A Jump Start to Motoring Basics: Engine Size Explained

For many, buying a new car in 2010 means sifting through a mind-boggling array of acronyms that make up the technological achievement that is the modern automobile. But even before one has to deal with those acronyms, comes the challenge of figuring out what size engine should be fitted to the vehicle you’re paying too much money for. In many cases, I come across drivers who don’t know that they drive a 1.6-litre or a 1300 so for this post, I’ll be explaining what the numbers affixed to your car’s rear end signify. The letters, like “GTi”, “GLE” and TSi… well, that’s for another post entirely.

Most cars are fitted with internal combustion petrol engines. These have pistons that travel inside cylinders – okay, that is already getting rather technical – but all you need to know is that the pistons and cylinders are the greasy bits that move up and down inside your engine, compressing a mixture of fuel and air until a spark ignites it, thereby generating the power that propels you past the Golden Arrow bus blocking your path.

So, engines contain cylinders and cylinders contain pistons. The size – or displacement – of your engine is the maximum amount of space in the cylinders that can fill with air and fuel. Engine displacement is measured in either cubic centimetres (cc) or litres. A 2.0-litre engine will therefore have a total displacement of approximately 2000 (a 1989cc engine will be rounded off and referred to as a 2.0, not a 1.989-litre!) cubic centimetres. In comparison to a 1.6-litre, a 2-litre engine obviously has a larger capacity and therefore the ability to pump a greater amount of air/fuel which enables it to produce more power than the average 1.6.

"325" denotes a "3 Series BMW" fitted with a 2.5-litre motor

A common motoring adage says that “there is no replacement for displacement” and it largely holds true. The easiest way – alongside forced induction - to generate more power out of an engine is to increase its size. Of course, engine size generally correlates to the size of the vehicle – this is why you will never see a Fiat Uno 4.0-litre cruising by. If you do see such a car, it will more likely be flying to the moon than cruising.

A CitiGolf fitted with a 1400cc motor and a diagram of an internal combustion motor with 4 cylinders. The coloured areas represent the engine's displacement.

Of course, the obvious disadvantage of larger engines is that because they’re able to pump a larger amount of an air/fuel mixture, they’re heavier on fuel. Also, whether presented as a 1600, 160 or 1.6, these are all engines with a displacement that is the same or similar enough to make no real difference.

Perhaps the next oversight that many make when relating to engine size is that a 1600 is definitely faster than a 1400. However, there are many variables that one has to take into account when comparing the performance of two vehicles. For example, a 1.6-litre VW Citi-Golf is faster than a VW Jetta fitted with a 2.0-litre. Even though the Jetta has a larger engine and produces more power, it is much heavier.

For a more accurate (but never entirely perfect) performance comparison, one has to take into account the power to weight ratio of a vehicle – this figure can be used to compare vehicles in different segments and with different sizes of engine.

So, there we go. A basic guide to engine capacity/size/displacement explained… may you now nod knowingly at the thousands of 180i Corollas, 1.6 Polos and 1.4 Fiestas as they whizz by you.

A Jump Start to Motoring Basics

I recently had a really entertaining conversation with a colleague who didn’t have the slightest idea of what those sparkly, chromed numbers on the back of cars related to. My statement that they indicated the engine size was met with wide-eyed wonder that left me smirking but also got me thinking.

As car enthusiasts, we often take for granted that our basic knowledge of cars falls under the category of “general knowledge” when in fact, it does not. There are masses of drivers out there piloting pieces of exotica without the slightest concept of what they’re driving beyond what the badge on the leather-bound steering wheel says. For example, I am fairly certain that the 40-plus female with an old-school bob hairdo that I often drive alongside in the mornings has no idea that the BMW Z4 M she cruises in has a 3,2-litre masterpiece under the bonnet. A masterpiece that must wonder why on earth it never exceeds 60 km/h when it was designed to blast way past that velocity before one has to change gear.

Granted, there is no real need for her to know this. But part and parcel of what makes many of us enjoy driving so much is having a basic knowledge of the machine that we’re operating.

Another friend of mine recently bought herself a second-hand car but didn’t know how important it was to find one that came with a full service history, almost always abbreviated as “FSH” in adverts. Again, a basic piece of information to me but a complete unknown to her.

There is now of course the inevitable question of what my point is. Well, like a Blu-Ray DVD player or the latest BlackBerry, cars are far more easily enjoyed, appreciated and safer to operate if one understands the basics that make the vehicle what it is.

Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be writing a few “car basics” articles for the automotively-challenged individuals out there. These will be for everyone, especially the girls and (a few) guys who know only the colour of their cars, who change gears too early or too late or who think that stability control is what acrobats employ while negotiating their way across a tight rope.

Keep following me on Twitter where I’ll be posting updates of these articles as they’re posted.

CAR Magazine article: October 2010

I had the fantastic opportunity recently to spend some time at the offices of CAR Magazine and find out how the leading motoring publication in the country is put together.

In addition to meeting the talented and inspiring team of journalists, art directors and road test engineers who put together the magazine, I also wrote a few articles which were posted on the magazine’s website (www.carmag.co.za).

Below is one of these articles which was later published in the October 2010 edition of the magazine. It is a piece on the return of the Lancia Stratos. You can still pick up a copy of the October issue which will remain on sale until the end of next week.