Engines to Avoid

0.6-0.7 Turbo

ForTwo, Roadster

Mercedes' tiny three-cylinder turbo (599 cc, 698 cc from 2003) in the Smart City Coupe/Fortwo 450 an...

1.4L TSI Twincharger I4

Golf, Alhambra, Tiguan, Ibiza, Fabia, Polo, A1, Passat

Turbo plus clutched supercharger: brilliant on paper, fragile in practice. The timing chain tensione...

1.2L Turbo I3

C4, ProAce City, Berlingo, 2008, Partner, C3, 208, Rifter, DS3 Crossback, 3008, C3 Aircross, 308, DS4, 5008, DS7, C5 X, Avenger, C5 Aircross, 508, DS3, C4 Cactus, Astra, Corsa, Crossland, Grandland, Mokka, 2008 1.2 PureTech, 208 1.2 PureTech, Avenger 1.2 PureTech, C3 1.2 PureTech, Corsa 1.2 Turbo, DS3 1.2 PureTech, Grandland 1.2 PureTech, Mokka 1.2 PureTech

The turbo 1.2 PureTech with the timing belt running in oil (2014 on; some 100 and 130 hp cars kept t...

2.7 HDi V6 (UHZ)

607

Twin-turbo 2.7 V6 diesel developed by PSA and Ford (2004-2010): Peugeot 407 and 607, Citroen C5 II a...

N63 4.4 V8 Twin-Turbo (2008-2014)

6 Series, X5, 5 Series

The original twin-turbo hot-V V8 (2008-2014: 550i F10, 750i F01, 650i F12/F13 to 2012, X5 50i E70, X...

1.6L GDI I4

Ceed, Sportage, i40, Soul, Tucson, Carens, i30

Naturally aspirated direct-injection 1.6 in the i30 GD, i40, Tucson, Sportage, Ceed JD, Carens and S...

V10 TDI 5.0 (AYH/BLE/BWF)

Touareg

5.0-litre twin-turbo V10 diesel with pump-injector (PD) injection and gear-driven camshafts, fitted ...

3.0L Twin-Turbo I6

Z4, 1 Series, 5 Series, 3 Series

BMW's first twin-turbo six: huge tuning headroom, but the fuel and turbo hardware is the weak link. ...

1.6L Turbo I4

5008, 3008, 308, RCZ, 207, Mini, Cooper

First-generation BMW/PSA Prince turbo (MINI N14, Peugeot/Citroen THP 150-175). Timing chain and tens...

1.8/2.0L Turbo I4 (early EA888)

Passat, TT, Octavia, A3, Leon, A4, A5, Q5, A6, Alhambra, Superb, Tiguan, Golf, Q3, Exeo, Yeti, Scirocco 2.0 TSI

First- and second-generation EA888 (1.8 and 2.0 TFSI/TSI, about 2007-2015): Golf 6 GTI, Passat B7, O...

N62 4.4/4.8 V8

5 Series, X5, 7 Series

Valve stem seal failure (30%+ by 160k km). Coolant transfer pipe leak = 40+ hours labour. Timing cha...

1.8L Kompressor I4

C-Class, CLK, SLK, E-Class, C 180, C 200, CLK 200 Kompressor

Supercharged M271. Simplex timing chain stretches and can skip before 100,000 km, plus supercharger ...