Does a 1.2 litre engine have enough power to maneuver on the M/A type of roads?
 

While trying to decide on type of car rental I am not sure if a 1.2 engine combined with automatic transmission is capable of getting us safely on and off Englands highest speed roads. We want the smallest car with automatic transmission because most of the daily driving we are doing will be small roads but we will take some major roads to get there. It is just the two of us with hopefully minimal luggage so smaller is better but not if safety is going to be compromised. Thanks for your opinions. Deborah

It might be marginal, especially with automatic transmission. I have had no problems with a 1.5 diesel engine, but that was with a manual transmission.

Thanks, Michael, yes I know it is a wicked combination, automatic trans and small engine. I doubt we will be offered a diesel trans so I still have to decide how small of an engine should we consider along with the automatic. Thanks again, Deborah

Large cars are safer than small cars. Why compromise safety? England and left hand driving is difficult enough without adding power, visibility and structural safety. Call up some English safety statistics. ASk Ben!

I do not think a 1.2 liter engine with an automatic transmission will produce enough power for safe driving. A critical amount of power on initial acceleration is absorbed by the transmission.

I drove a 2.0 liter Vectra with an automatic, and it was adequate. I drove a 1.8 liter Corolla last summer that was ok with an automatic. So a lot depends on the efficiency of the transmission. The Vectra with the automatic, however, was much less swift than my own 2.0 liter Camry with a 5-speed.

The smallest engine I have driven was a 1.4 liter diesel. Fortunately, it had a 6 speed transmission with a quick clutch and a short throw, so that going from 1st to 2nd to 3rd gear was easy and quick.

I was shifting with my right hand like I do in my own car. I do not want to try driving a left hand shift vehicle in traffic on strange roads.

My conclusion is this: I think the downside risk of not getting up to speed fast enough more than outweighs the financial savings of slightly better fuel economy and a cheaper rental fee. Blending into freeway traffic is only part of the problem. Another part is being able to pass a slower vehicle on a narrow road where you don't have much running room. It is very hard to do.

I would, therefore, opt for a bigger engine. Its only money. And the fuel savings between driving a 1.2 and a 1.6 engine on a relatively short trip are marginal.

This has been very helpful, I was just focusing on the high speed driving and not wanting a car that can't get out of its' own way, I forgot about needing to pass on smaller roads. thanks for the opinions. We want the smallest car because most of our visiting will be in small villages so trying to weigh parking ease, maneuvering, safety and cost but of course safety has the highest priority. Thanks so much for your help. Deborah

What would happen if you call the rental office directly and ask the agent if there is any chance you could take a test drive in the little car before chugging off to north England or some remote place? Perhaps if you tried it and did not like it, you could swap it for a more energetic model.
I don't know that this tactic would work at the height of the summer season or not, but phone calls to England are fairly cheap.

Also, is it possible to get the same car with a slightly larger engine?
I know the Opels better than others, and I know that some of the models offer a choice of 3 engine sizes.

In some cases the larger engine actually gets better fuel economy than the little engine under high stress conditions.

My dad, a physical chemist, always said A big engine is more efficient than a little engine. I am not sure I know what he was telling me, but it had to do with units of power produced per unit of fuel consumed.

We've driven a Peugeot 206 (which is a 1.4 liter automatic) all over France and in the Swiss Alps. It was fine. We try to avoid the Autoroutes because they're not as interesting as the "D" and "N" roads, but we have been on the "A" routes and had no trouble keeping up with traffic. We also had no trouble with passing.

We do stay within the speed limits but, given that concession, the car was wonderful and we plan to use it again.

Another option would be to get a stick. Not only would 1.2 be adequate for a standard transmission, you would save a LOT of money.

Janis, We usually drive a stick and that is our preference EXCEPT in the UK because of not being familiar with the driving style. Husband would prefer not needing to focus on his shifting ability as well as which side of the road he should be on. I, in this case, bow to his wishes!!! Deborah

Actually I currently drive an automatic at home but seriously prefer a stick in the UK. Most neophytes just assume an automatic is better - but if you are competent w/ a stick at home you will be competent over there. Plus having the gear shift over there on your left side actually HELPS you concentrate on staying on the left side of the road. Having an automatic can luul one into a false sense of security and they sort of drift into auto-pilot. I thionk a stick is safer - IF (and only IF) you are competent w/ one at home.

And remember - you are doing any "power shifting" or racing folks off the line (hopefully). The hardest part about using a stick is finding where they hid reverse :) But that is only when you are standing still - no biggie . . . . .

Oops - that should be "lull" . . . .

sheesh - another oops - guess I should preview, huh?

That should be you AREN"T doing any power shifting. . . . .

Janis, thank you for your well thought out comments, my husband is a super driver, loves the control a manual transmission gives, (as well as I do) but he is not a risk taker so I would have to convince him this would be a good idea!! Thanks for the advice. Deborah

This may be a silly suggestion, but why not try to find a similar car here in the US and do a test drive. That would give you at least some idea of how the car would perform - the only glitch is - I don;t know if anything that small is marketed in the US.

I routinely drive a small car with a 1.3 L engine and manual transmission without feeling I have inadaquate power. A driver who can drive standard on the right side of the road can do the same on the left. At least that has been my experience and I don't claim to be exceptionally talented.

You're not going to be racing along, you're not buying the car. Whilst I would never purchase a car with this combination, I would be more than happy to hire it for a bit.

It will probably do 90MPH or 85 at least, but the limit is 70MPH so surely this is not an issue. Safety on motorways - if you're doing 70MPH and god forbid have an accident, size really doesn't matter in this instance. Ironically you will be encouraged to drive more safely and take more care if you feel more vulnerable, not that you should after all it will have airbags etc!

There is a misconception that automatics are significantly more expensive to rent. This is not always true if comparing the same vehicle.

The British Air website shows a Ford Mondeo (the discontinued Ford Contour) Automatic from Heathrow at $357 for 7 days. A standard of the same car is $315. They also have a bonus offer for rental 60 days ahead for $287 and $280.

Automatic transmissions have become much more efficient and in some cases the automatic gets the same mileage as a stick and will get up to speed as quickly. Especially when compared to someone who is shifting poorly.

I have driven many standard shifts including an MG, a Volkswagon bus floor mount, a column mounted Ford pickup, a floor mount Mazda sports sedan and when I had to shift with my left hand I was hopeless. I don't agree with Janis and others who contend the skills are easily transferred. For me, at least, it wasn't.

jsmith, appreciate your point of view and think my husband would agree, while I agree with Janis in theory I have to take in consideration my fantastic husband, he is a definite type A personality who stresses about things that are out of his control, (quite my opposite but it's worked well for us these 30 years) so he will be the driver, I'm a great driver but Ron would be a lousy passenger so I'm trying to keep our marriage intact for another 30!!!Comments from everyone help me see things from different perspectives and I can then make the best decision for us. I think I will look at a larger engine at this point, but hopefully not a larger car. Thanks again, Deborah

Automatics do use more petrol, fact! I don't care much about that, powerful engines lend themselves very well to automatics, but back to smaller ones here.

If you're unfamiliar with manual ("stick") gearboxes, this combined with strange roads and the left driving position could lead to confusion. Perhpas you could drive a manual, but stick with an auto, put it into kickdown it won't be too slow I hope.

You do get what you pay for as I'm sure you are aware, if you really want a driving experience hire a nice coupe with auto shift, but otherwise stick with this car, a hotel's a much bigger decision to make.