front wheels spinning and you are off to the races. The throttle pedal had ZERO linearity to it and you never knew what to expect with additional input - I'm either going to be going slow or I'm going to be in hot mode and accelerating much faster than I want. They basically took the 2.0T and made it terrible in the name of fuel economy in these two models - the power delivery would drive me nuts enough to trade it in as even after 5ish days in a loaner Tiguan I still couldn't drive it smoothly.

 

[BLND1]

IIRC the 2.0T and VR6 in the Atlas make it to 60 MPH within a couple 10ths of a second of each other, 2.0T seems like it would be more agreeable in normal day to day driving with the ultra low RPM and long lasting torque peak. I would have to drive them back to back - I think the VR6 growl is worth the fuel economy penalty.

As for small turbo 4's I'm all about it as long as they are done right and I have driven some that are just not well sorted.

For example (and this is not a tiny 4 banger per say) is the VW Budack 2.0T they dropped in the newest Tiguan and the Passat, they took all the benefits of a small blown 4 and threw them in the trash when they added the Budack cycle. Jekyll and Hyde powertrain - you are trying to scoot across a turn in an intersection and 0-30% throttle will be driving Ms Daisy then you push on further to 40% throttle which sends the front wheels spinning and you are off to the races. The throttle pedal had ZERO linearity to it and you never knew what to expect with additional input - I'm either going to be going slow or I'm going to be in hot mode and accelerating much faster than I want. They basically took the 2.0T and made it terrible in the name of fuel economy in these two models - the power delivery would drive me nuts enough to trade it in as even after 5ish days in a loaner Tiguan I still couldn't drive it smoothly.

We didn’t like the Tiguan during test drives either.

The 2.0T is the atlas is quiet and smooth. Less noise the better as far as I am concerned. I sold a Mustang GT to get into the atlas. The 2L is hilariously tiny in the atlas though.

 

[pezzy84]

We didn’t like the Tiguan during test drives either.

The 2.0T is the atlas is quiet and smooth. Less noise the better as far as I am concerned. I sold a Mustang GT to get into the atlas. The 2L is hilariously tiny in the atlas though. View attachment 101500

LOL would you be offended if I said oh thats cute! I still remember the 1st generation Chryco van my shop teacher had, that Mitsubishi 3.0 looked miniscule in the engine bay - I think because it sits so low in the bay it throws off our proportions.

 

[Andrew1972]

IIRC the 2.0T and VR6 in the Atlas make it to 60 MPH within a couple 10ths of a second of each other, 2.0T seems like it would be more agreeable in normal day to day driving with the ultra low RPM and long lasting torque peak. I would have to drive them back to back - I think the VR6 growl is worth the fuel economy penalty.

As for small turbo 4's I'm all about it as long as they are done right and I have driven some that are just not well sorted.

For example (and this is not a tiny 4 banger per say) is the VW Budack 2.0T they dropped in the newest Tiguan and the Passat, they took all the benefits of a small blown 4 and threw them in the trash when they added the Budack cycle. Jekyll and Hyde powertrain - you are trying to scoot across a turn in an intersection and 0-30% throttle will be driving Ms Daisy then you push on further to 40% throttle which sends the front wheels spinning and you are off to the races. The throttle pedal had ZERO linearity to it and you never knew what to expect with additional input - I'm either going to be going slow or I'm going to be in hot mode and accelerating much faster than I want. They basically took the 2.0T and made it terrible in the name of fuel economy in these two models - the power delivery would drive me nuts enough to trade it in as even after 5ish days in a loaner Tiguan I still couldn't drive it smoothly.

They fixed the 2018 Tiguan it seems with a remap of transmission coupled to ECM retune. I remember that experience occasionally for first few years and then car was transformed during an oil change service and TSB performed….

 

[pezzy84]

They fixed the 2018 Tiguan it seems with a remap of transmission coupled to ECM retune. I remember that experience occasionally for first few years and then car was transformed during an oil change service and TSB performed….

I hate to see what it was before because the model I had as loaner was a 2020 so must have had whatever fix you are talking about - it was still terrible to drive. I don't even know how to explain it other than it suddenly decided to switch to the hot cam at XYZ RPM or throttle position and it was not a smooth transition.

 

[930.engineering]

The 2.0T is the atlas is quiet and smooth. Less noise the better as far as I am concerned. I sold a Mustang GT to get into the atlas. The 2L is hilariously tiny in the atlas though. View attachment 101500

What I find even more interesting is that huge air filter housing.
It seems MUCH bigger than a GTI/R one! TiGeo, where are you,
isn't that for you?
.

 

[BLND1]

LOL would you be offended if I said oh thats cute! I still remember the 1st generation Chryco van my shop teacher had, that Mitsubishi 3.0 looked miniscule in the engine bay - I think because it sits so low in the bay it throws off our proportions.

Not at all. I’m becoming a huge fan of these VW turbo 4’s. Everything is right there and easy to access, with plenty of room to work on everything.

It has plenty of torque and is smooooth and quiet.

I’m getting old.

 

[CarDoc66]

One has to wonder if you even need to worry about getting a quarter million miles from one of these. I have a feeling EV’s are going to hit fast, and burning dino juice is going to be a restricted activity.

 

[billt460]

 

[grampi]

I always think of it this way; would I rather have a 2.5 liter turbo, or a NA V-6 or V-8 that produces similar amounts of power? As far as the driving aspect of it goes, I think the turbo offers more torque down low, especially with a dual turbo system (like the Skyactive on my CX-9) where there's no lag. The turbo is also less affected by changes in altitude, and allows for better MPGs when the turbos at low, or no boost. I would have to say long term reliability is going to be better with the NA engines, simply by having fewer parts that can break...

 

[grampi]

Selling a Dodge is never a mistake...buying one is...