The trend of engine downsizing continues! PSA Peugeot Citroen is developing a new 1.2 litre inline-3 turbocharged engine to slot into its compact cars and will be investing 175 million Euros over the next 2 years in preparing to build the engine at its Douvrin plant in northern France beginning 2012.
The new 3-pot engine will also have 1.0 and 1.2 litre normally aspirated variants. The turbo 1.2 can probably be used to replace the 1.6 litre normally aspirated Prince engine used in the 308 VTi, while the more powerful 308 Turbo can continue using the PSA Prince engine’s successor. The Douvrin engine plant is a JV with Renault. Not to be confused with the Douvrin engine, which was a shared 2.0 and 2.2 litre engine used by Renault and Nissan in the 70s.
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
When will turbos and clean diesels be regular features in cars sold in ASEAN? The only ones I know are the Focus TDCi and Hyundai CRDi. Is it because cars are held up to a higher emission standard than trucks and SUVs that you need more compex engineering for passenger car diesels?
One thing’s for sure is that Toyota will probably be among the last automakers to feature new engine tech in developing markets… they’re content to rehash tried and true designs, confident that their hybrids will suffice for the developed markets.
Regarding 3-cylinder engines, I read somewhere that it wasn’t too long ago that 88% of all cars sold in the world had V-8 engines. Now more than 60% of autos have 4-cylinder, with majority of the rest V-6. I think the turbocharged 3-cylinder is the future replacement for 4-cylinder today. I own one of those refurbished 660cc kei trucks and let me tell you a 3-cylinder, while rough, does sound like a V-8. So it definitely won’t sound puny.
My ideal car would be something that weighs less than 1000kg and have a 1.2 liter turbodiesel coupled to a 7-speed dual dry clutch transmission. Since T and H seem to be stuck with their efficient naturally aspirated engines, I am patiently waiting for Volkswagen and Nissan to introduce their wares in the coming years, especially with Thailand’s eco car program.
Well your ideal car sounds like proton savvy…..which have a very good engine, but i personally prefer 4 cylinder small engine because its smoother. Imagine 100 hp TC100 ( turbocharged vers of savvy engine) engine in <1000 kg car…..drool
Kancil 660 with Turbo also not bad choice wat.. (Chassis ain’t that great la.. but it’s the only car that can jam in city traffic for 500km… lol) Last time I drove one was like WTF, why the fuel gauge not dropping 1, is it broken?
My ideal is actually the Mini S specification. (But dunno why, feel mini’s QC very cheap, when I slam the door, u dun feel tat kind of luxurious. Or maybe that car is not well maintained.)
Snotmaster,
Your ideal car shud be available in europe, but currently unavailable here due to our current Euro2m diesel, those small diesel need euro4 to run….btw, Japs are lagging behind in diesel tech, euro carmaker are leading the diesel on the diesel front. Guess, one of the reason that most of euro car here are not they’re latest & highest spec was mainly coz their top sellers are mostly diesel. Eg, in euro the top seller pug 308 are the hdi and not the vti/thp….same goes wt hyundai i30, top car is the i30 1.6crdi and not the petrol version….the diesels mentioned are not available here in msia
Hopefully the govt will proceed wt euro4 next year…about time we have more powerful cars with frugal engine…at least we can be more environmental friendlier wt lower co2 emission plus lower consumption of scarce fossil fuels and have fun while doing it!,..abt time msian have a taste of those great new diesel and dump the current gas guzzling asthmatic petrol cars
“Is it because cars are held up to a higher emission standard than trucks and SUVs that you need more compex engineering for passenger car diesels?”
New diesel engines fulfill the EURO 6 emission standard already, so no problem from that side.
And Bosch is producing fuel injection systems for european Diesel’s in India. If they can do it in India, than they can do it in Malaysia too, of course.
The problem is the quality of the diesel fuel. To pass the emission test, modern Diesel’s have a particulate filter to remove diesel particulate matter or soot from the exhaust gas. This filter will be damaged by sulfur found in low quality diesel fuel…
+1, good/simple answer.
Too much sulfur in our diesel.
U working in diesel industry kah?
To be honest: There’s another technical problem…
Many Mercedes CDI in Thailand died, because some petrol stations poured water in their diesel fuel for higher profit…
Because the diesel fuel is also used as a lubricant inside the fuel injection, water will have a disastrous effect. It’s the same like if you would pour water into your engine oil… ;)
3 is bad….no….
European car companies are leading the way to reduce emissions & getting more power for less fuel. Hence the direction you see now regarding the turbo diesels in Europe. Note that more than 50% of passenger car sales now are turbo diesels. Dont expect the middle America Yanks to give up their beloved gas guzzling V8 5Litre monsters. Only the West Coast Republic of California has the foresight to cut emissions, but then the West Coast has always not been the norm of middle America.
Japs from what someone replied here have a dislike for diesels, hence the lack of turbo diesels development & usage. Also note that Jap way of doing things is slow & steady, with a result of being seen as a follower (rather than innovators) but once they have taken the decision to go ahead, they will make durable & efficient engines. The trouble is that the time they take to decide (by consensus) & to implementation will not be at the usual (fast) Western pace we are used to.
Dont forget that Asean market is a totally diff ball game to what the Japs play with the US & Europena market. Asean market is all about getting the affordable car out (hence the Vios & City) rather than the luxurious Lexus or Infinity
good write up! enjoyed reading your post.
How will PSA Peugeot Citroen’s 3 cylinders engine fair against Fiat TwinAir 2 cylinders engine?
Small efficient engines are definitely the way to go. Diesel too is the way to go, if you look at the current figures where fuel efficiency and emissions of a diesel are way better than a hybrid. That makes hybrid nothing more than an in-between tech and at worst, a great future polluter (toxic batteries) – just like how vcd is the in-between for laser disc and dvd format.
There’re only a handful of countries making the effort to go green. Scandinavia (started in the 80s), some west European countries and China (though enforcement is a logistical nightmare). The other countries are just a lot of hot air.
Top Gear (yes, that TV program that espouse powerful engines & beautiful sports cars) showed that a BMW 530i consumes less petrol than a Toyota Prius, while both were cruising on the track (Pruis leading at max cruising speed with 530i just following behind, boring the heck out of Jeremy Clarkson). Now Top Gear isnt the definitive in car petrol consumption but it does give us an indication of the true life consumption vs marketing / ad speak.
Car companies sell hybrid based on less fuel consumption (the advertising selling point) = less green house emmision = less carbon footprint. However, if how the batteries raw materials are mined, shipped, processed, manufactured and final production were taken all into account, wouldnt the total green house effect carbon footprint be HIGHER than a conventional petrol/diesel engine? Even the so called lower consumption would not offset these initial higher carbon footprint. As the ad man would say, it’s all about perception.
Hybrid is sold based on perception. If you truly want alternative fuels that are carbon neutral then go hydrogen (like what BMW did but now abandon). Or even a fully electric car (like the Tesla sports car) but electric means batteries, which brings us back to square #1. Hokkien would say LPPL.
1.2 with turbocharger??
i need one of those, only the engine
and put it into my Proton Tiara.. hahahaha…
Yup – engine mendesup laju – body terbarai…hahahah
don’t laugh. even ford is going with a super powered 1.0 turbo.