If It Ain't a Turbo, Anything Less than 2.0L Ain't Hot-Rodding

When I was driving my Waja 1.6L (M), I thought I was among the fastest on the road. Generally, I was. But each time I came up against cars with bigger engines, I found my car severely wanting.

I'd heard of port & polish and engine blue-printing as means for ramping up the engine's horsepower, but they were just too costly and time consuming.

That's when I realised, if I wanted more power, I needed a bigger engine right off. Nothing less than a 2.0L engine would do, and if I had extra money, I could always ramp up the horsepower later.

Sure enough, these days, anything less than a 2.0L car poses little challenge for my Kia Forte 2.0SX.

This is why I can't help feel a little sorry for all those racer boys who drive sporty looking hatchbacks mated to 1.6L engines that are not equipped with turbo, like Satria Neo CPS and Ford Fiesta. They spend so much and get so little.

Of course, most people spend only on what they can afford when it comes to fast cars. I know because I'm still like that - if I had more money, I'd always choose to buy a faster car.

Nonetheless, I've learnt that there's not point in sporting fast looks on a car that won't go as fast as you'd like, which is why I fail to see the point in garish looking spoilers and skirting for cars that are actually quite slow, like the Neo CPS, Ford Fiesta and Honda City.

For me, understated beauty speaks volumes when it comes to speed, like the VW Golf and Scirocco - these cars are anything but garish, and just by looking at them, you know they're fast.

If you want to go with a small engine car and you're into speed, be sure to choose something with turbo in it, like the Peugeot 308 Turbo. It may look a little weird but it really is fast. Otherwise, you'll just be dreaming of hot-rodding, instead of doing it for real.

Car manufacturers will peddle you all sorts of gizmos like gasoline direct injected (GDI), dual CVVT and even dual clutch. At the end of the day, your 1.6L car would still be slower than most 2.0L cars, unless you go down the port & polish, engine blue-printing, slap-on turbo path.

So, don’t be easily taken in by cars like the Ford Fiesta and Hyundai Veloster.

Look! A Focus with a Hyundai Badge

I was at Jusco Bukit Tinggi, Klang last weekend when I spotted an oddity being exhibited at one of the centre courts - a Focus 2.0 with a Hyundai badge. Named the i30, the Focus lookalike mimics many of the Ford Focus S2.0's styling features,

For a Ford enthusiast like me, the i30 is not the real thing but, dang, it's close. And in some respects, it looks even better.

Check out the similarities at the front of the i30, especially the way the headlights slant backwards and the way the engine hood tapers on the sides, giving the car the distinctive Ford Focus look.

At the same time, some features appear better thought out. Compared the real Focus, the i30's rear is a lot more stylish and better thought out.

For one thing, the i30's hatchback is less slanted, allowing for bigger passenger space, especially headroom, in the back.

For another, the i30's rear lights are far more interesting to look at than the Focus' less imaginative and dull tail lights.

Also, the 2.0L version of the i30 comes with 17-inch rims and the wheel arches are designed for those rims as well. So, there's no need to compensate by getting larger size rims or over-sized tyres (a problem that's inherent in Ford Focuses sold in Malaysia).

Still, I doubt that the i30 performs as well as the Focus S2.0. Although I didn't get the chance to test drive the car, from what I could tell, the i30 doesn't have an engine compartment chassis stabiliser bar.

This could result in significant body roll, which would compromise handling at corners and bends.

Nevertheless, the i30 is being sold at about the same price as the Focus S2.0 but comes with a 5-year warranty instead of the Focus' 3-year warranty. Considering how pricey Focus spare parts are, getting the i30 may be the better deal.