Would a 3 Cylinder Turbo Engine Be Reliable?

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vonsworld
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Would a 3 Cylinder Turbo Engine Be Reliable?

Post by vonsworld »

Hello Everyone,

Just interested in your opinions...

I am thinking of buying another car next year and recenly hired a Purgeot 208 GT, which I thought was a fun drive.

Although it feels like you're driving a 1.6/1.8L engine, I then discovered that this car has a 1.2L, 3 Cylinder Turbo Charged Engine.

On the positive side this does give good performance and low fuel consumption, but should I be concerned about longer term reliability?

Does tuning up a small engine mean that it wouldn't last as long as a larger standard engine and maybe blow up after 50K miles??

Thanks for your feedback

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Re: Would a 3 Cylinder Turbo Engine Be Reliable?

Post by GiveMeABreak »

Does tuning up a small engine mean that it wouldn't last as long as a larger standard engine and maybe blow up after 50K miles??
No - it's one of the newer ranges of engine - and of course I'm not talking about after-market engine tuning of course. :wink:

You're probably on about the EB2* variants of 3 cylinder petrol engines - these are used in a lot of vehicles now - and in larger vehicles too like the C5 Aircross - 130 BHP puretech. They have a lot of variations. This is for fuel efficiency and economy with vehicles getting lighter and having to meet tougher Euro standards.

The only thing to watch for is the timing belts - as a lot of these engines are 'belt in oil' systems and the initial timing belt change is 62k miles or 6 years on some models - (there are variations to this and are engine specific), where they inspect and swap out the belt - possibly with an improved version that does not shred and block the oil. The following timing belt service is generally back to the 120k mile / 12 year time.

So proper servicing, with the absolute correct grade and quality of oil is essential.
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Re: Would a 3 Cylinder Turbo Engine Be Reliable?

Post by vonsworld »

Thank you for your interesting reply, I think I'll give that engine a miss!

Cheers
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Re: Would a 3 Cylinder Turbo Engine Be Reliable?

Post by GiveMeABreak »

I don't see anything intrinsically wrong with the engine - they have designed it from scratch to be more fuel efficient, lighter and to give better fuel economy with a lot of power choices.

Not that I hold such opinions in high esteem, but Jeremy Clarkson was Uber impressed with it. If you get a chance to watch his review of the C3 Aircross on the Grand Tour Episode fitted one of these engines you'll see why.

I was just pointing out the timing belt system used and why it's important to make sure the correct oil grade is used and the initial timing service adhered to.
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Re: Would a 3 Cylinder Turbo Engine Be Reliable?

Post by Michel »

No, it doesn't mean that at all with a modern engine. The 849cc triple in my motorcycle is highly tuned - 126bhp and normally aspirated. There's many of these on the owners group with well over 100k on them, and they only started producing this bike in 2013.
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Re: Would a 3 Cylinder Turbo Engine Be Reliable?

Post by Hell Razor5543 »

You might also want to consider that three cylinder engines have been used in cars for quite a while. I recall the Daihatsu Charade diesel was only a three cylinder 1L engine, had an achievable 80+MPG, and came out about 30 years ago. My manager had the Turbo (petrol) version (it was also a 1L engine), and it could out-accelerate a scalded cat! 0 - 60MPH in "Bl00dy H3ll!!!" (This was the generation 3 range);

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daihatsu_Charade

The simple observation is that, provided you look after an engine PROPERLY, it should give you reliable service.
Last edited by Hell Razor5543 on 09 Sep 2021, 17:04, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Would a 3 Cylinder Turbo Engine Be Reliable?

Post by myglaren »

Not to forget the SAAB 93 (not 93).
3 cylinder 750cc two stroke. Excellent at the time.

My youngest son has a Triumph Street Triple that has been great and very reliable.
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Re: Would a 3 Cylinder Turbo Engine Be Reliable?

Post by mickthemaverick »

Reliability of almost any engine is down to good usage practices and good maintenance. If you drive sensibly, don't overtax the engine by lazy gear selection or harsh acceleration when it's still cold and feed it according to the maintenance schedule most modern engines will be good for well over 100k miles before major work s warranted!! In fact the way things are developing in the world I would suggest that if you buy it next year, drive and maintain it properly it will probably last longer than the supply of fuel for it!! :-D
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