Saab 9-5 packing 1.6-liter turbo in Europe

[BigPontiac]

Link to Article

[CSpec]

Cool, my 9-5 Aero has a 2001-era 2.3L turbo but still chucks out a good amount of power, and I got 32mpg on a long highway trip yesterday.

[Paolino]

Someone enlighten me? Aren't small engines whiny and high-vibrating?

I mean, granted my only experiences with engines about that small are the Prius' 1.5L, Corolla's 1.8L, and moving down into the past, a 93 1.9L Tracer.

All are loud. All vibrate a good deal. All whine. Granted, this is a 9.5--I'm assuming it'll have a lot more sound deadening, but it's the flagship sedan!

[SingleStylish]

Someone enlighten me? Aren't small engines whiny and high-vibrating?

I mean, granted my only experiences with engines about that small are the Prius' 1.5L, Corolla's 1.8L, and moving down into the past, a 93 1.9L Tracer.

All are loud. All vibrate a good deal. All whine. Granted, this is a 9.5--I'm assuming it'll have a lot more sound deadening, but it's the flagship sedan!

Smaller engines in luxury cars are commonplace throughout Europe. The E-Class, 5-Series, and Audi A6 are all offerred in the motherland with small displacement varriants.

[smk4565]

The 2.3 turbo used in the 9-5 now vibrates a bit while stopped, but once you are going it isn't bad, and the turbo boost makes it quite quick. It is a louder than most V6s, but that engine doesn't whine much, it sounds like it has higher displacement than it is. The Mini Cooper S has a 1.6 liter turbo and it makes 162 hp, not bad for a 2700 pound car, but in a 3600 lb 9-5 that could be a struggle.

[CSpec]

The 2.3 turbo used in the 9-5 now vibrates a bit while stopped, but once you are going it isn't bad, and the turbo boost makes it quite quick. It is a louder than most V6s, but that engine doesn't whine much, it sounds like it has higher displacement than it is. The Mini Cooper S has a 1.6 liter turbo and it makes 162 hp, not bad for a 2700 pound car, but in a 3600 lb 9-5 that could be a struggle.

Considering GM has had a 2.0T with 260 HP for a couple of years now, I bet the 1.6 could have very respectable power.