QUOTE(k!nex @ Dec 2 2018, 02:45 AM)
Don't buy that Volvo 940 turbo. I don't think in stock form it has 215HP, at least in Malaysia. At most I think it only has about 135~165HP . I have seen under the hood of the car before, that stock turbocharger is actually a very small Mitsubishi TD04 unit. That turbo unit is commonly found in stock Lancer GSR 1.8L turbo engines.
There is only 1 thing good about that car, it is rear wheel drive . If you want loads of power, nah... The body is very heavy, it is build very solid like tank. If Myvi hit your bumper, you no rasa , it just like those ancient Nissan Sunny absorber bumper. That stock engine very makan minyak. Expect 8km/L or less if you drive in city traffic.
BMW with a 1JZ engine means the body is BMW body but with Toyota 1JZ-GTE 2.5L twin turbo engine transplant. In stock engine configuration, it is a powerful and reliable unit, minimal vibration due to inline 6 cylinder design. This particular engine I have seen in old Jaguars too. Those people who don't want to pay 4.2L roadtax sometimes they do transplant with this engine. Going from 4.2L to 2.5L save you whole lot of roadtax money with so much more power to spare.
Oh yea, if you want to look for something that not only looks powerful but feels powerful too, you really need to take a look at the weight of any vehicle. A good example is you see RapidKL buses roaming around the street, those Scania units have about 250HP~270HP . Big power numbers but you should know yourself whether are they fast or not.
If you're looking at those Merc S class, be aware they do have Airmatic suspension, once spoilt, you need at least 10 times the price of a common Japanese car spare part price to fix it.
Many thanks for that very informative reply. That inside information about the Volvo is very helpful to know. The more I think and hear about it, the Volvo is probably not the one I want.
I appreciate the explanation about the Japanese engine transplant in the BMW. (As opposed, notably, to an earlier comment I have no clue about cars.) I am not seeking a car to race or the like, so this is probably a level that is over my head and can safely stay there, but I do wonder how it is that one is supposed to find one of these transplants. I'm just using the online sites (carlist and mudah, mostly) as my guides. Just out of curiosity, is there a sort of secondary (tertiary?) market for these engine transplants?
Well noted on weight versus horsepower, especially vis a vis the city bus. I did once, though, watch a city bus burn in Wangsa Maju, and it became evident that everything from the chassis up was pretty lightweight (meaning flammable). I'll see if I can find a pic to share.
I've been reading about the Mercedes S-class cars tonight, and yes, I've read that same thing about the suspensions. But if they don't fail when you have the car, then the car is pretty sweet, right? Basically, here is my deal. I've got 21 months left here, with a car allowance of about 500 dollars (US) a month. If I could buy it for 50K ringgit and not pay a penny in repairs, then I could give it away at the end and not be out anything. I'm sure I would have to pay some in repairs, on a used car of this type, but I also don't want to deal with the hassle of taking the car to the shop, because I travel at least half-time for work and just don't have that many hours available. So I'm trying to figure out what makes the most sense.