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Old 02-17-2013, 10:12 AM   #325
Number 3
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Drives: '19 XT4 2.0T & '22 VW Atlas 2.0T
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Illinois
Posts: 12,156
Quote:
Originally Posted by 90503 View Post
That's sort of what I thought, but then I've been hearing that the turbo now is more of a factor at all speeds, not just when you "get on it"...that they are more reliable than before...dunno...but if you gotta get your foot into it to feel the turbo, probably kills any economy...
That's about how they work. Under normal driving you only have a moderate loss of economy due to the exhaust driven compressor.

But the smaller Turbos, under 1.5L you are simply getting equivalent performance to the base engine. Using Cruze/Sonic as the example you can get the same HP in either a 1.4L Turbo or a NA 1.8L. But the Turbo is the higher FE engine. So in this case you aren't getting any more driving performance.

So it really is about the equivalency the Turbo adds. Look at the 1.6L Turbo GM uses on Opels. That is still not quite the HP as the new NA 2.5L GM has in the Malibu and ATS. But it will get better FE.

Ford uses this even more. They have a 1.6L Turbo they put in the new Escape and Fusion. In the Escape that is 178 Hp which is actually higher than the base 2.5L and also gets better FE. Then they add the 2.0L T as the top end choice at 240 HP. The 1.6L T is the best for FE.
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