Quote:
Originally Posted by HydroJim
3 wheel vs 4 wheel?
gas vs diesel?
turbo vs non-turbo?
OBD 2(post 96) vs not OBD 1 or whatever(pre 96)
|
If I had the skills, time and money my answers would be
1. 4 wheels, a full compliment seems ideal. A mid-engined layout lends itself to mounting an FWD powertrain behind the seats with the steering locked. If you get 2 subframes from an FWD car you get both ends. The MGF was made this way :
It used the front subframe of one of these at both ends :
(this is what we in the UK know as a Metro...
)
2. Tricky. Diesel is automatically better on MPG but worse on emissions and in some cases weight and reliability issues such as DPFs. I used to run a TDI here in the UK but all new Diesels have a DPF so I switched to petrol. On the plus side they can run on refined veggie oil for low $$s and have more driveable torque profiles.
If you go Petrol then smaller and more modern the better - maybe a Smart engine (watch for wear / oil consumption on earlier ones) or Geo Metro / suzuki 1.0 & 1.3 units. Also look at the smaller Toyota, Kia, Nissan etc. engines - somewhere between 1.3 and 1.5 would be ideal.
This will be driven more by what you have available locally than a general question I suspect.
3. If you go Diesel then turbo, if petrol then N/A. Turbo on a diesel makes it more driveable and can positively affect MPGs in normal driving and they tend to be more modern (TDI etc.) and FWD/transverse format. An NA diesel is more flexible on fuel and cheaper to buy but also heavier - think more truck engines than car ones.
4. The more modern your engine is then you gain more than you lose.
You gain the OBD2 stuff (readings and ECU) plus better FE and more power.
You lose based on complexity (more electronics) and also when makers link things like security (immobilisers) to the engine management system so it makes it more complicated when you use the engine in another vehicle.