Buying advice

[Bryn23]

Shame isn't it that we are victims of technology , I live by the saying there is no substitute for cubes . I,ll never understand why in a commercial vehicle that we are often overlooked for engine sizes , Transporters have gone from V6 options and 2.5 petrols and then 2.5 Turbo Diesels now we have small capacity 2.0 engines and they expect them to have the same grunt as a big engine . I remember in a video done in Germany about the T6 and the reviewer stated that the engine in one of the test vehicles would be hard pressed to actually perform with a full load as it was designed for .

Yup, we tend to be the guinea pigs these days, and it costs us money to fix their mistakes,

Your not wrong, there is no substitute for displacement/cubes, a larger displacement with less boost will survive a long time if maintained.

What we are seeing now, is these smaller engines, that have been reduced in sized with increased boost, which increases the pressure on the blocks, leading to early stress failures.

I thought my 2007 Hilux 3 litre four cylinder was undersized, now they have reduced the size of those as well in the new model, time will tell on those new engines as well.

[Tornado T5]

Yup, we tend to be the guinea pigs these days, and it costs us money to fix their mistakes,

Your not wrong, there is no substitute for displacement/cubes, a larger displacement with less boost will survive a long time if maintained.

What we are seeing now, is these smaller engines, that have been reduced in sized with increased boost, which increases the pressure on the blocks, leading to early stress failures.

I thought my 2007 Hilux 3 litre four cylinder was undersized, now they have reduced the size of those as well in the new model, time will tell on those new engines as well.

I can't remember where I read similar comments and the engineer of the European brand said that with tougher emission standards in the future his company was going back to larger engine displacements with lower boost. The current engines of smaller displacement and high turbo boost will struggle to meet future standards.

[Sunny43.5]

Thank you Tornado I am not alone on this one , I know with my humble 2.0 petrol T5 [yes a rarity pity they didn,t whack a turbo on this one } The poor little engine has repeatedly had times where I found myself almost being stuck because the engine would not get up a hill , one customers home was down a steep driveway . I drove down and leaving the property was a real effort , the first attempt got me around a third of the way up before I rolled back to the house . The engine just did not have enough power to pull the weight of the van up the drive , after several more failed attempt's and a nice smoking clutch I was about to give up . reversing was not an option because the DMF had already been knackered by trying to back up a street with similar problems . Any way I reversed into this poor sods garden bed to get a bit more distance on the flat part before heading uphill , I just made it to the top with the clutch shuddering and engine almost stalling . My old T4 2.5 would have eaten the hill with ease .

[Craigs902]

You could join the RACV https://www.racv.com.au/ I'm sure if you find a vehicle they could check it out for you once you become a member.

[LogicprObe]

The reason for the low number of Bi Turbos, is that the Commercial guys just buy the cheapest "Runner" van with the smallest engine, management don't care as they don't drive them, its about numbers, they like the lower cost.

Self employed trades, will normally spend a little more on the van and upsize the engine to bi turbo or even up to 132kw, but then they hold onto them longer.

The days of diesels lasting 500,000km is long gone, small blocks and turbos, together with emissions control getting more complex are proving this with these engines.

My T4 has got nearly 500k on the clock..............and it's a petrol!

That said.........the single turbo model has more than enough power to drive around Australia.............considering 110kph is the highest speed in most places...........that's about where I'm changing from 5th to 6th.
Anyway......I reckon the DMF is the thing to look for.