[Doge]

After driving the Honda Ivtec and the Ford Ecoboost side by side for years, it is the turbo for me, hands down.
It is more fun, torquey and is actually quite a bit more efficient if you drive it well. Problem is the complexity, the car has had no issues yet but I don't have as much confidence in it as the Honda.
But the thing is, doesn't matter if you like it or not, the small turbo's are here to stay and the normally aspirated engines are soon going to be a thing of past, unless they were really small to begin with( economy cars). Until we are all electric ie.

[anb]

I will anyday pick a smaller turbo petrol engine over bigger NA engine. I have been driving a gt tsi for more than 5 years. For day to day driving, torque at the mid rpms is important. NA engines lacks punch at mid rpms and they only perform better at higher rpms.

[pgsagar]

NA petrol any day. Larger displacement equals stressfree drive, less load on egine. Turbos are ok with diesels but not so much with petrols. Turbos combined with 3cylinder engines may become a maintenace nightmare after a year or so. I still remember my relative's Hyundai Accent CRdi which had a 3cylinder engine. Just after 40,000 kms, that engine vibrated so bad at idle, it looked like it would work itself loose from the engine mounts. If one likes longevity and maintenance-free engines, look at good 4cylinder NA engine, like Honda's ivtec, a benchmark in NA engines.

Manufacturers are pushing these tiny 3cylinder turbos down our throats, either for tax reasons or for the reasons that they would start making money off servicing these after a year or two's ownership.

[distiller]

Voted for 1.5L NA.

The NA had its pros in simple mechanical's, lesser moving parts, lesser working pressure and thus less stress as well. Maybe the NA will also tolerate not so clean fuel.

And I was in a big dilemma when I went through the NA engines available in our market and their performance. There is nothing to write off except the Honda iVTEC. And yes i drive the 1.2L iVTEC and you need to keep it on boil to extract some good performance.

With BS6 everyone's downsizing and adding turbo's. I would have loved to see some manufacturer stepping out of the line and give us something bigger, affordable with simple mechanical's. Which we could have cherished for some years to come.

[1.2TSI7DSG]

Are we talking about diesel or petrol or general For diesel, I hope there is no doubt.

Voted Turbo over the Non-Turbo assuming the discussion is for Gasoline engines. Have been in the 1.2 TSI for more than 6 years now and it DOESNT have a replacement till date (one of the major reasons why I have not changed or thinking about changing the car). Even the iVtech of the city did not impress me as much as it should have.

I am very picky about engines so it may not be the 1.0 L in particular but over the 1.6 NA of Polo (which was also a superb engine), the 1.2 L TSI for me had scored massively in the thrill, the punch and the technology.

[Reinhard]

I voted for 1.5 NA. The 1.2 i4 TSI from VWAG is the last "small turbo petrol" that I can digest. I'm not a fan of turbo petrols at all to be honest. I prefer higher displacement, smooth rotation & a throaty growl on revving that comes only with displacement. There is no replacement for displacement for low end torque & driveability. Any tweaks with ECU maps, smartly made gear ratios with small engines are just compromise on one end of the spectrum or the other in driving.

I can't stand 3 cylinder motors. OCD for symmetry is something I can't compromise on. I'm okay to drive a car with half the power compared to a 1.0 i3 Turbo petrol.
------

Originally Posted by 1.2TSI7DSG

Are we talking about diesel or petrol or general. For diesel, I hope there is no doubt.
Voted Turbo over the Non-Turbo assuming the discussion is for Gasoline engines.

This is the title of the thread -
"Petrol: Smaller turbo engine vs larger naturally-aspirated one"

[sharan1988]

Voted for Turbo Pertol. NA seems to be a dying breed looking forward. Most of the cars sold are not big displacement NA engine so a turbo will definitely perform better. I don't see reliability as an issue for turbo cars when they are kept stock and i have seen many cars abroad with lakhs of kilometres. If we maintain the car properly I see no problem from it.

[1.2TSI7DSG]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

I voted for 1.5 NA. The 1.2 i4 TSI from

This is the title of the thread -
"Petrol: Smaller turbo engine vs larger naturally-aspirated one"

Ah, missed it, neither the question not the title on the home page had it...

[RaghavEvoX]

Voted for 1.0 Turbo

Even though I bought a 1.6P NA Verna because of the peace of mind it gives, my heart was always inclined to the 1.2 TSI Vento which I found risky to put my hard earned money.

May be if Hyundai had a smaller Turbo for Verna at that time, probably I would have gone ahead and bought that.

[Swap_Abarth]

Can we add one more option of 1.2/1.4 turbo. I am not a fan of smaller NA engines after driving 1.4 turbo in Abarth. Mad rush of power after 1800 rpm, is what I love in my car.

3 cylender engines don't really excites me. It has to be 4 or more with turbo.

[Turbohead]

I love turbocharged cars! And I love the low end torque produced by turbo diesels.

But I'm simply not sure about a petrol 1.0 litre turbo. I'm not sure how a fully loaded Vento or Verna with a 1.0 litre turbo will pull from a standstill on the hills because the need for displacement is valid until the turbo spools up to give the required boost.

I would definitely vote for turbocharged engines with a displacement over 1.2 litre minimum. But in this case, I refuse to vote because most 1.5 NA engines are dull too. Honestly it totally depends on the application as these 1 litre engines are available from small hatchbacks to medium sized sedans.

[tejas.negandhi]

I do love the NA engines. My current Infiniti is 3.7 NA engine. Its brutal power and just love it.

I still voted for Turbo Engines because they are fuel efficient and good turbos have real good power delivery. German cars have better turbos. I have driven Golf GTI, Polo, Mercedes A-class and all were exceptional rides.

[RajeevMD]

Voted for Turbo.
Would any day go for a turbo than a NA with bigger displacement. The Japs have been late to the party but the introduction of small turbo engines is making a big shift in the performance and driving pleasure of their cars.

Engines driven :
Suzuki 1.0 Boosterjet (JDM)
Honda 1.0 vtec Turbo (UK)
Honda 1.5 vtec Turbo (ASEAN Market)
Toyota/Daihatsu 1.0 Turbo JDM
Toyota Harrier 2.0 Turbo JDM

In each car driven, I could feel a significant difference in performance on comparison with their NA versions.

[arindambasu13]

Voted for 1.5 NA petrol engine - any day, every day over a smaller turbo. I picked up the IVTEC City last year, and over the course of the 10,000 odd kms that I have driven it, it has impressed me no end. The power just keeps flowing in a linear and predictable fashion (sorry - I am not a fan of sudden turbo spike which I find to be unmanageable in daily bumper to bumper driving and traffic scenarios).

As someone said earlier in this thread, there is absolutely no replacement for displacement when it comes to linear power and torque delivery - especially in the lower and mid ranges of the rev band. Also, I have been very pleasantly surprised at the low-end throttle response of this engine. Unlike my earlier Swift K12 which did not have great low end response, the 1.5 iVTEC's throttle response is way better, starting to respond right from around 1200-1300 RPM and extending up to a dizzying 7100 RPM!

However, the best part is - I have never been required to wring the engine any more than 3000 RPM during my daily use scenarios, because the mid range (1800-3000 RPM) has enough grunt for every situation and for quick overtakes. I find myself having enough and more power and driveability in this rev range. That to me speaks volumes about the tractability of this engine.

Of course, the power above 3000 RPM is just on another level - just that I haven't needed to utilise it much yet This is without doubt a legendary power train - and being from an older generation has done precious little to dull its attributes in any way.

[dr_davis97]

For me personally, It's naturally aspirated petrol all the way. I just love the creamy smoothness, lagless power delivery and the extremely rev happy nature of these engines. The Honda city i-vetc mated with a manual transmission is one of my favourite cars which is on sale in India.

A Porsche Cayman GTS 4.0 which has a naturally aspirated 4 litre boxer motor and is available with a 6 speed manual transmission would be my top pick, with the 992 Carrera (turbo-charged) with the 7 speed manual coming a close second.

And, the sound track of a NA petrol engine is just the added icing on the cake. Sadly, NA petrols are in the verge of extinction and I still have high hopes on Porsche to keep making them till I can purchase one!