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Do small engines work in big cars?
Small engine big car: does it work? Looking at changing my 2012 SEAT Ibiza and want something bigger. The Nissan Qashqai in 1.2 petrol or 1.0 Ford Focus? Can these bigger cars give decent perfomance with smaller engines?
Our answer:
Hi Gerry,
Absolutely it does. In the same way as we had to decouple our expectations about motor tax from engine size, so we now have to start ignoring cubic capacity and instead concentrate on the actual power and torque figures. Ford’s 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine, especially in turbocharged 125hp form, has more than enough poke to push a Focus around and the 1.2 Qashqai is fine too. Best example is actually probably Honda’s new 1.6-litre diesel – 600cc smaller than the old 2.2 but with the same torque and actually slightly more power.
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