Vue 2004, V4 5-speed Manual---Opinions?

My husband and I test drove a Vue today. We took it on the highway and it
seemed to have good power even though it was only a V4, 5-speed. So, I am
wondering if there are any red flags with this car that any of you know of?
We could go to the V6 FWD automatic, but we may want to buy another car
(possibly an Ion 2, 2004), and the V4 manual makes this option much more
affordable. We also like the better fuel economy. Thanks for any help.

 

I've heard good stuff about the Ecotech engine - and you can't go wrong with
a traditional manual transmission either.

Small note: It's actually an I4 (inline 4, meaning the 4 cylinders are in a
row). A bazillion years ago Saab made a V4 with dual exhaust, pretty neat.

 

Though the ecotec is a good engine I wouldnt get a suv or van or
anything larger than a L300 with a 4 cylinder. Small displacement
engines tend to be too overworked to last or get good fuel mileage in
big vehicles. If one desides on a ecotec in a vue a manual is a must.

V4's are rare, usually if its not inline its horizontally opposed. Eh...
The weirdest engine i've seen was a V5. I think audi makes that.

 

How do you 'V' a five banger? I know there are straight 5's but I'm
interested in how a V5 is put together.

Cheers!

Glomis

 

Very very carefully

Honda
http://www.bikernet.co.za/library/motogp2002/images/honda-2.jpg

VW
http://www.semler.dk/press/pressimages/1029-c00_6534_small.jpg


You just have to change the seperation in the crank journals and the
crank weights. The pistons no doubt dont share any crank journals so
they can be spaced out in what ever maner to make them the engine
smooth. Border line silly mostly.

 

I can't speak for the Saturn, but I have a Ford Escape with a 2.0 litre
4 with 5 speed trans, and it has plenty of power for moving the vehicle.
I also just returned from a 4500 mile vacation circuit and got 27.8 MPG
average over the distance. It has over 75,000 miles so far.
So, unless you're into heavy duty towing or need extra power to get to
the gas stations quicker (and more often), I wouldn't worry about a 4
cyl/5 speed combo on a vehicle like the Vue.
I've also read that the automatic CVT option on the Saturn is pretty
efficient compared to a normal automatic. I'm waiting for a few more
years to see how they hold up before getting one, though.

JPH

 

That Honda pic is interesting. I just assumed that having three pistons on
one side and two on the other would unbalance the engine. I guess there
must be some correction somewhere. How does the engine compensate - I'm
guessing the firing order? And if that is so, then wouldn't the pistons on
the '2' side get more strokes than those on the '3' side?

And thanks again for those pics!

Cheers!

Glomis

 

No its the same crank, same number of rotations no piston fires more
than any other. It all has to do with balance. Its not like a v6 with
just 1 cylinders wacked off. There is no dead spot because the all the
pistons are spaced evenly apart in a 360 deg circle. The compensation
comes with the way the crank is balanced. Its no different than how a
inline 5 would work. The only reason its in a v5 configuration is to
save space so it can fit under the hoods of small cars. 4 pistons long
is as big as you can go when a engine is mounted transversely. An inline
5 or 6 would never fit in something the size of a cavalier.

 

Dork!

2 1/2 cylinders on each side.

Jeesh!

;-)

 

Ok...I think I've got it now. Seems like an awfully complicated design
process though!

Blah blah

 

Hmmm...never thought of that! I'll try to put a little more thought into my
comments, lest I make a silly one again!

Cheers!

 

Lmao!!!

Oh while I'm thinking of it, heres a new one for you guys

http://www.sportbikez.net/bikepics/medium/1048073465.jpg

 

The V-4s Saab sold were actually a Ford engine. It is a
distant relative of the German built V-6s currently sold in
Ranger and Explorers. The engine's origins go back to a Ford
front wheel drive car program started in the early 60's. The
engine design was transferred to Germany and was used in
German Fords for many years. The Ford German V-6 was
developed from this V-4. The original V-4 was 1600 cc
(1.6L). The V-6s started out at 2.4L, then 2.6L, 2.8L, 2.9L,
and finally 4.0L. The ultimate (so far at least) member of
the family is the 4.0L SOHC V-6 currently sold in Ford
Explorers and Rangers. The only engine family with a longer
and more sucessful life than I can think of is the Small
Block Chevy V-8. I have only ever worked on one of the Ford
V-4s - it was an industrial engine powering a Bobcat loader.
Before they adopted the Ford V-4, Saabs used a 3 cylinder
two-stroke engine. That engine really sounded weird. After
the Ford V-4, Saab used an inline 4 cylinder engine based on
a British Leyland design (but they ended up doing their own
assembly of the engine).

V-4s have also been used in Lancias (a very narrow V-4 that
was interesting) and motorcycles. Ford actually produced two
completely different V-4s in Europe - one English, 1.6L and
2L (which I know nothing about) and one German, 1.6L which
is the one used by Saab. Both of the Ford V-4s included a
balance shaft to smooth them out.

see http://www.free-definition.com/V4.html

Regards,

Ed White

 

So far (16,000 miles), I am very satisfied with my 4
cylinder VTi Vue. I might not win any races at a drag strip,
but I easily keep up with traffic either in town or on the
Interstate. In town mileage has been in the 21-23 mpg range.
Interstate mileage has been in the 27-30 mpg range. In road
tests, the 4 cylinder with the VTi transmission actually out
accelerated the 5 speed manual Vues. Based on my test
drives, I believe this to be true. The 5 speed does provide
slightly better fuel economy. Reliability of the VTi is
definitely suspect, although mine has been fine since it was
reprogrammed.

This Audi engine has a real narrow "V" (15 degrees). By
angling the cylinders slighlty you can make the engine
shorter - a good thing for a front wheel drive car. See
http://www.vwfixx.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=20918 -
picture at the bottom of the page.

Regards,

Ed White

 

See http://www.vwfixx.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=20918
picture at the bottom of the page. The cylinders are only
angle 6.5 grees from the centerline (total "V" angle of 15
degrees). This allows the cylinders to be closer together
and reduces the overall lenght of the engine. There is only
one head, so calling it a "V" engine is a little bit of a
stretch.

Regards,

Ed White

 

The Honda engine is a legitamate V-5. The Audi engine is
really just a sort of twisted in-line engine. Audi
alternately angled the cylinders so they can pack them
together tighter. The Audi engine only has one head, so it
is hard to call it a "V" engine in my mind. Lancia did a 4
cylinder like this for many years. At one time Oldsmobile
was palanning to build a V-5 DIESEL engine (see
http://members.tripod.com/~A350Diesel/v5.html). Program died
when people figured out the Oldsmobile diesel V-8 was junk.

Regards,

Ed White

 

I have the same (inline) 4 cyl , 5 speed manual Vue. Actually, the
acceleration is pretty lousy in my humble opinion. My old '01 SW2
with a 5-speed was much faster.
I drive in Austin, TX. stop-and-go traffic quite often and I need to
turn off the A/C to accelerate decently in the Vue. Once I'm up to
speed, no problems.
I get about 24 to 25.5 mpg, with about 2600 miles on it so far. Aside
from the acceleration, it's a comfortable and fun-to-drive car.
If you buy this car with a VTi, insist that you get the 75k mile
warranty on the VTi transmission.

 

I have the same (inline) 4 cyl , 5 speed manual Vue. Actually, the
acceleration is pretty lousy in my humble opinion. My old '01 SW2
with a 5-speed was much faster.
I drive in Austin, TX. stop-and-go traffic quite often and I need to
turn off the A/C to accelerate decently in the Vue. Once I'm up to
speed, no problems.
I get about 24 to 25.5 mpg, with about 2600 miles on it so far. Aside
from the acceleration, it's a comfortable and fun-to-drive car.
If you buy this car with a VTi, insist that you get the 75k mile
warranty on the VTi transmission.

 

All of us lucky pre 2004 VTi owners got the 75k warranty.

Ed

 

We just bought the 5-speed V4 and so far like it, but what is VTi?

Marianne