How would you like a Car Turbo in your Fiesta?
It has been the buzzword of choice to describe high class high-speed driving pleasure for a very long time. The turbos and twin turbos that we've grown up admiring on posters call to mind souped-up Mustangs or Italian supercars - or even Ford GT 40s. The car turbo first came out in that grand old classic Porsche 911 Turbo about 25 years ago when the world was suffering through an oil crisis. The Porsche needed it because, believe it or not, car turbo mechanisms help with fuel efficiency. There are cheaper ways to achieve fuel efficiency, but the turbo can do with while maintaining a high level of performance. Turbochargers moved over to other expensive drivers cars later, for better sporty engine performance; one thing always stayed constant with turbocharged cars - they were for people with expensive tastes. The very term doesn't really bring up visions of Chevys or Hyundais do they? Well, things have turned full circle; we are again in the middle of a situation where fuel economy seems all-important - the government has regulations in place that make impossibly high fuel efficiency standards mandatory. Only now, turbochargers have been around for long enough that it wouldn't be a big deal to make use of them for regular fuel efficiency.
Ford in fact, claims that in three years, nine out of ten of its everyday cars will feature turbochargers; it's not like anybody is anxious to find a way to make expensive turbochargers cheap enough for everyday use; it's just that the law leaves them with no choice. So let's look at some regular cars that we've grown accustomed to depending on as affordable workhorse transportation options that are suddenly going to grow a little big in their boots , thanks to the new automobile manufacturing environment that turns every car turbo charged.
First, take the new Eco variant of the familiar Chevrolet Cruze. This car has "practical" written all over it: it comes with a very reasonable 1400cc four-cylinder engine; and it doesn't seem quite right that it's 140 hp should go with the label "turbocharged", but it does, and with great results too. It gives the Prius a run for its money at 40 mpg on the highway. And then there is the affordable Nissan Juke. It's not just the cost of a car turbo unit that sends the price up on a car equipped with it. Turbos tend to heat things up. Expensive cars have traditionally used high-tech materials and oils and a direct injection technology to make up for the added heat. With everyday cars like this $18,000 Juke, the challenge is to pack into the price a whole bunch of equipment that will help with the heat.
The Hyundai Sonata 2.0T is a car that competes with the likes of the Honda Accord, the Toyota Camry and other big-name flagship models; only it usually costs about $5000 less. Hyundai can't really compromise on performance in any area while it competes with the big boys. It has a unique problem - bringing in all that technology, making it all perform, and doing it all for less money. But it comes through admirably. There is even something special about this Sonata's turbocharger - it is a twin scroll model. Remember that tiny lag everyone loves and hates about turbo cars? When you depress the accelerator at a certain speed, the turbo charger unit takes a moment to build up the pressure before it will catapult you past the speed of sound. This twin scroll turbocharger makes that lag a bit of a car history footnote . The V-6 in this Sonata puts out more than 250 foot pounds of torque while turning at 1800 revolutions per minute. The surprise bit at the end is, it does a pleasing 34 MPG.
So there you have it: every car is soon going to be turbocharged; the manufacturers can't really raise prices all that much; they have to give you the fuel economy and the performance, all while keeping the price constant.