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Originally Posted by RunningStrong
A bizarre statement as US highway speeds are "legally" below that of Europe where highway speeds are 70-80 mph. And the most common small car in the UK atleast is the Ford Ka, with a massive 59 hp and abundant on motorways.
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Except when going between countries, where you're on the highway, Europe isn't laid out much like America, with big, wide roads and endless miles of nothing. You have lots of small towns to drive through and lots of narrow, winding roads. Couple that with the higher prices of fuel, and people think nothing of going long distance with an "underpowered" car... versus the US, where you can spend long boring hours with the throttle pinned to the floor between states.
Asia is more like Europe, except our narrow, winding roads are in even worse condition. We do have highways where you can peg the needle, but they're few and far between, and high gas prices force consumers to basically buy as little engine as they can get away with. Over here, anything over 1.6 liters (gasoline) is considered a "gas guzzler" and the biggest diesels you see on the road are typically 3.0... with mere 2.0 - 2.5 diesels being the norm.
I find anything with more than 80 hp completely adequate, if a little frustrating when going uphill, as it's easy to get stuck behind someone going at a snail's pace.
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I think the US-Europe comparison is a non-argument. We all agree here that fuel economy is important, right? US and European driving conditions evolved under a different set of factors, creating what is there now, as payne points out. (Incidentally, a similar set of conditions created the Australian market, which also likes big cars with big engines...). What's left for us is to deal with these conditions as best we can.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ecky
Does the turbo run continuously or is it low-compression when cruising?
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Modern turbos are variable-geometry. There's a low-rpm trim that spools up faster, and a high-rpm trim that pushes more air. This keeps boost fairly constant from just above idle to redline, resulting in a nice, flat torque curve.
As for cruising, I'm pretty sure it will use ultra-lean burn at part throttle cruising for more economy.