Sweet Christmas, you're right! How did all of those Miata owners live without killing themselves for the first 15 years the car was on sale?
Miatas are the most effiminate car this side of a New Beetle, so I'm not surprised the typical owner doesn't mind. The Miata was to a normal sports car as a moped is to a motorcycle, and it seems like they're going to make it even worse now.
The majority of cars here are 2.0 or sub 2.0. And they aren't necessarily slow. The Mini Cooper S has a 1.6 turbo. By your logic it should be tortoise speed, but it isn't.
Ah, but you live in Europe. For some reason people there like undersized cars with undersized engines.
The thing is that this is a compact car with a compact weight (by today's standards).
And as I said above, compact weight by today's standards is more like midsize weight (or more) by normal standards. Because it takes into account a bunch of electronic garbage a compact car shouldn't have.
And I'm not 100% but I think the base 1.4l turbo has 170 horsepower, which is only 30 less than the 1.8l GTI's engine. Power-to-size here is great.
Maybe, but then what kind of sacrifices had to be made in the areas of refinement, reliability, sound/feel, all-important POWERBAND, and of course cost had to be made to reach that level of power.
And how can you say that about sub 2.0-liter engines? The Integra Type-R was a B18C (1.8l) naturally aspirated pushing 190-something if I remember correctly. It depends on the development and engineering put into the engine.
Don't get me started on Hondas. Suffice it to say, that thing sounds like a chainsaw. It was also a hose-it-out track day car with stuff like sound deadening removed.
Scaff
You are aware that a Giulietta is faster, lighter and more economical that the 2012 2 litre Focus?
Seems that they have done exactly what you asked for with the Dart's donor car and your still not happy. You see you don't need a 2.0 litre, in fact that's just adding the weight your complaining about, and a lighter engine in a FWD car is always a better thing.
@rb26x - yes 170bhp from the 1.4 turbo.
Scaff
Well then, they've gone and done something really amazing. But still, what kind of sacrifices had to be made?
This is also where principle comes in. It shouldn't be called Dart. The Dart should be a compact RWD-V8 muscle car. Call it Colt, call it Neon, call it Caliber, just don't call it Dart!
Also, image enters it as well. No matter how good it is, a 1.4T is just missing something, and I suspect peer groups at the younger end of the scale (HS/college) will consider anyone unfortunate enough to have one of these an uncool Euro-wannabe (the Cruze has a similar issue, but it isn't even quick.)
I understand the sentiment (it's sad to see individual brand/models getting watered down), but there is no other way for these companies to survive (and still no guarantees either). They wouldn't have to change if a lot of people actually bought their cars.
