Small Car Lovers ..

[Bibbs]

Linky number 1

170PS out of a 1.4

Linky number 2

Real men don't drive cars with 1.4-litre engines - do they? Well, it depends. Forget about engine size, and consider instead a VW Golf with 168bhp and a torque curve whose peak of 177lb ft is more of a plateau, all the way from 1750 to 4500rpm. The result is a maximum speed of 136mph, and 0-62mph acceleration in 7.9sec. Does that sound interesting?

No - Men drive 200+bhp cars.

No - It doesn't sound interesting.

No - I wont buy one.

YES - some muppet will be racing you in one soon.

[alanbradley]

Autoexpress - what do you expect?

It sounds clever, but I still wouldn't have one...

A

[Bibbs]

Twin charging has been about for ages .. but only 168bhp? That's so lame ..

Why not forge the block, postons, rods and REALLY blow it ..

[knowlson]

Twin charging is cool but they could have at least done it on an r32 or something now that would be cool to see

[jay dh]

seems a good effort from a 1.4, but its still a golf so no

[minidoughty]

Please foward this on to toyota, i think they forgot how to twin charge.

[alanbradley]

Please foward this on to toyota, i think they forgot how to twin charge.

Have you seen quotes for work from some of their dealers? They know exactly how to twin charge

:D

A

[Special Red]

The 1.6 engine found in a Nova GSI originally had 170bhp NA and was detuned and that was 15 years ago, so not that impressive really!

I remember those 1.5L Formula one cars!

[mikeb]

Linky number 1

170PS out of a 1.4

Linky number 2

Real men don't drive cars with 1.4-litre engines - do they? Well, it depends. Forget about engine size, and consider instead a VW Golf with 168bhp and a torque curve whose peak of 177lb ft is more of a plateau, all the way from 1750 to 4500rpm. The result is a maximum speed of 136mph, and 0-62mph acceleration in 7.9sec. Does that sound interesting?

No - Men drive 200+bhp cars.

No - It doesn't sound interesting.

No - I wont buy one.

YES - some muppet will be racing you in one soon.

What are you getting so worked up about? The point is that VW are trying to improve the economy of their cars without losing performance. It's not meant to be a superfast hot hatch or anything. Admittedly, that second article is getting a bit excited about what is effectively a 3 mpg improvement.

The 1.6 engine found in a Nova GSI originally had 170bhp NA and was detuned and that was 15 years ago, so not that impressive really!

You've been reading too much fiction mate!

[Lou-Lou]

Compared to what I have at the moment that's a rocket.. have you seen the price tho? Could buy something faster and have a great holiday on top..

[Special Red]

Linky number 1

170PS out of a 1.4

Linky number 2

Real men don't drive cars with 1.4-litre engines - do they? Well, it depends. Forget about engine size, and consider instead a VW Golf with 168bhp and a torque curve whose peak of 177lb ft is more of a plateau, all the way from 1750 to 4500rpm. The result is a maximum speed of 136mph, and 0-62mph acceleration in 7.9sec. Does that sound interesting?

No - Men drive 200+bhp cars.

No - It doesn't sound interesting.

No - I wont buy one.

YES - some muppet will be racing you in one soon.

What are you getting so worked up about? The point is that VW are trying to improve the economy of their cars without losing performance. It's not meant to be a superfast hot hatch or anything. Admittedly, that second article is getting a bit excited about what is effectively a 3 mpg improvement.

The 1.6 engine found in a Nova GSI originally had 170bhp NA and was detuned and that was 15 years ago, so not that impressive really!

You've been reading too much fiction mate!

Its an 8 mpg gain which is a good percentage! and dont question my Knowledge on Vauxhall engines again!

[Bibbs]

I'm saying that it's a bit pointless when you look at all the other petrol/oil burner options in the Golf range.

And the 2nd article was written by someone who's never seen a forced induction engine before.

I hate to say it, but Honda have been doing NA cars at arround 100bhp per litre for a while now. And a LOT are 20+ years old. blow 6psi through them and they are closer to 150bhp per litre.

I *just* remember the 1.5 litre 1500bhp F1 engines .. it was a sad day when they killed off the turbo blocks, can you imagine what we'd have with anothe 20 years of F1 tech and money thrown at Turbo's. Carbon Fibre housings with titanium chargecoolers.

[Leeky]

HOW MUCH! £17,500.00 for a 1.4!?!?!?!?

I dont car if it'll drive me to the moon on £10 of diesel and only give off gold bars from the exhaust instead of soot.

Thats stupid money for a 1.4

A smart roadster is just over £13k rrp and thats cooler, better handling and just as economical.

[knowlson]

A smart roadster is just over £13k rrp and thats cooler, better handling and just as economical.

if you say so dude

[BLiTZ]

this is the same principle as the civic sport - all the sporty bodykit but insurance freindly engines for posers really

but bmw do the same - they offer the m5 bodykit for all the low model 5 series

[Fizz]

if its quicker and more economical than the 2.0FSI... aint that going to hit the sales of that model?

Either way.. looks good for what it is... but i would rather have a Mini Cooper S..

[Al J]

Hmm, it may well be cooler than the Golf but it's all relative. Smart Roadster still ain't cool.

Maybe you were thinking about this one?

[PaulT]

I can't ever see myself buying a Golf, but I still think these smaller low-pressure turbos are going to become more popular as manufacturers try to make cleaner engines.

The question is, how much boost can you add with the stock internals? Presumably it will go to 200bhp without too much effort.

Paul.

[Special Red]

this is the same principle as the civic sport - all the sporty bodykit but insurance freindly engines for posers really

but bmw do the same - they offer the m5 bodykit for all the low model 5 series

Have you not done the same ie made your car look faster than it is???? The Sport is not for posers but its the choice of people who might have a limited budget! If you cant have the speed then why not have the styling! Also the sport is not the same really due to it being less powerful where as the 1.4 engine is more potent if anything.

[Leeky]

I dont care, i think the Smart Roadster IS cool :P

£13k all in, soft top, great handling, plastic panels (no rust), almost 70 mpg, cheap insurance, cheap tax being under 700cc 3 cylinder turbocharged.

Also they can be tuned very well.

I saw one on the net a while back where they stick a hayabusa engine in one and it toasted an M3

If i could pick up a good used one at a reasonable price then i would I got big power and comfort in the aristo, so i could use this as my nippy economical track car ;)

[BLiTZ]

this is the same principle as the civic sport - all the sporty bodykit but insurance freindly engines for posers really

but bmw do the same - they offer the m5 bodykit for all the low model 5 series

Have you not done the same ie made your car look faster than it is???? The Sport is not for posers but its the choice of people who might have a limited budget! If you cant have the speed then why not have the styling! Also the sport is not the same really due to it being less powerful where as the 1.4 engine is more potent if anything.

yeah i have and im not saying its a bad thing, these cars are great for younger drivers people that aspire to a ctr or gti yet cant afford one for a few more years

[Karma Supra]

I misread this as twin engined golf!!! As in the Dubsport ones!!

They were pretty cool :D

[Special Red]

I misread this as twin engined golf!!! As in the Dubsport ones!!

They were pretty cool :D

Was that the turquoise thing???? Apparently anyone who drove it is now deaf!!!

[jaxx]

thats lame i agree

for 17.5k your gonna get a pretty hefty 2nd hand car thatll make mincemeat of any tosspot golf

[mikeb]

Its an 8 mpg gain which is a good percentage! and dont question my Knowledge on Vauxhall engines again!

Where do you get +8mpg from?? Current 2L = 35.3 combined, new 1.4T =38.2 combined, so that's less than 3 mpg difference.

If you're so knowledgable on vauxhall engines perhaps you'd like to enlighten us as to how GM 'restricted' the e16se engine from 170hp down to 100hp?? I've built a couple of these engines myself as 3 of my friends race them, and we'd love to know how to get an easy, streetable 170hp.