Is the VQ Series V6 Nissan's ONLY World Class Engine?

[achr]

Nissan's V6 engine has been rated in the Top Ten Engines in the World for over a decade. I've driven a couple and they are truly amazing. It seems that Nissan can pull POWER out of this engine at will. EVERY time the competition increases horsepower, all of a sudden, the Nissan V6 is bumped to exceed the competition again. Their new GT-R SuperCar using this engine will exceed 400 horsepower when introduced next year, albeit with forced induction.

So if Nissan has Years of proven engine design, why is the 1.8 litre engine used in the Versa (which was a Clean Sheet Design For This Car) so anemic? O.K., a decade ago, 122 horsepower from a 1.8 liter would be almost leading edge but today, it's pretty much at the bottom of the pack. Toyota's base 1.8 makes 128 horsepower, Honda's base 1.8 makes 140 horsepower, and Chrysler's base 1.8 makes 148 horsepower. All these competitive engine designs are pretty much as old or older than our Nissan 1.8 and at least two of them also exceed the Versa's fuel economy while installed in larger vehicles. I also can't honestly say that this Nissan engine sets any new benchmarks for 4 cyclinder engine smoothness although I wouldn't catagorize it as terrible in that respect either.

Don't get me wrong. I'm no great lover of Hondas and Toyotas and I certainly I didn't buy the Versa for its blazing performance attributes. Actually, it's pretty decent for an entry level car, helped along by the Nissan's excellent CVT. However, I can only imagine how it might perform with the additional 21% horsepower offered up by the 1.8 liter World Engine developed jointly by Chrysler/Mitsubishi/Hyundai or even the 14% improvement dished out by the Honda engine.

I know the Nissan 1.8 was designed specificaly to mate to a CVT so perhaps they purposely tuned it for greater torque at low rpms while sacrificing some top end horsepower. Certainly, making peak horsepower at a relatively low 5,200 is uncharacteristic for a small 4 cyclinder engine. I certainly DO appreciate the Low, Low Highway rpms offered up by this engine/CVT combo.

JUST WONDERING. Does anyone else have any insights?

[alonsorules8]

I don't know if I can shed any new light on this but didn't Renault help design the new 1.8 L for the Versa?

The power band with the Versa seems in line with the Renault Clio's power band over in France.

[Andrews Chalmers]

Why do you even consider top HP as the "benchmark" attribute for a quality engine? How about how wide or narrow is the power band?

An engine that has a very narrow power band, which in theory may deliver better powder delivery may be too difficult for the driver to make full use of.

The Versa was never intended to be a hot hatch... neither was the MR 18 intended to be Renault or Nissan's performance hot hatch engine. I think in this segment, it makes more sense to compare acoustic performance, efficiency, reliability, and price...

Toyota's new 2ZR-FE gives out 101 kW at 6000rpm and 175 nm @ 4400rpm.

The Versa's 1.8 is 95 kW @5500 rpm and 174 nm @ 4800 rpm.

Honda's R18A2 103 kW @ 6300 rpm and 174 nm @ 4300 rpm.

These numbers are too similar to provide any meaningful comparison without more information.

In re Nissan's VQ 35DE that has been listed year after year... it generally is mated to vehicles delivering around 180kW ~ 220kW with a max torque between 340 nm ~ 390 nm. So I'm not sure why you think the VQ35DE is considered a top engine because of its "hp."
Modified by Andrews Chalmers at 10:56 PM 12/9/2007

[monkeybear]

The GTR and the Versa have different goals.

Also HP is derived from torque @ a specific RPM. For another car to have a higher HP means nothing on its own.

[BBISHOPPCM]

I used to be on the 300ZX forum, as I owned an '87 non-turbo. The VQ series engine is capable of pushing out 1,000 HP (not sure of the power curve though). This gives nissan plenty of elbow room when it comes to increasing horsepower when demand requests it. The MR18DE is crippled due to its status as an economy engine, actually the EPA has a lot to do with that. Also, a more powerful Versa might cut into Sentra or Altima sales, which is a primary incentive for not building a Superversa.