Team-BHP
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Over the years, we’ve had so many cars that were made by enthusiasts, for enthusiasts. But for reasons like stricter emission norms and poor sales, some of these cars didn’t remain in the market for long. Specifically talking about the engines, there have been some that truly made enthusiasts tick. We are listing down some cars that lost engines that were made for enthusiasts.
Do share your thoughts on the cars that you think lost their better engines. Hyundai Grand i10 Nios / Aura 1.0L Turbo-petrol 
A Hyundai hatchback / compact sedan with a power-to-weight ratio of over 100 BHP / ton was something not a lot of people expected. This 3-cylinder engine transformed the Nios and the Aura into pocket rockets. One could hit 100 km/h in 2nd gear itself! Unfortunately, the engine didn’t find a lot of takers and Hyundai decided to pull the plug on it.
BMW 530d 3.0L Diesel 
The BMW 3.0-litre, 6-cylinder engine was truly an icon and had a huge fan following. It was known for its fast performance, practicality and fuel economy. However, the drop in sales of sedans and aversion from diesel engines would eventually mean that the 530d would be dropped for the more affordable 520d.
Force Gurkha Xtreme 2.2L Diesel 
The Gurkha has always had a Mercedes-derived 2.6L diesel engine. However, Force had introduced an Xtreme variant of the off-roader with a 2.2L diesel engine. This engine produced 138 BHP @ 3,800 rpm and 321 Nm of torque @ 1,600-2,400 rpm and was mated to a 5-speed MT and came with a dual-mass flywheel. Along with the 4x4 tech and locking differential on both axles, the Gurkha Xtreme was a monster. However, with BS6 emission norms being implemented, Force switched back to the 2.6L diesel engine that makes just 90 BHP and 250 Nm.
Tata Tiago/Tigor 1.2L turbo-petrol 
Tata in collaboration with Jayem Automotive launched the Tiago and Tigor JTP editions. These cars were powered by the Nexon’s 1.2L turbo-petrol engine. The Tiago JTP had a power-to-weight ratio of 107 BHP / ton. This wasn’t a car that was very comfortable in the city traffic. It was meant to be driven hard on B roads or up the hills. You would enjoy pushing it on your favourite roads. However, the partnership between Tata Motors and Jayem ended and the JTP twins were discontinued.
Fiat 1.3L diesel 
Rightly crowned as the national engine of India, this 1.3L diesel engine from Fiat made it big not just in their cars (Punto & Linea), but also in Maruti (Swift, Ciaz, Ignis, Baleno, etc.), Tata (Zest, Bolt, Indica Vista, etc.) and Chevrolet (Sail, Enjoy and UV-A) vehicles. Over 8 lakh units were produced during its lifecycle. It was eventually axed when BS6 emission norms were implemented. People have covered a crazy number of kilometres in their cars with this engine and enthusiasts still reminisce about it to this day.
Volkswagen-Skoda-Audi 2.0L TDI 
The Volkswagen group never really recovered from the infamous diesel gate scandal. It decided to focus only on petrol engines and electric vehicles. This was the end of the 2.0L diesel engine which was used in cars like the VW Tiguan, Skoda Octavia, Audi A4 and more.
Maruti S-Cross 1.6L Diesel 
Everyone appreciated Maruti for getting this Fiat-sourced motor with 118 BHP and 320 Nm to India. The media was raving about the engine and rightly so. It had one of the best torque-to-weight ratios in the segment. The engine, however, had only 67% localization as the unit and most of its ancillaries were imported from Italy. This pushed up the price and people had to opt for the smaller 1.3L diesel engine. Eventually, even with heavy discounts, sales of the S-Cross 1.6 were never up to the mark and hence, Maruti decided to drop it altogether.
Maruti Baleno RS – 1.0L Boosterjet petrol 
This was the first Maruti that deserved the ‘RS’ badge thanks to the 101 BHP, 3-cylinder turbo-petrol engine. Maruti launched it in the Baleno with a few tasteful exterior styling bits and the car even got all-wheel disc brakes. Since the engine was fully imported from Japan, it was on the pricier side which affected the car's sales. The engine and the RS variant were eventually discontinued when the BS6 era began.
Toyota Innova Crysta 2.8L Diesel 
The 2.8L engine in the Toyota Innova Crysta was truly a dark horse. With 172 BHP and 360 Nm of torque, the vehicle was quite a hoot to drive. Although unofficial, the 0-100 km/h time was close to 11.5 seconds which was impressively quick for an MUV whose USP was highway cruising. Eventually, when the BS6 norms were implemented, Toyota decided to prioritize the smaller capacity 2.4L engine, since it was in high demand.
Renault-Nissan 1.5L Diesel 
This diesel engine put Renault-Nissan on the map. It was available in the Renault Duster and Nissan Terrano initially in 2 states of tune – 84 BHP and 108 BHP. In the Renault Captur and Nissan Kicks, it was offered in 108 BHP tune only. It was considered the runner-up for the national engine of India after the Fiat 1.3L. Just like most engines on this list, the switch to BS6 emission norms killed the Renault-Nissan 1.5L diesel engine.
Ford Endeavour 3.2L Diesel 
This 5-cylinder diesel engine was very dear to enthusiasts and was discontinued when the BS6 regulations kicked in. With 197 BHP and 470 Nm on tap, this engine packed a strong punch. It was mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission and came with a 4x4 system and Ford’s Terrain Management System. And while the BS6-compliant 2.0L diesel engine that replaced this motor made adequate power, it simply didn’t have the muscle, punch and soundtrack of the 3.2L engine.
Maruti Suzuki 1.5L Diesel 
Maruti’s timing with this diesel engine was a bit off. After the 1.3L diesel was discontinued, the rightful successor would’ve been this in-house developed 1.5L diesel engine. However, it was not BS6 compliant and hence, was on sale only for a brief period in the Ciaz and Ertiga during the BS4 era. Initial reviews were very positive and the engine was an all-rounder. While initially Maruti was considering making this engine BS6 compliant, they eventually shelved the plan citing investment issues and deciding to focus on petrol and CNG instead of diesel.
I think collectively the BS-6 Regime killed all the Turbo Diesel Giants. The DDiS was the best poor mans Track Monster.
RIP to all Pre-BS6 Turbo Diesels...!!
The Polo 1.6TDI comes to mind. Was a fantastic option on the Polo. Even the 1.2 TSI was a great engine for the Polo/Vento. Although it does come in the 1.0 TSI guise now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Omkar
(Post 5679175)
...Toyota Innova Crysta ...when the BS6 norms were implemented, Toyota decided to prioritize the smaller capacity 2.4L engine, since it was in high demand.
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The main reason for discontinuing the 2.8L engine in the Innova post BS6 was because the 2.8L Innova was very popular and was eating into Fortuner sales. Hence the lower engine capacity 2.4L Innova and 2.8L for Fortuner.
Cars that lost good engines:
1- Ertiga and Ciaz: had briefly got the Maruti derived 1.5 DDiS, which surprisingly was an excellent engine, which unfortunately was axed super quickly.
2- Force Gurkha: I would say the Gurkha might gain some muscle, the BS6.2 version might be getting the engine straight from the Traveller/Urbania which has a 115hp/350Nm tune. The only advantage of the 90hp version is, it didn't require Adblue.
One can add Bolero to the mix.
https://youtu.be/vYsaNoVrmF8?si=9fpvMv2eNSK4NebX
Bolero VLX aka Storm CRDe.
Only the body belonged to a Bolero, rest everything was a Frankenstein mix, this eventually led to Thar CRDe which again only parts of the body belonged to MM series vehicle.
This vehicle was built for fast driving unlike the garden variety Bolero, it had a pokey engine, quick steering, stiff suspension and some fancy electronic bits inside to justify the asking price those days. I had good fun driving one all over Nilgiris.
The Jeep Cherokee XJ had one of the best, most durable engines ever. The 4.0 L 6 cilinder in line.
It is a huge lump of metal. Producing less than 160-180BHp depending on the version. How the Americans managed to extract so little power out of such a huge engine we will never know.
It does mean this engine is virtually indestructible. It just soldiers on. Defects that would put other engines out of commission, this thing just laughs about.
Mine has done well over 320K kilometers and has had a wobbly piston (piston slap) for ever. True hardcore Jeep Cherokee XJ enthusiast call this almost run in.
Jeroen
Maruti Alto VX 1.1
Recently got to drive one and boy-oh-boy does it have some serious pull for an entrly level small car! That car is so damn tractable, I mean which other car in the same segment can cleanly pull from as low as 30kph in 5th gear, with A/c and 4 passengers!? So refined, smooth gearshifts, zero A/c lag, no vibration, no jerking, it felt like I was driving a car from 2 segments above. I don't know who, but the Maruti official that gave the green signal to plonk F10D 4cyl engine into such a small and tight package like Alto, has my respect. Maruti did give an even better package with Alto K10 and they managed to recreate some of the the magic with the heavily improved bs6 F8D Alto 800. But both of them lack the poise and mature character of F10D 1.1 VX.
Guess this list would probably be filled with diesels for most part.
What gets my goat are those that can meet emission norms or cost, but decide not too because of
strategy :Frustrati
And VAG tops that list for good reason. The sales of Kushaq/Slavia/Virtus/Taigun would be atleast double if they had retained the 1.5l diesel. Many buyers had overlooked VAG's subpar service experience just because of the unbeatable performance/efficiency balance of their diesels. The Kodiaq would have been in many buyer's radar if they had the retained the 2.0l diesel. Wouldn't have minded but for the fact that Europe still gets the diesel models, with their more stringent emissions norms and planned killing of ICE models.
Can also add Hyundai's decision to remove diesel from the the i20 when they continue to offer it in the Venue.
Also Toyota taking away the 2.8l from the Innova. And they took the opportunity to remove the Touring Sport version too which had the 6 speed MT option in the 2.4l. Now Innova Crysta has neither the 2.8l, nor the 6 speed MT nor an automatic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RD410
(Post 5679251)
Maruti Alto VX 1.1
But both of them lack the poise and mature character of F10D 1.1 VX.
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Add to that, for me somehow the new Alto K10 kinda feels neither here nor there. I would wager that except for the boxy high bonnet, there isn't much difference between the present Alto K10 and Spresso. You get the same driving position where you feel that except for the high seating position every controls were originally designed for a much lower seating position.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Omkar
(Post 5679175)
Maruti Baleno RS – 1.0L Boosterjet petrol
This was the first Maruti that deserved the ‘RS’ badge thanks to the 101 BHP, 3-cylinder turbo-petrol engine. Maruti launched it in the Baleno with a few tasteful exterior styling bits and the car even got all-wheel disc brakes. Since the engine was fully imported from Japan, it was on the pricier side which affected the car's sales. The engine and the RS variant were eventually discontinued when the BS6 era began.
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The Suzuki 1.0L Boosterjet petrol engine is back as
1.0L Turbo Boosterjet (K10C Engine) with
Gasoline Particle Filter (GPF) in Fronx to meet BS6.2 emission norms. Now I think Maruti Suzuki have localized most of the parts.
GPF in this 1.0L Turbo Boosterjet engine was one of the reason that I went with 1.2L Dual Jet, Dual VVT engine so as not to have the headache of the regeneration process to clear the soot.
Honda City was launched with 1.3L and 1.5L engines (first generation in India), and post it's facelift, it has always had 1.5L engine. As I've read and learnt, 1.5L engine was a true enthusiast delight and mod friendly too. I remember reading an autocar article in early 2010's where they slapped a turbo charger on this and brought down 0-100KMPH to 7.xx seconds. That puts a lot of higher cost cars to shame, even today.
Adding the diesel Audis and Volvos to the list. Though their petrol engines are also pretty good, nothing will match the 3.0L 6 cylinder Audi A6 with AWD and air suspension. Probably was a first for our markets and sadly killed off in later facelifts.
The diesel XC60 D5 with the compressed air cylinder for the turbo to minimise engine lag. Killed off after 2020.
What about the Compass Petrol Manual Variant?
Before cussing me about the horrible fuel efficiency, when we take that out of the list, the car was a H-O-O-T to drive! And that manual gearbox was an added advantage. 0-100 kmph in under 9 secs? Tell me another tank which can do it..
Sadly, Jeep pulled the plug on it and gave us a diesel manual and a petrol automatic, none of which impressed the child in us.
Jeep, you will remain as an unfulfilled dream to me! :crying
Quote:
Originally Posted by LordSharan
(Post 5679314)
Honda City was launched with 1.4L and 1.6L engines (first generation in India)
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Pardon me, but the gen 1 City came in 3 variants viz. 1.3 Exi, 1.5 Exi and 1.5 Vtec, right? I have worked on an accident repair 1.5 Exi. Have to say, even in 2023, many car makers are unable to achieve the level of engine smoothness that Honda offered 20+ years ago :Frustrati
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