Since the dawn of the Indian automotive industry, technology has come by leaps and bounds. Technology is making the vehicle, car features and even under the hood. The car manufacturing companies are investing in research and development to make the existing internal combustion engine efficient, powerful and yet have a smaller form factor. So, today to appreciate the research and hard work of the engineers, we look at 8 ordinary cars that were offered with extraordinary engines. Let’s dive right in.
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Chevrolet Cruze (2.0L VCDi)
Chevrolet Cruze Back in 2015, if it was a diesel sedan that one would talk about, it was the Chevrolet Cruze. This sedan came to the Indian market back in 2009 and exited the country as the company wrapped its business from India in 2017. Indeed, the Cruze was an engineered marvel from the company especially that was powered by the 2.0 VCDi, the made the vehicle an absolute beast on road.
Engine 1998 cc, 4 Cylinders Inline Power 164 bhp @ 3800 rpm Torque 360 Nm @ 2000 rpm Transmission 6 speed manual transmission/AT The engine was a 1998 CC 4 cylinder motor that generated a peak power of 164bhp and 360Nm of peak torque. This made the vehicle the most powerful at its price point. Also, if you forget, the starting price of the Chevrolet Cruze was Rs. 13.95 Lakh ex-showroom.
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Suzuki Grand Vitara (2.4L)
Remembering the Suzuki Grand Vitara XL-7 The Grand Vitara XL-7 was packed with performance as well as features that are a part of the high-end luxury cars. Speaking of which, the feature that even the current line-up of Maruti Suzuki misses on is the Sunroof, Grand Vitara back in the 2000s had it.
Suzuki Grand Vitara XL-7 | Engine Specifications
Engine H27A V6 Type Capacity 2736cc Power 183hp@6,000rpm Torque 244.04Nm@4,000rpm Transmission 5-speed MT / 4-speed AT Drivetrain Type shift-on-the-fly 4WD With that, the car also offered automatic climate control, rear AC vents, all 4 power windows, an in-built CD player with 7 speakers, an adjustable centre armrest with storage, a rear window washer and defogger, heated mirrors and much more. XL7 was one hell of a ride.
That is just the half story, under the hood, Grand Vitara came with a 2.4-litre V6 engine. The motor was capable of generating 183 bhp and 244Nm of peak torque. And yes, it came with an AWD drivetrain.
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Volkswagen Polo (1.6MPI)
Volkswagen Polo 1.6 / Image for representation only Up next is the vehicle that started the trend of the hot hatchbacks in India, the Volkswagen Polo. For once, you might think that this polo GT would come with a turbo petrol engine. But nope! The first-ever Volkswagen Polo GT that came to India came with a large, 1.6-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine. Volkswagen launched the Polo 1.6 back in 2009, in the initial stages of the hot hatch era.
Engine 1.6-litre 4 Cylinder naturally aspirated petrol Power 103.5ps@5,250 rpm Torque 153Nm@3750rpm Transmission 5speed manual transmission This engine was capable of generating 103bhp and a peak torque of 153Nm. Well, along with being frugal, the motor was punchy and the peak torque was achieved from as low as 3750rpm. Now, that was something commendable considering it was a naturally aspirated mill.
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Volkswagen GTI (1.8TSI)
Volkswagen GTI in India What if someone puts an extremely powerful engine in a small vehicle like Polo. Well, the engineers at the German carmaker, Volkswagen did exactly that. In 2016 the carmaker launched the Polo with Octavia’s 1.8-litre TSI motor. Not just that, the engineers took their own sweet time in crafting the vehicle as the power is even further bumped up to 192bhp.
Engine 1.8-litre turbo petrol 4 Cylinder Power 192bhp Torque 250Nm Transmission 7-speed DSG The power in a car weighs about 1.2 tonnes. Ouch! That is quick. Additionally, this engine produced 250Nm of peak torque and was mated to a 7-speed DSG gearbox. The powerful engine and transmission combo allow the vehicle to attain 0-100kmph in about 7.2 seconds.
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Skoda Superb (3.6L VR6)
Skoda Superb V6 AWD / Cars With Powerful Engines There was a time when Skoda was behaving like crazy by introducing engineered marvels in the Indian market. This vehicle from Skoda to enter this list in the Superb AWD. This is not the daily driving Superb we are after. If you are not aware, back in the last 2010s Skoda launched Superb in India but with a non-conventional 3.6-litre V6 engine.
Engine 3.6-litre V6 Power 260ps@6,000 rpm Torque 350Nm@2,500 Transmission 7spee DSG That’s not all, the car was among the affordable AWD sedans you could buy at that time. This motor is capable of generating 260hp of max power and 350Nm of peak torque. Adding to the fun was the AWD drivetrain. Also, the vehicle boasts a 0-100 time of 8.74 seconds.
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Nissan Kicks (1.3L Turbo Petrol)
Nissan Kicks / Cars With Powerful Engines No one would believe unless they see for themselves that Nissan kicks is one of the most powerful turbo petrol SUVs in under 30 lakhs. Jeep Compass is just marginally more up in power but is again low on torque when compared to the Nissan. But how much power does Nissan produce? First things first, Nissan Kicks comes with a 1.3litre 4-cylinder turbo petrol engine. This exciting motor produces 156ps of power and 254 Nm of peak torque. And this engine is mated to either a 6-speed manual transmission or a 6 step CVT.
Engine 1.3-litre turbo petrol 4 Cylinder Power 156ps@5,500 rpm Torque 254 Nm@1600rpm Transmission 6-speed Manual/6-Step CVT Price ₹ 11.85 Lakh (ex-Showroom) Not sure though how CVT will fair with this punchy turbo petrol engine. On the contrary, this is one of the most value for money vehicles as it offers a lot of features at a considerably low price. Talking about the features it gets 2 airbags in the base XV variant, and the automatic climate control is standard across the range.
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Ford Ecosport (1.0L EcoBoost)
Ford EcoSport | Senior Citizen Friendly Cars / Cars With Powerful Engines After its launch, Ford Ecosport boasted of a powerful turbo petrol engine. First things first, how much power? you may ask. Well, the EcoBoost engine produced 123hp and about 170 Nm of peak torque. It was true engineering as the engine was just a 999cc 3-cylinder petrol engine. Indeed, slap on a turbo and see what small engines are capable of.
Engine 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine Power 123 hp Torque 170 Nm 0-100 12.7 seconds Later, through the years, the development resulted in revisions in features and aesthetics, and in 2018 the new Titanium S variant was introduced.
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Mahindra XUV700 2.0L mStallion
2021 Mahindra XUV700 / Cars With Powerful Engines Engine 2.0-litre turbo petrol 4 Cylinder Power 197ps@5,000 rpm Torque 380 Nm@1750rpm Transmission 6-speed Manual/6-Step Torque converter To extract the most out of a turbo petrol engine, GDi (Gasoline Direct Injection) is the way to go. This is exactly what Mahindra has done with their mStallion series of engines in the new XUV700. Talking about the production model, the new legendary Thar and the XUV700 both gets a 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine that is powerful but sits in a different state of tune. Besides, this is the only engine in the lot that drives all 4 wheels of the vehicle.
So, these were the 8 extra ordinary cars with extra ordinarily powerful engines. Let us know in the comment section below which one is your favourite.
