Does engine size matter?

perfume_waggon

I’m choosing a company car and trying to keep costs down. I do fewer than 10k miles p.a, mostly around town and on dual carriageways, with a few motorway trips a year.

I’m very happy with my 2002 Honda Civic 1.6i auto and want to make sure my new car is as good to drive. I’ve been told the following two cars are equivalents, even though they have smaller engines:
SEAT Leon 1.2 TSI Automatic
Ford Focus 1.0 Ecoboost Automatic

Can this be right? I've looked at the fact and figures chart online and they do seem to be comparable, but the Honda is lighter so may be more responsive because of that?

I don't want to make an expensive mistake.

(I will of course take a test drive before making a final decision, but don't want to bother with the smaller engines if I'm missing something. I don't want to drive the next spec up in case I get sucked in to spending more than I need to, hence the desk research first.)

Thanks for any advice.

forgotmyname

Depends on your journey types, you may find that at higher speeds they actually use more fuel.

The 1L ecoboost gets rave reviews on the amount of torque that little engine has for its size. But then they go on to say it lacks power on the hills when loaded.

Marktheshark

Your car is a "real auto"
Are these real autos or those dreaded clutchless wonder monsters that wont reverse up hills.

perfume_waggon

Are these real autos or those dreaded clutchless wonder monsters that wont reverse up hills.

I don't know, how can I tell?

spira9

What are you actually asking?

perfume_waggon

What are you actually asking?

Sorry, I did wonder whether I'd been specific enough.

My question is - Are the two cars I mentioned going to be equivalent in terms of power to my current Honda?

To me, they can't be as the engines are smaller. But I've been told that engine technology has developed so much since 2002 that these cars will drive as well as my 13 year old car.

When I say power/performance I mean being able to pull out of a junction swiftly / drive up steep hills effortlessly etc.

Thanks for any help.

daveyjp

Both get good reviews for low down torque which makes them excellent for stop start town work and the 1.2TSi mpg is excellent. The turbo will give a good boost of power when pulling away.

However any small engine will generally be at higher revs on motorway runs, may be noisy as a result and can give disappointing mpg figures. The 1.4TSi may be better for motorway trips.

The Leon will be a DSG, twin clutch automated manual automatic. They are not without their problems. One in my Audi was a disaster needing expensive repairs after 18 months.

Before deciding get a good run in both cars.

Marktheshark

A real torque converter auto usually needs some engine capacity to get some initial torque to pull out from junctions, the clutch-less wonders are more like having a robot slamming the car in gear and often very roughly at the wrong time, they will feel little difference to the manual in performance but to the real auto driver they are terrible to drive and as different again as a real auto or manual

I drive real Autos if I can and have only driven one of these clutch-less wonders a fiesta and it was absolutely dreadful and even dangerous waiting for it to make a decision for me.
You can not beat the kick-down torque converter box in my opinion, I know these clutch-less wonders might save you a cup of petrol or two but luxury always costs a bit more.

spira9

Looks like you're just looking for reassurance. You already have the answers to your questions.

Go test drive them.

BeenThroughItAll

Marktheshark wrote: »

A real torque converter auto usually needs some engine capacity to get some initial torque to pull out from junctions, the clutch-less wonders are more like having a robot slamming the car in gear and often very roughly at the wrong time, they will feel little difference to the manual in performance but to the real auto driver they are terrible to drive and as different again as a real auto or manual

I drive real Autos if I can and have only driven one of these clutch-less wonders a fiesta and it was absolutely dreadful and even dangerous waiting for it to make a decision for me.
You can not beat the kick-down torque converter box in my opinion, I know these clutch-less wonders might save you a cup of petrol or two but luxury always costs a bit more.

So, you're basing your opinion and the categorical statement of how awful all robotised manual, double clutch automatics and non TC autos in general are on ONE experience?

You don't half spout some drivel.

RichardD1970

Marktheshark wrote: »

A real torque converter auto usually needs some engine capacity to get some initial torque to pull out from junctions, the clutch-less wonders are more like having a robot slamming the car in gear and often very roughly at the wrong time, they will feel little difference to the manual in performance but to the real auto driver they are terrible to drive and as different again as a real auto or manual

I drive real Autos if I can and have only driven one of these clutch-less wonders a fiesta and it was absolutely dreadful and even dangerous waiting for it to make a decision for me.
You can not beat the kick-down torque converter box in my opinion, I know these clutch-less wonders might save you a cup of petrol or two but luxury always costs a bit more.

They're not that bad really.

Yes they are different and you do need to adapt your driving, but that is the same for anything, and after a bit it is second nature, when you learn how the car will respond.

Although I agree, not as nice as a "proper" auto.