Quote Originally Posted by Kestana View Post
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.

Why the Japanese would not want to get into the horsepower game with the Koreans is quite a mystery to me. Perhaps, they are just being conservative or just playing it safe when it comes to boosting their CRDi engines. But we cannot presume that are not capable of doing it. There's one thing that is also important than HP/Torque, ie, engine longetivity and reliability. I've yet to see a Korean CRDi engine surpass the 200KKms barrier without busting its turbo. I've heard from a friend before who he had his 07 Sta Fe turbo gone "kaput" at 80KKms bought brand new.

Now, I'm not saying that Korean CRDi engines are unreliable, they are very peppy indeed. But that characteristic is inherent with all diesel engines, the massive torque in the midrange, that's why they are mostly the choice for hauling heavy stuff. Hyundai/Kia has done great leaps in building their cars, indeed, but for me I'd still go for Japanese brands.
That's just me though.