I would like to nominate the 2.0T FSI Turbo to Ward's 10 Best

[UNCjigga]

I have had the pleasure of driving a car equipped with the VW 2.0 liter turbocharged, direct-injected four-cylinder beast known as the FSI Turbo for a few months now. I cannot say enough good things about this engine. The mind-boggling acceleration. The ultra-refined smoothness. Its ability to keep pulling no matter where the tach is.

No, its not the most powerful engine (not even from a hp/liter standpoint) and I doubt it will be the most reliable. But what's more amazing to me is that it does everything I ask and still averages 24.1 mpg (mostly city driving--on the highway I can average 32mpg if its flat according to the onboard computer.) And I drive a big, heavy 4-door saloon (Passat.)

I bet I could say even more if my car was lucky enough to get a DSG transmission--I don't know why the Jetta and the GTI get one while the Passat gets the old Tiptronic. And if enthusiasts had one paired with a manual tranny and smaller, lighter car (GTIthey'd love it even more.

So now I guess I have to write Ward's and nominate the engine or something? Is that enough to get started or do they need more reliability data?

 

[krunchykrome]

Yea, but how are those windshield wipers? 😉

 

[NFS4]

What about the turbo DI 2.3 with 263HP from the MS3? 😀

 

[UNCjigga]

Originally posted by: NFS4
What about the turbo DI 2.3 with 263HP from the MS3? 😀

One of my coworkers is buying one (as soon as it comes in--she was told mid-December delivery date) so until I can drive it I won't comment! But while the Japs might have ze Germans beat on reliability and efficiency, I doubt the MS3's engine/tranny will be as smooth as the combo from VW/Audi. And hey, they've got an extra 0.3 liters to work with! 😉

 

[UNCjigga]

Originally posted by: krunchykrome
Yea, but how are those windshield wipers? 😉

I fixed them myself just by reseating a couple of relays in the fusebox. From what my dealer here in Md. said, the problem was probably the fault of the NC dealer where I bought it (allowed moisture to get into the fusebox, probably kept it open during a thunderstorm while doing something in the engine bay.)

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

Originally posted by: UNCjigga

Originally posted by: NFS4
What about the turbo DI 2.3 with 263HP from the MS3? 😀

One of my coworkers is buying one (as soon as it comes in--she was told mid-December delivery date) so until I can drive it I won't comment! But while the Japs might have ze Germans beat on reliability and efficiency, I doubt the MS3's engine/tranny will be as smooth as the combo from VW/Audi. And hey, they've got an extra 0.3 liters to work with! 😉

Well the Wards thing is partly based on reliability which is why the Nissan VG/VQ series has dominated it for so long.

 

[alkemyst]

mind-boggling acceleration is highly subjective it seems.

 

[AdamK47]

You must have set your expectations really low.

 

[OS]

the ward's list is largely meaningless and you can see it from mazda's motors on their list but having lots of real world issues.

Their rotary made the list but in reality it drank oil, got sh*t for gas mileage and had an overrated output.

Then their 2.3L turbo in 6 knocked/detonated bone stock even on the factory speced freaking 93 octane fuel, causing the ECU to pull boost and made you lose something like 100 HP. Mazda's initial fix was to reflash the ECU to let the engine knock/detonate a couple more times before it pulled power. Then later they added on top of that another fix which retarded ignition timing, which makes you wonder how much power their fix makes you lose.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ward's_10_Best_Engines

http://forum.mazda6tech.com/viewtopic.php?t=5055

 

[TuffGuy]

Originally posted by: UNCjigga
The mind-boggling acceleration. Its ability to keep pulling no matter where the tach is.

But what's more amazing to me is that it does everything I ask and still averages 24.1 mpg... And I drive a big, heavy 4-door saloon (Passat.)

:laugh:

Mind boggling acceleration huh?

Man, my engine's ~16 years old. My car weighs ~3350 lbs, has AWD, and I average 22mpg when I'm not hammering it too much. (but still hammering it)

24mpg is pretty bad for a car with FSI, smaller turbo, less power, and taller gearing.

DSG is amazing. The 2.0t is not.