Turbocharged engines used to have a unique character, a.k.a. "turbo lag." You'd roll into the throttle from a stop, wait a few beats for the boost to kick in, and whooooosh! The sudden rush of power would pin you back in your seat. Automotive journalists often had nasty things to say about turbo lag, but personally I enjoyed it...
It was something cool you could show off to your passengers -- that Jekyll-and-Hyde personality was what made a turbo a turbo.
Alas, times have changed. More and more turbocharged engines these days are designed to reproduce the linear, lag-free power delivery of larger-displacement normally aspirated mills. Try the new Subaru Forester XT's turbocharged 2.5-liter boxer four, for example -- or any BMW with the twin-turbo inline-6.
Happily, our turbocharged long-term Mini Cooper S offers the best of both worlds: it's eminently tractable at low rpm, unlike those laggy turbocharged engines of old, yet the overboost function adds a furious and decidedly non-linear kick under full throttle that reminds me of turbos past. Boot the Mini from a stop, and you're thinking, "Well, this feels pretty quick but not exactly--" Whooooosh! Suddenly you're pinned to your seat and grinning uncontrollably.
That's why I can never refuse the keys to the Mini when they're available. In a lag-free kind of way, it reminds me of the days when a "Turbo" badge (which our Mini lacks, incidentally) virtually guaranteed an engaging driving experience.
Josh Sadlier, Associate Editor, Edmunds.com @ 15,284 miles
Alas, times have changed. More and more turbocharged engines these days are designed to reproduce the linear, lag-free power delivery of larger-displacement normally aspirated mills. Try the new Subaru Forester XT's turbocharged 2.5-liter boxer four, for example -- or any BMW with the twin-turbo inline-6.
Happily, our turbocharged long-term Mini Cooper S offers the best of both worlds: it's eminently tractable at low rpm, unlike those laggy turbocharged engines of old, yet the overboost function adds a furious and decidedly non-linear kick under full throttle that reminds me of turbos past. Boot the Mini from a stop, and you're thinking, "Well, this feels pretty quick but not exactly--" Whooooosh! Suddenly you're pinned to your seat and grinning uncontrollably.
That's why I can never refuse the keys to the Mini when they're available. In a lag-free kind of way, it reminds me of the days when a "Turbo" badge (which our Mini lacks, incidentally) virtually guaranteed an engaging driving experience.
Josh Sadlier, Associate Editor, Edmunds.com @ 15,284 miles
clarkma5 says:
05:04 PM, 05/15/08
If you think a Turbo badge was once a guarantee of driving excitement, you're forgetting a lot of the cars that were fitted with turbocharged motors in the '80s and '90s...(think "Chrysler LeBaron GTC").
sadbuttrue says:
05:10 PM, 05/15/08
Hah, fair enough. I suppose you could add the short-lived turbocharged Chrysler minivans to that list. But I hope you generally take my point about the change in turbo character from past to present. The Mini is refreshing because that overboost function is an ever-ready reminder that you've got a pretty cool engine, not just an imitation of a V6 or whatever.
-Sadlier
boxermike says:
05:18 PM, 05/15/08
..watch it Sadlier, you don't want to dis the turbo Chrysler minivans...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3Gdm_e_hxs&feature=related
SubyTrojan says:
05:39 PM, 05/15/08
GR8 find, Mike! How much do you think one of those would command?
greenpony says:
06:09 PM, 05/15/08
My dad got a whopping $800 for his turbo van a few years back. It had 15 years of wear-and-tear, and exhaust leaked into the cabin, but it was still a blast to drive!
smortensen says:
07:01 PM, 05/15/08
yeah only time I really get any really noticable turbo lag is there is a stoplight on a hill a few miles from the house and on the way back home from work every day I get to stop at the light and then when it's green, floor it and roll up the hill and then as you said, WOOOSH! the 2.0TFSI in my GTI blasts me off... just to stop at a stop sign on the other side of said hill. lol
firstwagon says:
08:48 PM, 05/15/08
"If you think a Turbo badge was once a guarantee of driving excitement, you're forgetting a lot of the cars that were fitted with turbocharged motors in the '80s and '90s...(think "Chrysler LeBaron GTC")."
I remember back in 1986, my dad bought a Lebaron GTS (aka Lancer) with a Turbo and a 5 speed.
For it's day, it was a great car. The turbo 2.2 blew the doors off anything by Honda or Toyota and the "premium II" suspension (aka daytona) handled better then anything in it's price range in 1986.
Sure it would be considered crude and clunky by todays standards but what from 1986 wouldn't.
In the 5 years we had it, it was completely trouble free and (in my dad's hand) averaged 35 mpg.
Overall, I would call it a call it an 8 out of 10 for it's day.
I remember loving the rush of turbo boost as the tach past 3000 rpm.
blueguydotcom says:
10:31 PM, 05/15/08
Wife's 2.0T in her A3 is a much better implementation of a turbo than my cooper S. Yeah, the overboost is fun but the 2.0T just pulls and pulls while the 1.6 in the Cooper feels a little tinny.
sabastian says:
06:21 AM, 05/16/08
Anyone ever drive an old turbo Saab 900? Nothing, Nothing, Nothing, and then your ears get torn off. Fantastic.
felonious says:
07:49 AM, 05/16/08
Great post, Josh!
louiswei says:
08:11 AM, 05/16/08
I hate turbo lag and unfortunately I am also ultra sensitive about it. Most people said they can't feel it with the BMW 3.0 TT but for me, it's there. BMW probably has eliminated 99% of the "lag" but the last 1% is still there. However, compare to the Audi A4 2.0T I had as a rental last year, which has a craptacular turbo lag, the 335i feels much more NA and smoother.
At the end of the day, if the engines are comparable in terms of performance, to me it's NA all the way.
blueguydotcom says:
08:13 AM, 05/16/08
louiswei, that's funny as one thing I disliked about my BMWs - the absolute lack of torque until about mid-way through the rev-range. The inline 6 is smooth but it feels so honda-like with its lack of torque.
louiswei says:
08:21 AM, 05/16/08
bgdc, that's where the TT comes in...
IMO, due to the lack of the "lag" the 3.0TT felt just like a NA inline 6 but with all the torques available around 1300(?) RPM. I think BMW did a magnificant job on that engine even though the turbo lag isn't elminiated 100%.
felonious says:
10:59 AM, 05/16/08
The 4.2 V8 in my S4 has more of a torque curve than the 2.5L turbo in my old 04 STi. Talk about disappointing!! The hope of a flatter torque curve was the whole reason I moved from a turbo four to a v8. :(
bimmerjay says:
12:07 PM, 05/17/08
"IMO, due to the lack of the "lag" the 3.0TT felt just like a NA inline 6 but with all the torques available around 1300(?) RPM. I think BMW did a magnificant job on that engine even though the turbo lag isn't elminiated 100%."
Peak torque of "300" lb-ft hits at 1400 rpm and stays there through 5000 rpm. Blueguydotcom, it's definitely not a midrange performer, the car really hauls off the line. Crazy torque.
hondacura4 says:
02:06 PM, 05/19/08
"Anyone ever drive an old turbo Saab 900? Nothing, Nothing, Nothing, and then your ears get torn off. Fantastic."
My mothers old 1986 Audi 5000 CS Turbo (I drove it for a while after I turned 16 -1993) had the same sensation as boost lag and throttle response were horrible, but oh was it fun. Floor it from a stop and that signature Audi inline 5 would slowly growl then.....WOOOOSH, theres the boost.
Off the line power was very light but punch that bastard at 60mph and it would give a lot of those V8 muscle cars a good run if not beat them. I loved that car.