Considering how confidently 380NM can shift a 2.5t chunk of patrol I can imagine how well it would propell a 1.5t Golf.
I love diesels, but unfortunately I also like my boy racer petrol revs. Mabye when i settle down a bit I'll get a diesel.
The reason VW built the 1.4L twincharger was primarily for european markets where they're slugged quite heavily for big engines. By creating a 1.4L that is just as driveable as a bigger 2.0L they're tapping into the market of people who want a fast car (0 to 100km/hr or 60mph in 7.9 seconds isnt exactly slow!) but can't afford to pay the taxes on a larger engine.
I think its an absolutely brilliant idea really. A 1.4L that has the running costs of a 1.4L, the fuel economy of a 1.6L and the power and driveability of a 2.5L. Win!
On another note though it shows again how the March/Micra has always tried to be a little different to the rest of the pack by offering something no other manufacturer would offer for quite some time. K10 was the super turbo with the supercharged and turbocharged engine with EFI and a 5speed gearbox and LSD - now THAT was something special for 1987 in a small fwd car!!! Then the k11 with the CVT transmission, torquey 1.3L, airbag, abs, huge amount of room, new levels of saftey for small cars and a spirited dynamic chassis. When it was released in 1992 no other manufacturer would top the k11's sweet little package for at least 4 years. Even then CVT transmissions werent popular in production cars until around 2002!
Shame the k12 really didnt bring anything special to the table. Only fancy thing its got is the intelligent key system which has been around for yonks but mainly in the big expensive europeans and Lexus.
On that note, Lexus is250 = *splat*
