Quote Originally Posted by GTi View Post
The Koreans have been improving the capabilities of their gas engines greatly in the last few years, wherein their diesels haven't seen much improvement since the introduction of the two R e-VGT engines five years ago.

And then again, despite the leaps and bounds they've taken in their gas engines, none of the good ones ever make it here. Just good old CVVT and MPI.
I like Korean engines. They've got plenty of power. Their diesel engines in particular are very, very good. I don't think the Japanese have any diesel offerings locally that's good enough to even compete with the ageing CRDi VGT combo of the Koreans. The new diesel engines of the new Hilux and Fortuner might change that. But honestly, at the moment they don't have a diesel as powerful and at the same time as refined as what you'd find on a Korean diesel. Anyone who says otherwise is delusional and hasn't experienced an A-B comparison themselves.

But their gasoline engines are very thirsty. I'll vouch for that. My 1.6 Kia Soul gas can consume nearly as much gas as our 2.4 Camry if you put the pedal down. Probably why they suffered a class action suit in the US regarding overstated fuel economy ratings. On the upside, my Soul can do 0-100 kph in under 10 secs on Petron XCS or better -- and it's a 6 speed AT with manual mode. Couldn't do that on my old RAV4 which had a bigger engine and manual transmission.

Their diesel engines are excellent. Their gas engines are good, refined and good power, but have shitty fuel consumption. I've also got a Sorento 2.2 CRDi and I get drunk on torque, so I can be sure that my next Korean purchase would be another diesel.