Why are the SUVs getting bigger but their engines become smaller

• SUVs are getting bigger while their V8 and V6 engines have been replaced by smaller engines.
• The smaller turbocharged engines benefit from the improved fuel economy and the best torque of the interval.
• But turbocharged engines may feel less refined and may be less reliable in the long run.

Over the past year, I have run more than two dozen SUVs and something immediately became visible: their engines are much smaller than they once were.

Ford began the current engine trimming wave a decade ago when its “Ecoboost” motors began to replace V8 in its popular series F and expedition SUVs. The tendency has since included in the automotive industry thanks to the spread of hybrid technology, the most advanced turbocharged energy and the increasingly strict fuel economy regulations.

As the engines have become smaller, the vehicles have become only larger and heavier. Behemoths of the early 2000s, such as the Hummer H1 and Ford excursion, were external during their time, rising over the surrounding traffic, however the SUV of their size are common these days.

“I think it’s a kind of the inevitable reality of being a car manufacturer now,” said the analyst of the Edmunds Consumer Insights Joseph yon for Business Insider.

How and why the engines are reduced

The engine discount can take different forms depending on the type of vehicle.

In general, it involves replacing a larger aspirated engine of course with a smaller power plant that relies on forced induction or the use of compressors, such as exhaust turbochargers or strap -driven superchargers, to get the air and produce extra energy.

For example, the new SUVs Infiniti QX80 and LX600 full-sized Lx600 have V6 Twin-Turbo engines instead of their previous versions V8. While the middle SUVs like the Traverse Chevrolet, the Infiniti QX60 and the Toyota Highlander all recently threw their V6s in favor of four turbo cylinders.

I have even encountered some compact SUVs, such as Nissan Rogue, who have reduced their four -cylinder engines in three -cylinder turbocharged engines.

However, engine reduction results can be hit or lost to consumers.

Not all bad news

For car manufacturers, switching to smaller, turbocharged engines comes with a host of benefits, the boss among whom is burning less fuel often while making more energy.

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The new QX80 with V6 with V6 won 50 horsepower and 13% of EPA fuel economies, while the LX600 has 26 horsepower and a major 36% improvement in the fuel economy compared to V8 LX570 at the exit.

At the same time, the four -cylinder crossbar gained 18 horsepower and a 9.5% collision in the fuel economy.

Even more important than the full power is that turbocharged engines tend to have more medium interval torque than naturally aspired engines, which translates into a feeling of easier acceleration for drivers, Gabe Shenhar, Associate Director of Automatic Test Program in Customer Reports, Business Insider told Business Business

Finally, the reduction of more efficient engines helps car manufacturers meet the strongest emissions and regulations of the economy, allowing them to give phobic consumers more ice options in the market.

“I think for many people, there is a lot of overall anxiety to try something new, especially if you are not in a large area of ​​urban subway where it is difficult for you to find loaded infrastructure,” Shenhar explained to Business Insider.

But there is weakness in the reduction

Despite their advantages, modern turbocharged engines have flaws for consumers, including volatile power distribution and a “general refining”, said Shenhar and Yoon Business Insider.

“Sometimes, with turbo engines, you have uneven drowning responses. You get a little from a dead area initially, then a sudden delayed response,” Shenhar said.

This means that some may need to get used to your new power, with a possible learning curve to accelerate well.

For example, the new turbocharged four in a 2025 QX60 Infinite I have recently been driving not only sounding free and weak, but also gives its unpredictable units of unpredictable units.

And those theoretical benefits in the fuel economy from turbocharging cannot be materialized in daily driving.

For example, Nissan Rogue with three -cylinder, Nissan Rogue must have a three MPG advantage over the four aspired cylinders of course replaced. Instead, fraudsters of three and four cylinders returned the identical figures of the fuel economy into testing customer reports.

This is about how turbocharged engines make their power and the way you apply drowning.

Turbocharged engines are extremely effective when navigating at a steady speed. However, the more you have a firearm and the more incentive you send to the engine, the less efficient it will be.

So whenever the driver aggressively violates the gas when driving, the more they “counteract profits in the fuel economy”. Explained Shenhar.

Long -term reliability can be a concern

Turbocharged engines make power by compressing and forcibly forcing the air in the combustion chamber to create a more powerful explosion. As a result, their ingredients are more stressed and may not be as reliable in the long -term plane as their naturally aspirated counterparts.

Turbochargers are traditionally used in sports cars and target models for automotive enthusiasts. This is the first generation of vehicles in which they are widely placed in family carriers that must receive continuously and reliably from point A to point B.

“I think we are in a semi -regulated territory in terms of what turbocharging will do because I think all the enthusiasts of vehicles know that you can’t add power without removing things if it is refining, or if that is reliability, something has to give.” Yoon, said automobile analyst Edmunds.

However, both Shenhar and Yoon say there is not enough data to make a strong conclusion at the moment.

Shenhar notes that, based on customer report data, long -term reliability will depend more on the individual automobile than anything else.