Volvo to go 4 Cylinder Only
#16
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Another four that is not particularly smooth or quiet under load is the Subaru boxer flat-four. Subaru flat-fours, despite slick advertising to the contrary, have always had a somewhat rough, grating sound and vibes when revved, though the newer ones are MUCH quieter than those of decades ago, which sounded almost like lawn mowers. I like the basic design, however, because it works superbly well with AWD, and is easy to service and work on.
I can't comment a lot about Volvo fours (the thread topic), because my experience with them is rather limited. I did, however, drive a C30 recently, with its 2.5L in-line 5, and it seemed reasonably refined.
Last edited by mmarshall; 03-19-09 at 07:43 PM.
#17
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I agree that American-designed four-cylinders leave a lot to be desired in the smoothness and refinement, but disagree that the GM Quad-Four used in the Malibu and Aura is an exeption. The Malibu/Aura, more or less twins on the same platform, are nice cars, no question about it (and among the few domestics I would consider owning). But, on the last Aura XE I drove, I was not particularly impressed with the four's smoothness or noise level (the Quad Four has been noted for roughness)....I would probably get a V6 if I had either a Malibu or Aura, though the V6 models have stiffer underpinnings that ride a little rougher, which I don't like.
Another four that is not particularly smooth or quiet under load is the Subaru boxer flat-four. Subaru flat-fours, despite slick advertising to the contrary, have always had a somewhat rough, grating sound and vibes when revved, though the newer ones are MUCH quieter than those of decades ago, which sounded almost like lawn mowers. I like the basic design, however, because it works superbly well with AWD, and is easy to service and work on.
I can't comment a lot about Volvo fours (the thread topic), because my experience with them is rather limited. I did, however, drive a C30 recently, with its 2.5L in-line 5, and it seemed reasonably refined.
Another four that is not particularly smooth or quiet under load is the Subaru boxer flat-four. Subaru flat-fours, despite slick advertising to the contrary, have always had a somewhat rough, grating sound and vibes when revved, though the newer ones are MUCH quieter than those of decades ago, which sounded almost like lawn mowers. I like the basic design, however, because it works superbly well with AWD, and is easy to service and work on.
I can't comment a lot about Volvo fours (the thread topic), because my experience with them is rather limited. I did, however, drive a C30 recently, with its 2.5L in-line 5, and it seemed reasonably refined.
Note: What you did not drive is the latest revised version of the 4 cylinder in the Malibu, it's not the piece of crap quad 4 thankfully. The revisions addressing noise, vibration and harshness included different motor mounts, insulation plus adding a 6 speed auto tranny were implemented in late 2008. Obviously everybody agreed that the old quad 4 was not acceptable and needed to be changed.
I agree that Subaru 4 cylinders are not especially pleasant sounding, 2 close family members own them and I've driven several.
Last edited by IS-SV; 03-19-09 at 10:39 PM. Reason: Malibu info added regarding change effectivity
#19
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Note: What you did not drive is the latest revised version of the 4 cylinder in the Malibu, it's not the piece of crap quad 4 thankfully. The revisions addressing noise, vibration and harshness included different motor mounts, insulation plus adding a 6 speed auto tranny were implemented in late 2008. Obviously everybody agreed that the old quad 4 was not acceptable and needed to be changed.
I agree that Subaru 4 cylinders are not especially pleasant sounding, 2 close family members own them and I've driven several.
Last edited by mmarshall; 03-21-09 at 11:57 AM.
#20
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But, in general, across the board, Honda/Acura and Toyota generally do the best job putting smoothness and refinement into ordinary bread-and-butter in-line fours. My main complaint, though, with VTEC Honda fours (and some Toyota VTEC fours as well), is that the torque curve is too peaky.......too many RPM's (IMO) are needed for good response, and, even then, max torque at high RPM's does not equal the HP figure. That is definitely NOT the case with the VW/Audi 2.0T.
One exception, however, is the Acura in-line turbo four used on the RDX......the first Honda/Acura factory-turbo four in the American market. It provides strong torque at comparatively low RPMs, without the super-high RPMs needed for other Honda-designed fours. The in-line four used in the Honda Element/CR-V is also another exception. Its max-torque figure equals the HP figure, even without a turbo.
Last edited by mmarshall; 03-21-09 at 12:15 PM.
#22
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