Funky new 3 Cylinder Engines in cars?

Mr Bump

Mr Bump

From under the bridge
Suspended / Banned
Messages
10,944
Name
Sophia aka Paul
Edit My Images
Yes
We've just leased the new C3 for my wife. It has a 1200cc 3 cylinder engine but we opted for the 110bhp and I must say it's very gutsy. The 3 cylinder engines are a bit noisier under acceleration than a 4 cylinder but the wife seems to be happy.

I think most of the smaller cars are going down the 3 cylinder route now. We looked at Seat, Citroen and Kia and they were all 3 cylinder. We replaced a Nissan Juke and even the new Nissan Juke is a 3 cylinder.
 
FWIW

My 65 plated Ford Focus Ecoboost 125 has a 1.0 litre (actually I think is 997cc ?) 3 cylinder engine and with it's 125 BHP (in old money ;) ) has the performance IMO of a 1600cc NB this is a petrol engined one :)

Engine design and power output has seen some significant development over the past few years.

In regard to the Citroen Peugeot small cars, my neighbour has the smallest model though not sure of the exact model but it has a 3 cylinder diesel and I think he bought it with 80,000 plus miles and as far as I know it now has well in excess of 100,000 mile on the clock!
 
Thanks I had a 58 plate C3 with an old school 4cyl 1.4 and it was gutless but very quiet, I guess more power will mean a bit more noise then?
I drive like miss daisy though
 
Mr Bump said:
Thanks I had a 58 plate C3 with an old school 4cyl 1.4 and it was gutless but very quiet, I guess more power will mean a bit more noise then?
I drive like miss daisy though
Click to expand...

The new 1200cc 3 cylinder engines usually have a turbo which really helps. I had a 1600cc naturally aspirated Kia Sportage and it was terribly gutless. I now have a Nissan Qashqai 1600cc with a turbo and it goes like the clappers.

We never drove the 82bhp engine and all the reviews that we read and watch seem to suggest that the 110bhp was the one to go for if choosing petrol over diesel.
 
Mr Bump said:
My 10 year old Citroen got squashed on the M62 last week so I am looking to for a value for money replacement.
Citroen do the car I like with a 3 cylinder 82bhp Puretech engine, it seems to be used a lot in the peuogot citroen range.
what are they like?

I am off to look at this car in about an hour

https://www.arnoldclark.com/used-ca...puretech-platinum-5dr/2016/ref/arnel-u-572636
Click to expand...
At 82bhp it probably won't have a turbo and will be gutless and any hills will rapidly become tiresome to negotiate. Anything 100Bhp plus should have a turbo and will be more relaxed to drive.
 
nilagin said:
At 82bhp it probably won't have a turbo and will be gutless and any hills will rapidly become tiresome to negotiate. Anything 100Bhp plus should have a turbo and will be more relaxed to drive.
Click to expand...

it doesn't have a turbo I already looked at that but to be honest for me and my style of driving (very slow) and it is less to go wrong.
The model C3 I am looking at comes with cruise control which makes me think there is sufficient power in the engine.
A good test drive will help, also I cannot afford the 110phb version as my budget is very limited.
I have allowed £8k for the car and it needs to be less than 3 years old.
 
I quite like the innovation being used on the new Fiesta ST.
it has a 1.5L 3 cylinder turbo charged engine that can go like the clappers but in more leisurely driving it can deactivate one cylinder to become a 2 cylinder engine.

Clever stuff indeed!

Begs the question though for how much longer the 4 cylinder engine will continue to be produced when the norm now seems like 3 cylinders plus forced induction.
 
stupar said:
I quite like the innovation being used on the new Fiesta ST.
it has a 1.5L 3 cylinder turbo charged engine that can go like the clappers but in more leisurely driving it can deactivate one cylinder to become a 2 cylinder engine.

Clever stuff indeed!

Begs the question though for how much longer the 4 cylinder engine will continue to be produced when the norm now seems like 3 cylinders plus forced induction.
Click to expand...

The more I look the more people are using 3 cyls
 
The issue with these new small capacity/large power output engines is life expectancy. I've heard of a few (lot) of issues with the Focus Ecoboost 1 litre going bang but not in the Fiesta despite having the same engine. Lower power 3 cylinder cars should be fine though.
My wife has a Skoda Citigo Greentech 1 litre with 75 ps and it goes fine - good torque and a nice off beat sound a bit like a 6 cylinder.
Biggest concern is Arnold Clark in the original post.
 
DavieW said:
The issue with these new small capacity/large power output engines is life expectancy. I've heard of a few (lot) of issues with the Focus Ecoboost 1 litre going bang but not in the Fiesta despite having the same engine.
Click to expand...
The engine is fine mechanically, it is the degas pipe that runs from the coolant expansion bottle to the thermostat housing and / or a faulty temperature sensor. If either fails the engine overheats, blows the head gasket and warps the head. Any coolant getting into the combustion chambers could hydrology the engine.
There has been a recall on this since 2015, but as some cars will have changed hands it takes time to track down people who aren't the original owner.
 
Well i went and looked and it was great, like new in fact, had a test drive and really nice, the engine is different, more like a small diesel than a petrol.
anyhow a good deal was done and i collect it on friday.
 
nilagin said:
The engine is fine mechanically, it is the degas pipe that runs from the coolant expansion bottle to the thermostat housing and / or a faulty temperature sensor. If either fails the engine overheats, blows the head gasket and warps the head. Any coolant getting into the combustion chambers could hydrology the engine.
There has been a recall on this since 2015, but as some cars will have changed hands it takes time to track down people who aren't the original owner.
Click to expand...
Handy to know. When did they start putting it right in new cars? Should I be worried about my June 2017 car?
 
OP, i have the 125bhp ecoboost in a Focus and was surprised by the performance when i test drove it. Its not a hot hatch but comfortable motorway cruiser, Did Essex to the Lake district in June and was fine
 
Well, I can run on a single cylinder . . .

. . . of Pringles a day. :D
 
Ian D J said:
Well, I can run on a single cylinder . . .

. . . of Pringles a day. :D
Click to expand...
I was at the gym the other day, on the treadmill next to me, the t***t put a water bottle in the pringles holder!
 
A 3 cylinder fires ever 120 degrees of the crank shaft while a four cylinder always fires on 180 degrees which should give more even distribution of power on a 3 cylinder.
 
AgentOrange76 said:
Handy to know. When did they start putting it right in new cars? Should I be worried about my June 2017 car?
Click to expand...
As the recall started in 2015, you should be fine. New cars would have had corrected parts fitted from 2015.
 
Cobra said:
I never understood the logic of a 3 cyl 4 stroke engine TBH.

@nilagin Thoughts Neil?
Click to expand...
It should use less fuel and emissions will be lower. Also the engine will be smaller and lighter meaning it can more easily be packaged into a vehicle. Why a 4 cylinder instead of a 5 or 6 cylinder?
I have been testing and developing the upgraded version of the 1.0 Ecoboost for the last 4yrs which may already be in the new Fiesta and the new Focus which has just been unveiled. The engines are in no way highly stressed, for what they go through on an engine dyno, what you do to them in a car is like a Sunday stroll in the country.
We normally replace an engine on a dyno after 1000hrs, the equivalent of 50,000 miles, just so the engine data required is achieved on a relatively fresh engine. But one of the engines I had, did over 3k dyno hours, over 150k miles of testing it still made it's max power and torque figures, didn't use up much oil, and compression and leakdown checks showed minimal difference to when the engine was new.
 
nilagin said:
Why a 4 cylinder instead of a 5 or 6 cylinder?
Click to expand...
4 cyl. for 4 stroke 6 would also work, as would 8 or 12. anything dividable by 4 makes more sense.

Same as a 2cyl 2 stroke.
 
will one pull my caravan though :beer:
 
I've had 4 motorcycles with 3 cylinder engines, BMW K75, 2 Triumph Sprint 995s and now a 1050 Sprint. I Love 3 cylinder engines, so much so we have just bought (take delivery on Saturday) of a 1 yr old 125ps Fiesta.
In fact BMW's 4 cylinder 1 litre version of the 750 3 cylinder I had was considers a worse engine, no balance shaft and vibrated like it's life depended on it.
So in short I wouldnt worry in the slightest about half a V6 under my bonnet (or between me legs).
 
Last edited:
I had an Yammy XS 850 triple. but preferred the F1 750 4 Honda.
It still seems an odd concept to me, I guess things progress, though.
 
bass_junkie83 said:
Does it matter? It's not like it is being made the only engine type available.
Click to expand...
not in the least Dave I'm more than happy with my 2.0 ltr turbo diesel 4x4 :woot::woot::woot::woot:
 
I had my eye on a rather fine BMW Isetta the other day, that only has one cylinder.
Just a bit too pricey at a fiver under 17 grand, would love one or a Messerschmitt KR200
 
tijuana taxi said:
Just a bit too pricey at a fiver under 17 grand,
Click to expand...
Its funny isn't it, when we were younger cars we had, were classed as "Junkers"
My TR2 long door is worth around 30 K well it would be if I hadn't sold it for 50 quid, back in the early 70's
And my Volvo P1800s is ( would have been) worth even more :eek:
Cost me about £500 iirc in the late mid 70's
Now about that time machine ..... :D
 
I like my triple. Bit bigger than the Citroen lump though as well as chucking out close to twice the power (to about 1/3 the weight). Driven a few little triple powered cars and don't think they're really up to modern day traffic conditions.
 
nonsense, what traffic conditions are you on about. If you mean stuck in traffic in town, or doing 90 in the fast lane?

parents have a 1ltr 3 cylinder naturally aspirated corsa, performs perfectly around town and on country roads, comfortably does 70 on the motorway. Wouldnt be the choice of a regular motorway driver granted but then they would most likely want a larger car anyways.
 
We just had a Focus ecoboost on hire for the weekend just past.
Drove flawlessly up and down the A9.

Pulled well in 6th gear and was happy to keep up with other traffic.
 
Agreed, I have the Focus Estate and performs better than previous Seat 1.6lt, Fiesta 1.4 TDCI, and Astra 1.7TDCI, with the exception that the Astra had better low down torque and slightly better acceleration 55-70.
 
I got a new van, its a courier which is a Fiesta base.
Drove it for 6 weeks before I found out by accident it was 3 cylinder, wouldn't have known otherwise, although I was beginning to wonder when it would require some fuel..:ROFLMAO:
Now that I know, just about the only thing that seems slightly different to my last 4 cyl van is, 2nd gear is a shade long for traveling around my estate at the speed I'm supposed to...:)
 
andy700 said:
I would be concerned about a three cyclinder engine, from the point of balance and cooling, and as others have said - longevity. Back in the sixties, Honda produced 5 cylinder 125cc and 6 cylinder 250cc GP bikes which were pretty much unbeatable. I sometimes wonder if more cylinders is the way to go?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLYo8io6fBA


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o57JwibqCb8
Click to expand...

The reason for using more cylinders then was that the moving parts could be made smaller and lighter to enable higher revs = more power from a conventionally aspirated engine. 1960s metallurgy wasn't up to building high-revving small engines with heavier parts. IIRC these had very narrow power bands and lots of gears to enable maximum use of the peak power.


Back on topic, I like 3 cylinder engines in motorcycles, and owned a Triumph Trident (not T150) in the mid 2000s.
 
Picked up the 3 Cylinder Fiesta on Saturday, lovely little engine, lovely car, shame it got hit up the back literally 15 mins after I picked it up though, brakes probably too good!
Tough little b****r, not too much damage, goes in today for an estimate to repair. Old days I reckon there would have been massive damage to rear wings, boot lid etc
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top