Small car engine/transmission durability

[Lacessit]

Thailand seems to have many small cars with a 1.2 litre engine, running on compression ratios between 11 and 12:1. Hooked up to CVT or conventional automatic transmissions. Mitsubishi Mirage, Honda Brio, Nissan March, Suzuki Swift, Toyota Yaris etc.

Just wondering if there is any data out there on which engine is the most reliable, how CVT transmissions compare with conventional autos, what the maximum km for these engines would be. The older Nissan Sunnys and Toyota Vios's with the 1.5 litre engines seem to do quite well - up to 400,000 km.

[kartman]

Pile of 4A's out there to be fitted at 20k b a pop when they die so the locals won't be trawling for info on lifespan.

[Just Weird]

This may help although it references small engines with turbos...

 

[Lacessit]

3 hours ago, Just Weird said:

This may help although it references small engines with turbos...

 

Very entertaining, thanks. Hopefully it translates to 1.2 engines as well.

[Lacessit]

19 hours ago, kartman said:

Pile of 4A's out there to be fitted at 20k b a pop when they die so the locals won't be trawling for info on lifespan.

What is a 4A? How would it be adaptable to every brand?

[JAS21]

5 hours ago, Just Weird said:

This may help although it references small engines with turbos...

 

I 'kin hate this guy ... his opinion at times is very suspect ... he is full of his own 'piss and importance' ... I know never watch his vids ....

[Lacessit]

56 minutes ago, JAS21 said:

I 'kin hate this guy ... his opinion at times is very suspect ... he is full of his own 'piss and importance' ... I know never watch his vids ....

Be that as it may, his vid on "Beat the Dealer" is brilliant.

[transam]

Power to weight ratio, light car, small engine. Modern engines are sorted, follow oil stuff advice and it will give good service. As for CVT, seems that has been sorted too. My friend has a Micra which goes like a rocket and is very comfortable for a mini car..

[VocalNeal]

On 2/6/2018 at 3:44 PM, Lacessit said:

The older Nissan Sunnys and Toyota Vios's with the 1.5 litre engines seem to do quite well - up to 400,000 km.

How many years is that? 15? 20?  How long do you want to keep the car?

[steve187]

1 hour ago, VocalNeal said:

How many years is that? 15? 20?  How long do you want to keep the car?

i would think that if you were doing really high mileage you would want a non eco car. my 1500 honda city has done 127,000K in 12 years, looking to replace with a eco car, as its a second car now.

[Lacessit]

4 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

How many years is that? 15? 20?  How long do you want to keep the car?

I tend to measure cars in terms of the odometer reading, not year of manufacture. I'd be very suspicious of a one-year old car with 100,000 km on the clock.

I believe in keeping cars until the maintenance cost gets too high. That could be ten or twenty years. I have a Mitsubishi Magna in Australia with 240,000 km on the odometer, 14 years old. Still a nice car to drive, and has never let me down.

[Just Weird]

19 hours ago, JAS21 said:

I 'kin hate this guy ... his opinion at times is very suspect ... he is full of his own 'piss and importance' ... I know never watch his vids ....

Who cares what you think of him? 

 

How can his opinion be "suspect"?  It's his opinion just as you have an opinion, you may not agree with him but that doesn't make his thoughts suspect.  Having said that, most of what he says is not opinion, it's fact.

[DavisH]

Peripherals die long before the motor will (eg, seals, air cond compressors, etc). My swift has 70K m on it now. Not much, but has never skipped a beat. A couple of years back, someone posted about a knowing a march with 180K km on it. Still no problems. Modern engines, large and small, are petty long lasting, as long as they are taken of and not thrashed daily. 

[Lacessit]

5 hours ago, DavisH said:

Peripherals die long before the motor will (eg, seals, air cond compressors, etc). My swift has 70K m on it now. Not much, but has never skipped a beat. A couple of years back, someone posted about a knowing a march with 180K km on it. Still no problems. Modern engines, large and small, are petty long lasting, as long as they are taken of and not thrashed daily. 

The key is regular servicing, anywhere. We used to get company cars which were turned in at 120,000 km. Less senior employees could then bid on those cars at trade-in prices. Everyone competed for the cars I had driven, because they knew I had them serviced religiously and was not a leadfoot. Several racked up 400,000 km after they left me.

In contrast, a certain sales manager attracted no interest, because he ignored servicing intervals and drove like a maniac.

[maxipeon]

interesting numbers with the new swift also:

 

[canthai55]

Would be very surprised if the Swift could reach 170 kmh. That chart I imagine graphs max speed at max RPM - whether the car can pull max revs in top gear is unlikely.

[maxipeon]

http://www.headlightmag.com/acce-fuel-suzuki-swift-dual-jet-heartect/

 

headlight make some good test drive and 900kg with 83hp can easily reach 170kmh

[Lacessit]

On 2/10/2018 at 12:06 PM, canthai55 said:

Would be very surprised if the Swift could reach 170 kmh. That chart I imagine graphs max speed at max RPM - whether the car can pull max revs in top gear is unlikely.

Permit me to doubt a Mitsubishi Mirage CVT could get to 186 Km/hr either. In any case, top speed for these small cars is fairly academic.

When I was much younger, I drove the first Honda Civic ( 1974? ) at 165 km/hr, nothing left in the accelerator travel. One of my more scary driving experiences, because it was like being in a flying brick. Unlike that speed in a bigger car, I was very conscious the slightest bump in the road would see me visiting the weeds.

[DavisH]

3 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Permit me to doubt a Mitsubishi Mirage CVT could get to 186 Km/hr either. In any case, top speed for these small cars is fairly academic.

When I was much younger, I drove the first Honda Civic ( 1974? ) at 165 km/hr, nothing left in the accelerator travel. One of my more scary driving experiences, because it was like being in a flying brick. Unlike that speed in a bigger car, I was very conscious the slightest bump in the road would see me visiting the weeds.

Mirage MT hits 182 km/h...swift MT is 175 km/h (cvt is 170km/h) MT's are generally quicker and have a higher top speed. My 1974 mini could hit 160km/h...quite scary with your bum 5 inches from the road.