My first exposure to a three-banger was in 1991 with a Geo Metro paired with a 3-speed automatic transmission. A terrible engine with a terrible transmission in a terrible car.
More recently I experienced the Smart ForTwo which had a mediocre engine with terrible transmission in a meh car.
By all accounts, Ford may have finally got it right with the new 1.0-liter EcoBoost. With 123 hp from its direct-injected and turbocharged 3-cylinders, it has plenty of juice and pretty much every reviewer has said it's great to drive. Now if only they would put one more ratio in the gearbox…
Reshared post from +Automobile Magazine
+David Zenlea on the 2014 +Ford Motor Company Fiesta with the 1.0-liter EcoBoost I-3: "A tiny car with an even tinier engine and a not-so-tiny price — it will cost more than the base four-cylinder — the Fiesta 1.0-liter is the epitome of what would once have been considered a "not for America" product. Only, here it comes. Is it ready?"
Read more: http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/driven/1211_2014_ford_fiesta_1_liter_ecoboost/#ixzz2DkW6atJU
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Harumph
SAAB did three-cylinders just fine, thank you… in the Fifties…
/Shant'd
A friend of mine in college had a 3 cylinder Metro that her dad refused to let her sell. You're right, it truly was awful. Her dad had welded the exhaust back ”together,” there was no AC, no power, no comfort. He finally agreed to help her trade it for a used Mirage in her senior year.
Read up on the Saab 96 three cylinder engine. Ran great, lots of power but the pollution standards finally stopped them from being imported.