Diesel Engine Battle

Diesel Engine Battle

Diesel engine in india decides the fate of the automobile company. Companies which offers good combo of power and mileage (diesel engines) are the leaders in the segment. In this article we are going to talk about the entry level diesel engines from various brands. We are going to compare the specs, performance and practicality of each engine based on our benchmarks.

For now we are going to talk about

·         1.5l TDI from volkswagon

·         1.3l Multijet from fiat

·         1.4l Crde from hyundai

·         1.5l dci from Nissan

·         1.5l i-Dtec from honda

1.5l(volkeswagon)	1.3l(fiat)	1.4l (hyundai)	1.5l(nissan)	1.5l (honda)
90 & 105 bhp	75 & 90 bhp	75 bhp	68 85 & 110 bhp	100 bhp
230Nm 250Nm	170 & 210Nm	224Nm	250Nm max tor.	200Nm

1.5l TDI VOLKESWAGON

Talking about the motor from volkeswagon first. This one is the 1.5l unit recently launched powering volkeswagon polo, vento and skoda rapid. This motor comes in 2 varients one producing 89bhp and the other one is making 105bhp. The motor is very punchy and the turbo starts to function very soon at 1500 rpm giving strong pull. The older 1.2l unit from vw has got a fixed geometry turbocharger therefore delivering a non linear torque. However this one employs a VGT (Variable Geometry Turbocharger) which provides a flat torque curve, low emissions, ‘super acceleration’ and ‘outstanding power efficiency’. The power has gone up as compared to the 1.2l while the torque has increased manifold. Volkeswagon uses TDI batch because its diesel motors which use turbocharged direct injection technology rather than the common rail technology. The results are quite promising both on paper as well as on road. This motor has received a good response from the critics and is definetly a hot buy in india right now. demands service at 15000KM interval.

1.5l i-Dtec HONDA

This engine was Honda’s first diesel engine offering in india and it was launched with amaze, after that they launched a slightely tweaked version of this engine in city. On paper figures of this engine is amazing, Honda claims the engine delivers 100bhp of power and 200Nm of max torque while providing 25.8Km/l of mileage, which is very difficult to bring all these figures in straight line. The best features of this engine is that it is light in weight, compact and has low engine cooling system. i-DTEC also boasts low mechanical friction losses which Honda claims is nearly at par with some petrol engines losses. Honda has also developed a new engine oil which is developed considering the indian conditions of temp, wheather and topography. The engine body is monoqouqe thereby reducing the overall engine weight and the noise levels to considerable amount. The engine seems to be just perfect for the indian markets however on road tests were just ok. The engine does not have peaky power delivery and the torque levels are just adequate. Overall if you want to have all the flavours i.e. power , mileage and performance in a single engine, then this is the engine to go for.

1.3l Multijet FIAT

This one is one of the most familiar unit in india and needs no introduction. Almost half of the diesel cars in india are powered with this engine. Wheather it be fiat tata or maruti all of them uses this engine. This engine comes in two varients 75 and 90 bhp. Back in 2006 when this motor was launched it won the award for best engine of the year. This engine offers practicality for indian market, power is adequate , mileage is good and maintainence is low, no wonder this is the best selling diesel engine in india. One factor where it lacks is the performance where it European rivals takes the lead. The engine seriously underperformes if compared to the cars launched in this segment. But if you want to go the indian way(economy way) then this is the engine to buy.

Its elder sibling 1.6l MJD has also made its way in the market in Suzuki S-Cross. However the price of this car was too high so the response of  public was not good and car was flop. 

1.4l Crde Hyundai

This is also a familiar unit and has been in the market for quite some time. This engine powers i20 and entry level fluidic verna models. On paper figures are good with Hyundai claiming 90bhp of peak power and 220Nm of peak torque, however the important thing to be noticed is that this engine is mated with 6 speed manual transmission, which makes cruising in the city and on the highway a cakewalk. On road the engine performance is good though not as par with the 1.5l unit from the VW. The turbo starts to function soon giving sheer surge of power at around 1750rpm which waves all the way round to 2750rpm. Noise levels are quite low for those people who have problems with the jittering sound of the diesel engines.  Maintenance can be a problem as the diesel motor asks for service after every 5000kms.

1.5l NISSAN

This is one of the oldest offerings from Nissan but it took a boom with the launch of Renault duster, no one had thought that the car could be so hit with such a small motor underhood. It received a mixed response from the critics, some claiming it to be economical while others underpowered. This motors comes in three variants 68,85 and 110 bhp. 68bhp powers micra, pulse & verito, 85bhp powers sunny, scala, duster and terrano and 110bhp powers duster, terrano and fluence. The difference between motors is the size of the turbocharger unit and the geometry with low end offering ‘fixed size geometry’ turbo and the high end offering ‘variable size geometry’ turbo. The engine is quite refined and adequate for indian conditions. If you are looking for something between power and economy then this is the engine for you.

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