For a while, I've noticed that the same engines we get here in America are (unsurprisingly) often used in other markets as well, but sometimes with virtually no differences other than slightly different displacements of as little as 0.1 litres.
For example, here in America, excluding hybrid and SI models, all 2001-2005 Honda Civics come with a 1.7L engine. However, in other markets such as Asia and Europe, those same Civics use the same engines but with slightly different stroke lengths resulting in slightly differing displacements of 1.4L, 1.5L, 1.6L, and 1.7L.
In Japan, the same generation of Civics comes with either a 1.5L engine or a 1.7L engine, both making within a few HP of eachother. In Europe, a 1.6L version of the same engine is available with almost identical performance to the 1.5L and 1.7L variants.
I understand that the smaller variants of these engines are likely more fuel efficient but surely such a small change in displacement isn't going to result in much of an improvement. I tried to find fuel efficiency ratings to prove this, but doing so proved very difficult due to differences in test procedures and such.
Does anyone have theories or ideas on why manufacturers bother creating several variants of the same engines just to change the displacement a tiny bit? I have seem this many times and have always wondered why.
For example, here in America, excluding hybrid and SI models, all 2001-2005 Honda Civics come with a 1.7L engine. However, in other markets such as Asia and Europe, those same Civics use the same engines but with slightly different stroke lengths resulting in slightly differing displacements of 1.4L, 1.5L, 1.6L, and 1.7L.
In Japan, the same generation of Civics comes with either a 1.5L engine or a 1.7L engine, both making within a few HP of eachother. In Europe, a 1.6L version of the same engine is available with almost identical performance to the 1.5L and 1.7L variants.
I understand that the smaller variants of these engines are likely more fuel efficient but surely such a small change in displacement isn't going to result in much of an improvement. I tried to find fuel efficiency ratings to prove this, but doing so proved very difficult due to differences in test procedures and such.
Does anyone have theories or ideas on why manufacturers bother creating several variants of the same engines just to change the displacement a tiny bit? I have seem this many times and have always wondered why.
