FiestaST
Honorary Master
CarAdvice first drive
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Honestly the Skyactiv engines are something else entirely. The Skyactiv X uses glow plugs and compression ignition like a diesel engine with high compression. There's nothing like it on the market today.Mazda and Toyota holding on for dear life to those naturally aspirated engines...
Honestly the Skyactiv engines are something else entirely. The Skyactiv X uses glow plugs and compression ignition like a diesel engine with high compression. There's nothing like it on the market today.
To simplify it and say they're clinging to NA engines is not entirely true, they are redefining what a NA engine is capable of.
They have diesel like economy and more power than conventional engines without turbocharge. And they can still be turbocharged on top of it. They have a Skyactiv 2.5l Turbo in the US.
Mazda and Toyota are in talks to then use this extremely efficient engine in a hybrid setup. They're not following the slap on a turbo crowd... but they might be better off for it in the long run.
Look I'd say even the Skyactiv G with it's unusually high compression ratio is impressive enough to warrant being an alternative to turbo for everyday cars(great economy and power figures for what it is) I'm not talking performance models. But I talked about the X to show where they are headed and why turbo is an afterthought for them... Skyactiv X will be out soon I think some markets already have 1 model.Except that they are still using non-X engines in their models (including the one reviewed above) and Toyota is bumming around with the 2 litre and 2.5 litre in the new RAVs. Turbo technology is very mature and reliable.
Skyativ X looks very intriguing, yet has no track record of reliability yet.
Look I'd say even the Skyactiv G with it's unusually high compression ratio is impressive enough to warrant being an alternative to turbo for everyday cars(great economy and power figures for what it is) I'm not talking performance models. But I talked about the X to show where they are headed and why turbo is an afterthought for them... Skyactiv X will be out soon I think some markets already have 1 model.
Toyota on the other hand seems to be the spoilt rich kid that can buy whatever they want. They had Subaru do the GT86, BMW the Supra they used a Mazda 2 as their small car in the US. Look they've been there done that and don't have to waste anymore resources if they can just buy it for cheaper. I think they are focusing on hybrid and electric. I think they feel they've done what they had to with the conventional engine.
Coast. Don't do any driving up there.Can I ask if you live at the coast? N/A cars suck in Gauteng.








