Question for those of you who drive vehicles with "low power" engines

[niky]

Playing underpowered crapcar trumps...

I win.




34 roaring horses.

And it's diesel, to boot.

0-45 mph in a quarter mile, give or take. Never did find out how far you had to drive to hit 60.

Yes, that's me in the driver's seat. Grinning like an idiot.

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And to think, just before that slalom run, I was driving a GT-R.

Kind of gives you a perspective what "fast" and "slow" really are.

[rmay635703]

Holy crap batman

I didn't know Japanese carmakers made diesel kei cars.

Is that a 660cc twin too?

Would love to import that.

[Frank Lee]

It's more fun to drive a slow vehicle fast than a fast vehicle slow.

P.S. Old Microbus driver here. Do all Microbus drivers have silly grins pasted on their faces? I bet they do!

[PaleMelanesian]

Haha that's great! I almost bought the flatbed version of that for my farm runabout. I ended up getting a Polaris Ranger side-by-side atv instead.

[jamesqf]

As others have said, you can do just fine with an 'underpowered' car. You may have to change your attitude & driving style a bit. You can't expect to crawl up an on-ramp, pull in to the travel lane and floor it to merge, for instance, but you shouldn't be doing that anyway. You need to get a running start on steep hills instead of expecting to maintain constant speed, but if you're driving for economy, you should be doing that anyway. And you need to look ahead and anticipate, but again, you should be doing that anyway.

And don't be afraid to drop into 3rd or even 2nd to accelerate when needed. That's what the gears are for.

*2000 Insight, 1000 cc engine, not much battery assist left.

[niky]

I got a chance to drive a classic Beetle a few months back... for the first time, ever (don't ask why it's taken so long).

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No power. But no brakes. No power steering, either.

Lovely thing. You only go as fast as you can go, and no further. But the unfiltered steering and controls, and the lightness of the car, make it feel like it's going quick enough.

Originally Posted by rmay635703

Holy crap batman

I didn't know Japanese carmakers made diesel kei cars.

Is that a 660cc twin too?

Would love to import that.

793 cc twin, according to the specs... though I (SADLY) didn't get a chance to pop the engine compartment open for pics.

Suzuki is big in India, and India loves diesels, so no, it's not Japanese, even if it's Japanese (if that makes sense). A Maruti-Suzuki product, this thing. Don't know if it could pass the sniffer test, but surprisingly, it is supposed to be Euro IV compatible... direct injection, four-valve head (8V total) with a turbo and intercooler.

Won't set your pants on fire, but the low-end torque is enough to get you going quick.

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by niky

793 cc twin, according to the specs... though I (SADLY) didn't get a chance to pop the engine compartment open for pics.

Suzuki is big in India, and India loves diesels, so no, it's not Japanese, even if it's Japanese (if that makes sense). A Maruti-Suzuki product, this thing. Don't know if it could pass the sniffer test, but surprisingly, it is supposed to be Euro IV compatible... direct injection, four-valve head (8V total) with a turbo and intercooler.

Won't set your pants on fire, but the low-end torque is enough to get you going quick.

Hmm, wonder how I could import that motor drivetrain combo?

How much do they charge for a Suzuki diesel tuk?

[niky]

Originally Posted by rmay635703

Hmm, wonder how I could import that motor drivetrain combo?

How much do they charge for a Suzuki diesel tuk?

We don't have them, but we do have Bajaj and Piaggio Tuks. Both around 400cc, I think.

Mahindra is testing a diesel kei to bring in... but it has a thumper instead of a twin.

The Zuk is probably the cleanest small diesel package you can buy, since it's DI. But it will likely be expensive.

[Fingie]

I've thought about buying a Piaggio Ape tm 703 someday.

No diesel tax, and is classified as a motorcycle.

consumes 3,45L/100km/68MPG! :O

400cc diesel. The top speed is only 60km/h, but you can load 700KG of stuff on it.

[niky]

Originally Posted by Fingie

I've thought about buying a Piaggio Ape tm 703 someday.

No diesel tax, and is classified as a motorcycle.

consumes 3,45L/100km/68MPG! :O

400cc diesel. The top speed is only 60km/h, but you can load 700KG of stuff on it.

I keep meaning to ask for a test-drive from the local distributor, but my issue is that I can't take it on the tollways around here.

With the traffic, a tollway trip from the metropolitan area to my place is around an hour to an hour and a half (it's only about twenty five miles.. yes, traffic is that bad). If I have to take local roads, it's about two hours or more.