What's the smallest displacement car you've ever owned?

". ." (xllx) 03/26/2015 at 17:23 • Filed to: None

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I never thought I'd enjoy driving a car with a tiny engine, but my Fiat proved me wrong. Let's give them tiny engines some love!

I guess this is like a cock measuring contest, except the other way round.

For me it's my 650 cm3 Fiat 126.

Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection > . . 03/26/2015 at 17:28

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My current car - 1.6 liters/138 hp. Of course, I've had a 3.8 that could barely muster 110 hp and a 5.7 that was up over 350, but most of my cars have been in the 2-3 liter range.

. . > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection 03/26/2015 at 17:30

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For a really long time it was pretty much impossible to get a car with an engine smaller that 2 litres that wasn't a total shitbox.

With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username > . . 03/26/2015 at 17:31

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1.6, baby!

Sn210 > . . 03/26/2015 at 17:32

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the 1.6 in my mr2, followed by a 1.8 cubic, 1.9 saturn, 3.5 Acura, and 4.0 Jeep

I need to find a 1.7 and a 2.0 to get a straight flush

Flat Six > . . 03/26/2015 at 17:33

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My Miata was 1.8 L. All of my cars are 3 something right now.

Jcarr > . . 03/26/2015 at 17:33

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Had a '96 Geo Metro with a 1.0 liter 3-cylinder. Piece of crap car, but it got a legit 50 mpg when gas was $4/gal and my other vehicle was a Ram 1500 that got 11 mpg.

. . > Jcarr 03/26/2015 at 17:38

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Did you daily the shit out of that Geo? Was it absolutely abhorrent?

4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 > . . 03/26/2015 at 17:39

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1.2 litre, 60bhp Fiat Punto MK1. I drove it like it was the Abarth.

Tohru > . . 03/26/2015 at 17:39

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My CRX had a 1.5L. My '91 Tracer wagon had a 1.9L.

Everything else has been between 2.0L and 5.8L.

ranwhenparked > . . 03/26/2015 at 17:40

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Had to think, my first car was a '71 Super Beetle, so that would be 1.6L.

. . > 4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 03/26/2015 at 17:42

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Fiat engines almost always have that special something about them. The displacement and actual specs don't matter, they pretty much always feel cool, sharp and sporty.

Jcarr > . . 03/26/2015 at 17:42

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I did for as long as I could, but the rings were hardened and eventually it started drinking so much oil that the plugs would foul after about 50 miles.

Build quality was horrendous, but it wasn't the worst thing to drive. Only weighed 1900 lbs and it was a 5-speed so it was kind of like driving a go kart around town.

Terrifying on the highway though.

SlickMcRick > . . 03/26/2015 at 17:43

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My 92 Civic Si. 1.6L/126hp. The car weighs a smidge more than 2300lbs so that definitely helped ease strain on the motor.

4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 > . . 03/26/2015 at 17:46

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If the valves aren't dancing on the bonnet, you're doing it wrong.

Brian, The Life of > . . 03/26/2015 at 17:49

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I once had a bug with the 1300cc. I think it made about a half dozen horsepowers and at least as many torques.

Didn't take me long to swap it out for a dual port 1600.

. . > Brian, The Life of 03/26/2015 at 17:50

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Damn, I wish I could race you in my Fiat. We could have a glacier as the 3rd contender. Having said that I absolutely love the engine in my little shoebox.

Osiris - I can haz Euro spec? > . . 03/26/2015 at 17:52

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I have a 1.6L 4 cylinder in my Aveo. A pitiful 108 hp but it's so light that I can make it fun. On dirt roads of course!

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > . . 03/26/2015 at 17:52

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1.6L Ecoboost Fusion that puts out 178hp. I should also not that I own a 6.6L 400ci Lincoln Continental that only musters out 159hp.

Your boy, BJR > . . 03/26/2015 at 17:56

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2.1L. My lifetime average (driveable cars) is 3.76. As follows-

'95 Bronco- 5.8L

'93 900S- 2.1L

'01 Aurora- 4.0L

'88 C10- 5.0L

'12 Sonata- 2.4L

'95 Taurus- 3.0L

'94 SHO- 3.2L

'95 Aurora- 4.0L

'04 Pilot- 3.5L

'04 DeVille- 4.6L

Milky > . . 03/26/2015 at 17:56

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Uhh what I have now with a 3.2L V6. Previously cars were 4.0L's, both I-6 and V8. Also worth noting that I learned on vehicles with 5.3 and 5.7 liters …. I might be from America.

BorkBorkBjork > . . 03/26/2015 at 17:56

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The Thunderbird, at 4.6L, is the smallest car I have exclusively owned. However, my name is also on my wife's SRX, so technically it is 3.6L.

itschrome > . . 03/26/2015 at 18:00

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I had a geo for all of 5 days between buying at auction and selling it. It had the 1.0lt 3 cylinder. So I guess that counts. I did drive it twice.

On the other end of the range would have to be the 1997 Suburban XLT I had with the 7.4lt V8.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > . . 03/26/2015 at 18:03

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I owned a Suzuki Mighty Boy for a couple of weeks.

543cc's of pure shite.

. . > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard 03/26/2015 at 18:05

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Crikey, you've got me beaten. :'(

Mustafaluigi > . . 03/26/2015 at 18:08

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Smallest: 2.0 from a 2012 Focus.

Least Powerful: SOHC 3.0L Vulcan V6 in a 1999 Ford Taurus. 145HP 170 lb-ft. Not the Duratec which was DOHC and had 200hp. Lowest power and worst HP/L

For only being a 2.0 the Focus actually wasn't too bad since it had about 160 Hp. In terms of power/L it is just under the WRX which is just over the 100HP/L mark. My biggest engine is actually 2nd in terms of worst HP/L. 285 (stock) HP out of 5.7 L.

Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection > . . 03/26/2015 at 18:10

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Honda and Toyota 4 cylinders being notable exceptions. The Honda D and B series can be beastly. And the Toyota T and G series in displacements from 1.1-1.8 liters are still used racing even though they haven't been made since the 80s.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > . . 03/26/2015 at 18:16

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you might beat me on a technicality, I never bothered signing it over to my name and sold it as soon as I found the rust was a lot worse than I thought.

twochevrons > . . 03/26/2015 at 18:17

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My MGA has a 1600cc engine (well, 1588, actually) that, in its prime, produced a whopping 78 hp. It's an unreasonable amount of fun. While the BMC B-series does often get derided for being a bit stodgy and tractor-like, the smaller displacement versions, especially in the early 3-main-bearing form like mine, are actually quite lively. In a car that only weighs 2000 lb, with a ridiculously involving driving experience, a two-digit horsepower figure is more than enough to make it feel quick, too.

I seem to have gone backwards in engine displacement during my car-owning career: from a 2.5 litre straight-six (Triumph 2500), to a 3.5 litre V8 (Rover SD1), down to a 2 litre four (Citroën Xantia), then 1.8 (VW Scirocco), and a 1.6 in the MG. The 850R (2.3 litre turbo inline-5) brings it back up a bit, but there's a definite downward trend going on there!

Cé hé sin > . . 03/26/2015 at 18:24

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duurtlang > . . 03/26/2015 at 18:28

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My Peugeot 205 GTI begs to differ.

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > . . 03/26/2015 at 18:28

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1991 1.6L Jetta Eco Diesel. Was my daily driver for 7 years. Put 250k miles on it, man I miss that little stink box.

. . > duurtlang 03/26/2015 at 18:29

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I meant it in regards to the American market.

472CID > . . 03/26/2015 at 18:33

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2.5 liter inline 4 of German origin. also a 600cc liquid cooled triple.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > . . 03/26/2015 at 18:36

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I've only had one, but the smallest that has been in my family during my lifetime is a 2.5L I5 Turbo in a Volvo S70.

duurtlang > . . 03/26/2015 at 18:36

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1272cc: 1991 mk2 VW Golf 1.3i

1560cc: 2014 Ford Focus wagon 1.6 TDCi ECOnetic diesel (current company car)

1580cc: 1988 Peugeot 205 GTI 1.6

1990cc: 1989 BMW 320i Touring

1994cc: 1997 Subaru Legacy AWD wagon (sold)

1997cc: 2000 Peugeot 406 coupe

2494cc: 1989 BMW 325i Touring (sold)

Fun to drive isn't measured by displacement or hp. The Ford and the Subaru aren't/weren't fun at all, while the underpowered Golf was at least somewhat entertaining. The 320i BMW is more fun than the 325i because of the difference in gearboxes. The 205 GTI is the most fun of the lot, while it has second to last horsepower (tied with the Ford, above the VW) and almost the least amount of displacement.

TheHondaBro > . . 03/26/2015 at 18:38

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3.0, because I've only owned one car!

Leon711 > duurtlang 03/26/2015 at 19:05

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I had that bulletproof 1272cc VW engine in my 1988 Polo. I deployed all 55 horses, all the time.

I much preferred the 2000 Polo 1.4 16v though, revved for days!

revrseat70 > . . 03/26/2015 at 19:05

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1.8L NA Miata with a '99 head, bolt ons, and a stand alone < 2.5L Boxer Turbo Subaru Sti @ 19.1 psi < 3L IS300 2Jz @ 9 psi

Fun Factor (ironically): 1.8 > 2.5 > 3.0.. granted they are all really great to drive for different reasons

Captain of the Enterprise > . . 03/26/2015 at 19:06

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4.6 is the smallest biggest was a 5.4

duurtlang > Leon711 03/26/2015 at 19:12

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Bulletproof is a good description. Mine has 290k km on it, and is ready for more. I parked it in a shed in 2012 because I wanted something with more comfort and lower running costs (fuel), so I bought the 406 coupe with its LPG conversion. I'll take that Golf out of that shed some time though, it deserves a restomod.

wiffleballtony > . . 03/26/2015 at 19:47

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1.8 I4 NA out of a 2000 Nissan Sentra. My wife bought it before we were married. The smallest I've purchased was a 3.0 V6 from a Taurus GL.

Aero > . . 03/26/2015 at 19:49

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For me it was the 1.0L 3-cylinder in my 2000 Honda Insight. It was actually a great little engine that made good noises and got 55mpg average, even with it saddled behind the CVT.

KirkyV > . . 03/26/2015 at 20:04

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A 1.1 litre Peugeot 106. It produces 59 furious French horses - or, at least, that's what's on the spec sheet - and I still drive it now.

(I didn't make the video; my car's dials are blue.)

Tinfoil Hat in a thunderstorm, now with added diecast > . . 03/26/2015 at 20:06

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3.3cc R/C off road nitro buggy.

. . > Tinfoil Hat in a thunderstorm, now with added diecast 03/26/2015 at 20:09

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Bit difficult to do a road trip in that though.

DasWauto > . . 03/26/2015 at 20:55

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1.8L, twice. First in a 1990 VW Jetta (8 valve), now in a 2015 Golf (this time with a turbo bolted to it). The biggest I've had is 2.5L, e30 325i.

I suspect that if I still lived in Europe this list would have been different but probably not as much as others who've moved to North America.

Baeromez > . . 03/26/2015 at 21:23

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Nothing less than a 3.6.

glemon > twochevrons 03/26/2015 at 21:33

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Nice collection of cars owned, my first was a Mark III Sprite, 1098cc, smaller than a Harley engine, about 56 HP if I recall correctly. My next car was a Mark IV Sprite, 1275 cc, 65 HP, a veritable rocket ship, actually it was a lot of fun.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > . . 03/26/2015 at 21:51

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1.7 914. @85 horsepower

Opposite Locksmith > . . 03/26/2015 at 22:59

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2.5 liter turbo 4 in my WRX and a 3.5 liter six in my Mitsubishi Monty

pip bip - choose Corrour > . . 03/27/2015 at 03:47

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1996 TR Holden Astra City 1.6l

NoneOfYourBiz > . . 03/27/2015 at 09:25

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Sadly, a 1992 Toyota Tercel.

The engine was an unreliable 1,456 cc, 94 hp, inline-4 "3E-E" 12 valve.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_E_…

I started noticing decreased fuel economy around the 150,000km mark, to the point where it was undrivable due to poor compression.

Three valves per cylinder, prone to fouling, a real piece of mechanical crap.

Fortunately, it was cheap to service and I had my mechanic rebuild the engine which lasted another 150,000km before the car started disintegrating and I sold the whole thing as a beater.

Humorously, I'd lost a business card under the seat before selling it and a few months later the police came calling. Apparently, the car had been used for a heist! Fortunately, I had a copy of the bill of sale with the new owner's signature on it so they ruled me out as having anything to do with that.

Tinfoil Hat in a thunderstorm, now with added diecast > . . 03/27/2015 at 11:01

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Well that really depends on the size of the trip and the road. I didn't read the fine print...

"I never thought I'd enjoy driving a car with a tiny engine, but" I felt the same until I unleashed 3.3cc of hell fury on the dirt. Added bonus you can drink and drive and not hurt(kill) anyone.