Let’s talk about the impact of a car’s power system engine layout on vehicle performance?

The power system is a key factor in determining the driving performance of a vehicle. The engine is known as the heart of the car. In today's episode, let's talk about the power system of the car.

Front or rear engine

Front-engine rear-wheel drive, front-engine front-wheel drive, front-engine four-wheel drive, mid-engine rear-wheel drive, rear-engine rear-wheel drive, and rear-engine four-wheel drive are the common driving modes of fuel vehicles at present. Among them, front, mid-engine, and rear-engine are only the positions of the engines. If you pay close attention, you will find that the civilian cars, SUVs, and MPVs currently on sale are mainly front-engined, and those with mid-engine or rear-engined are basically sports cars. What impact does the engine layout have on the performance of the vehicle? The original car body size was large, the engine compartment was long, and there were two large bulges at the wheel eyebrow position. Simply put, the space utilization rate was low. In the case of a small number of cars, there was nothing wrong with this design, but if it is placed at present, it will aggravate road congestion and make parking spaces more tense. At the same time, because the size of the whole vehicle is large, its cost is relatively high. As automobile manufacturing technology gradually matured, in the 1930s and 1950s, cars were no longer exclusive to the rich, and began to become civilians. The body size was also getting smaller, but due to the limitations of the steering technology at the time, it was difficult to continue using the front-engine front-wheel drive layout after the body became smaller. In order to solve this problem, the engine is placed at the rear of the car body, under the second row of seats, and the rear wheel drive is used, which can solve the problem of front wheel steering and driving, and ensure the maximization of the space in the car. Ferdinand Porsche designed the classic Volkswagen Beetle in 1930. It is the world's first family car with rear-mounted rear-wheel drive. Although the car is only about 4 meters long, it can still accommodate 4 adults, and it also has a large front trunk. Subsequently, the Fiat 500 with the same design was launched in 1957. It is only 3 meters long, but it can also accommodate 4 people. The rear-mounted rear-wheel drive design of family cars continued until the 1960s. After a major breakthrough in the steering mechanism of the car, in 1959, the world's first family car with a transverse front drive, the mini, was born. Subsequently, the rear-mounted rear-wheel drive family car gradually faded out of the market. Why the rear engine was replaced by the front engine is mainly because it has some disadvantages. First, the rear engine will result in a smaller luggage compartment space, which can be seen from the Porsche 911. The front wheels of the vehicle are responsible for steering. When designing, the designer first reserves the maximum steering angle for the wheels, followed by storage space. At the same time, the foot space in the cockpit will also occupy a part. These factors combined make it difficult for rear-engine models to have too much storage space, while family car consumers care more about practicality. In addition to the space shortcoming, as consumers have higher and higher requirements for power, the engine displacement and volume are also getting larger. When the engine volume is too large, the engine cannot be placed under the seat and can only be placed behind the rear axle. This also requires that there must be enough space at the rear of the car to place the engine and gearbox. In this way, the body of the rear-engine model will continue to lengthen, resulting in the vehicle not looking very coordinated.

The cost of car maintenance is a concern for many family car consumers. The manufacturing and maintenance costs of rear-engine models are relatively high, which is one of the reasons why only high-end sports cars use similar designs. The current car exterior design is mainly streamlined. Vehicles with rear-mounted layouts are limited by the height of the engine. The Porsche 911 with a rear-mounted engine layout has a horizontally opposed engine design with a lower center of gravity and height, which ensures that the engine can be placed behind the rear axle. Compared with V-type six-cylinder or inline four-cylinder and six-cylinder engines, horizontally opposed engines have higher manufacturing costs and are more troublesome to maintain in the later stage. Even for simple maintenance, replacing common wearing parts such as spark plugs and air filters requires disassembling a lot of parts, which naturally increases labor costs. For car companies, the manufacturing cost of horizontally opposed engines is high, and for consumers, the maintenance cost of horizontally opposed engines is high. Buyers and sellers need to increase costs, which is indeed not a good choice.

In addition to the cost issue, the rear engine also needs to face the problem of heat dissipation. When the car is driving, the front of the car is the first to hit the wind. The front engine can always be the first to contact with fresh air, which is very helpful for the rapid heat dissipation of the engine. If the rear engine wants to dissipate heat better, it needs to add some components to achieve it. If the radiator is installed in the front of the car, it will be guided to the rear engine through an extra-long pipe. Compared with the front-engine model, its heat dissipation efficiency is much worse, which is why we can see two air intakes behind the rear door on many rear-engine sports cars. Their function is to help the engine dissipate heat. In addition to the above shortcomings, high-horsepower rear-mounted rear-wheel drive cars still have certain risks for many ordinary people. Compared with front-wheel drive cars, it is easier to lose control when accelerating with a large throttle, but for professional drivers, rear-mounted rear-wheel drive is more fun to drive than front-wheel drive cars. Because the engine is not placed in the front of the car, the rear-engine vehicle can better arrange the suspension to improve the vehicle's handling.

I don’t think it’s a generalization as to which design is better, the front engine or the rear engine. It depends on the needs of the vehicle because they both have their advantages and disadvantages.

Are hybrid models worth buying?

As hybrid models become cheaper and gasoline prices remain high, some consumers are struggling to decide whether to buy a hybrid model. In my opinion, whether to choose a fuel car or a hybrid should be determined based on usage, as they each have their own advantages and disadvantages.

Fuel saving is the biggest advantage of hybrid models. Taking Toyota hybrid models, which are currently highly recognized in the market, as an example, the Camry hybrid model with a 2.5L naturally aspirated engine + electric motor has a NEDC fuel consumption of 4.1L/100km, and the Camry 2.5L model with a 2.5L naturally aspirated engine + 8AT gearbox has a NEDC fuel consumption of 6L/100km. If you often drive in the city and the roads are congested, the difference in fuel consumption per 100 kilometers between the two cars can even be close to 3 liters. After understanding the difference in fuel consumption, consumers need to calculate their own economic accounts, estimate their approximate mileage in a year, and then estimate how long it will take to save the extra money spent on buying a hybrid model. At the same time, some consumers will also consider the value retention rate of used cars. From the current situation, although the prices of Toyota and Honda's hybrid models are already comparable to those of fuel vehicles with the same configuration, there are still more consumers who choose fuel vehicles. The more reason for this may be that the price threshold of ordinary fuel vehicles is lower.

The advantage of hybrid vehicles over fuel vehicles is not only low fuel consumption, but also better driving experience. Most economy cars, especially small-displacement models, have good driving smoothness at medium and high speeds, but at the start, some small-displacement turbocharged models will feel a little weak, and the throttle response is not as fast as that of large-displacement cars; on the other hand, hybrid vehicles will give priority to using electric motors at low speeds to make up for the problem of slow engine response, and the throttle response is faster. At the same time, the sufficient torque output of the electric motor also makes the driving experience of the vehicle significantly better than that of small-displacement turbocharged models when starting.

If you are driving in congested urban roads, the advantages of hybrid models will be further magnified. For fuel vehicles, stop-and-go road conditions not only have a bad driving experience, but frequent starting will also increase vehicle fuel consumption; hybrid models can make full use of electric motors to drive in stop-and-go sections, reduce the number of engine starts, and achieve the effect of reducing fuel consumption. In addition to traditional hybrid models, there are plug-in hybrid models available on the market. This type of model is also a very popular model in the Chinese auto market in 2022. Many fuel vehicle owners choose plug-in hybrid models when they replace or purchase additional models. Compared with hybrid models, plug-in hybrid models have larger battery capacity and longer pure electric range. The pure electric range of most models is more than 50 kilometers, and some models can even exceed 100 kilometers. In daily short-distance commuting in the city, plug-in hybrid models can be used as pure electric vehicles, greatly reducing the cost of use; if it is long-distance or inconvenient to charge, it can be used as an ordinary hybrid model, only need to refuel, and there is no mileage anxiety of pure electric models. From the perspective of usage characteristics, plug-in hybrid models can be understood as an upgraded version of hybrid models. Compared with pure electric models, its biggest advantage is that there is no range anxiety, and the convenience of refueling is no different from that of ordinary fuel vehicles. It is not an exaggeration to say that plug-in hybrid models combine the advantages of hybrid models and pure electric vehicles.