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The turbo 4 doesn't offer any performance gains over the V6 either off-the-line or in the long run. Here's the NX350 with that engine compared to the V6 Highlander from Motor Trend:
It's actually slower off the line despite weighing 400 pounds less and having more torque, and somehow the weight distribution is actually worse despite having a smaller engine up front. Barring the limited production 3-cylinder in the GR Corolla and Yaris, Toyota's turbo 4 and 6 cylinders are bottom of their segments and not nearly as competitive as their naturally aspirated engines.
0-60 is irrelevant for these cars, even the article recognizes that. When I drive the family NX, I have my wife and daughter in the car and I feather the throttle in ECO mode. It actually fun in sport mode though, plenty of throttle response and torque on tap. You won't find me stoplight racing an RDX or Q5. If anyone is buying these cars for performance they will regret it on many levels. Aside from the enthusiast category who would buy an NX for any sort of performance, of the three in my family (wife, parents and in-laws) all of them love it. I would love to throw some Michelin Pilot Sport 4 SUV tires on there but I have a feeling my wife wouldn't appreciate a 20k mile tire.
I mean....kidna hard to swap something that hasn't been there till now lol! Just wait, there will be a plus 70hp tune out in two months max.
Then all thoughts about the V6 will be gone! Turbos are wonderful for a nice 20% increase on all stock hardware on any car that has them, super easy way to bump stuff up. I picked up 150hp in my turbo car with just a tune and intake pipes. It's just too easy vs NA engines
Here we go again lol.
Nobody is going to tune a Highlander. 99% of people who own Highlanders have no idea what a tune is.
0-60 is irrelevant for these cars, even the article recognizes that. When I drive the family NX, I have my wife and daughter in the car and I feather the throttle in ECO mode. It actually fun in sport mode though, plenty of throttle response and torque on tap. You won't find me stoplight racing an RDX or Q5. If anyone is buying these cars for performance they will regret it on many levels. Aside from the enthusiast category who would buy an NX for any sort of performance, of the three in my family (wife, parents and in-laws) all of them love it. I would love to throw some Michelin Pilot Sport 4 SUV tires on there but I have a feeling my wife wouldn't appreciate a 20k mile tire.
It's not about 0-60 times, it's about what actual benefits there are to moving to a 4 cylinder turbo here other than dodging emissions fines.
Usually a turbo offers better off the line performance than a naturally aspirated engine but Toyota tuned it to drive like a slow naturally aspirated engine by all accounts, basically defeating the entire purpose.
I saw a riced out new Highlander weaving in and out of traffic yesterday at 90 MPH, so there are always a couple weirdos!
There are lots of performance SUVs out though. They tend to be luxury brands or on the smaller side though. The only non-luxury brands mid-size SUV seem to be the Ford Explorer ST and Durango SRT (Hellcat too). Leave it to the American brands to make it more exciting
It's not about 0-60 times, it's about what actual benefits there are to moving to a 4 cylinder turbo here other than dodging emissions fines.
Usually a turbo offers better off the line performance than a naturally aspirated engine but Toyota tuned it to drive like a slow naturally aspirated engine by all accounts, basically defeating the entire purpose.
The driving experience is much better throughout a larger rpm range due to the low end torque. That can't be quantified very well in a 0-60 as there is a turbo lag penalty from idle but if you are moving with at least 2000rpm and want to accelerate, the response is typically much better than an NA engine in that same range. I'll admit a tune does help a ton but even in stock form, the NX was a lot better than expected.
There are lots of performance SUVs out though. They tend to be luxury brands or on the smaller side though. The only non-luxury brands mid-size SUV seem to be the Ford Explorer ST and Durango SRT (Hellcat too). Leave it to the American brands to make it more exciting
The issue isn't the SUV, its the Highlander lol. People will absolutely buy and modify SUVs for performance, but those people shouldn't buy a Highlander.
The issue isn't the SUV, its the Highlander lol. People will absolutely buy and modify SUVs for performance, but those people shouldn't buy a Highlander.
Lets also be realistic. Most people won’t modify a Toyota crossover
Nobody is going to tune a Highlander. 99% of people who own Highlanders have no idea what a tune is.
Would you say the same thing about a civic or accord? Those have been seeing a lot of action ever since thy received turbo engines relative to the older options. It's a lot more temping when you don't have to do anything other that just plug in a handheld programmer
Would you say the same thing about a civic or accord? Those have been seeing a lot of action ever since thy received turbo engines relative to the older options. It's a lot more temping when you don't have to do anything other that just plug in a handheld programmer
Not at all, a Civic and to a lesser extent an Accord are more enthusiast driven. Even them though, 99.9% are not tuned.
Well...i enjoy revving out the V8 in my GX. I dont mind that it isnt fast, just means I get to rev it out longer and have abit of fun. Yes its a gas hog and Im polluting, so? Would I want to do that with a turbo 4 or even a turbo 6? Highly unlikely.
05-13-22 | 05:53 AM
