Answer from Geely-Volvo Engine Boss:

The Proton X50’s 1.5-litre turbocharged engines (MPI and TGDi) are not the only 3-cylinder engines on the market. The all-new 2020 Nissan Almera also uses a 3-cylinder.

Going further up the hierarchy, BMW and MINI also use 3-cylinder engines in many of their models. The Toyota GR Yaris, which is developed with inputs from world rally champion Tommi Makkinen, also uses a 3-cylinder engine, and it costs more than a FK8 Honda Civic Type R!

So why are companies backpedalling their earlier message to customers that they should pay more for a bigger engine?

Someone a lot smarter than me once told me this, “When learning something new, you learn by following the rules, because it’s safer and easier. Then you work to master the craft, but somewhere down the line, you will reach the limit of current understanding because what you are trying to achieve is no longer normal. Moving beyond that normal limit requires you to unlearn, and even break the rules.”

Science didn’t progress for more than 1,700 years because Aristotle’s philosophies was thought to be universal truth, until Galileo introduced quantitative, methodical methods to science.

Isaac Newton had to throw out Aristotelian worldview to properly explain the laws of motion. But classical Newtonian laws had to be smashed before Neils Bohr could understand movements in the invisible world of atoms, and after that, Planck, Einstein, and Schrödinger had to throw out the very foundation of 19th century science before mankind could understand the uncertain world of quantum physics.

For automotive engineers like Dr. Sandquist, they are facing a similar need to throw out conventional understanding before they can move forward. The car industry is now in a once in a 100 years revolution...

As outlined in the article 3 pot engine can match the performance of 4 pot engine. Problem is the vibration as it is not even. The complex damping mechanism outlined will give problem if not maintained properly due to wear and tear.

Ev car is definite for  the future, problem is to store electricity is still problematic and have yet to match the cost of storing fossil fuels (for similar capacity).

In fact if human can figure out how to store electricity and water efficiently (as how fossil fuel is stored) then many of world problem now is solved.

Yes, thats why when axia, kenari, kancil, no one give a damn about 3pot. Because mindset toyoita>all

When geely bring 3pot, so funny got even put mineral water on top of the engine to test the vibrations 😂😂😂😂

Sure or not vibrations low? U drive axia kenari and compare with modern 3pot. Then u talk.
Power output with vibration is nothing to do with.

From the mfr point of view yes it is worth it. Moreover due to the extra maintenance consumer will change car more often.

Good god the sohai logic being peddled here.....

if 3 cylinder better why not 2 cylinder or 1 cylinder?
because 3-cylinder is the minimum? If manufacturers can make 2 cylinder engines without them vibrating out of the car, they will most definitely do so. In fact the new breed of Ford ecoboost 3-cylinder engine have cylinder deactivation technology, so the engine only runs on 2 cylinders when cruising.

3 cylinder less reliable
Malaysians have been driving 3-cylinder cars for donkey years and praise that brand to be super reliable. Why suddenly now 3-cylinder = unreliable.

Turbo is for expensive cars that owners don't care about fuel economy
Obviously, those small turbo made for economy cars are not the same as big turbos/twinturbos/biturbos/quadturbos you find on luxury cars.

All those additional engine parts to reduce vibration will be expensive to replace
Except for the timing belt, the other parts are not wear and tear parts and are designed to last the lifetime of the engine. Those old 3-cylinder that vibrate like washing machine, how often do you replace the flywheel?

I was referring to this paragraph in the article
Engine mountings are not mentioned, but they are obviously wear and tear parts in any engine.

If say you wanna argue that modern 3-cylinder engine mountings die faster than 4 cylinders, that is debatable too.
Engine internal parts are not regular wear and tear parts. Which 3-cylinder engine you know needs to have internals replaced every 5 years?

And where did you pick that 5 years figure from?
My point is as long as it is fit for it's designated function then it doesn't matter the size nor number of cylinders. RM40k car have 4 wheels so do you expect a RM80k car has 8 wheels?

I'm not sure in that paragraph what exactly is that dampener, could just be a spring, in which case it would last very long. You could be right too, but none of us in this thread knows, but somehow /ktards know it will not last long and very expensive to replace.

As for the mounting, you could well be correct in some cases as well; On the other hand, the Ford Fiesta engine mounts price between the 4 cylinder NA and 3 cylinder turbocharged, the price is less than RM100 difference and longevity-wise not that much difference too.

Like it or not, many carmakers are moving towards 3-cylinders in a big way, so it makes sense that a lot has been invested in rectifying some of the flaws. If it turns out a 3 cylinder will be more expensive to maintain compared to a 4-cylinder, alot of consumers will be pissed.

The bigger the torque + vibration, the more expensive it is going to be. Engine mounts in concept is simple but due to our modern day demands is now very complex to make.

You need it soft enough to absorb vibrations but tough enough to withstand all the torque from the drivetrain. Thats why liquid filled mounts are popular, they absorb the vibrations when not compressed kao kao and react when compressed kao kao. You try newer car use 3rd party new ones can sometimes be worse than your old original mounts.

If you are not the kind that need to be the first for everything, wait and see how the initial batch wear and tear sets in.

ktards ain't doing any better here either.
The "vibration damper" mentioned in that article is a specific engine part usually built as part of the crank pulley. It is not related to the engine mount. steady bro, just FYI.
Like I asked, which 3 cylinder engine you know need this part replaced after 5 years? or any other engine internal parts referred to in that article?

You guys keep mentioning engine mount, I already addressed it in my post replying to steady bro.

As for vehicle lifetime, you're just taking that "lifetime fluid" as reference and running with it. If manufacturer deem the car's lifetime to be 5 years, why do some markets enjoy 7-10 yrs warranties on their cars? in fact in Malaysia some Ford cars get 7 years warranty on clutch parts and 10 years for the transmission controller. Why bother with such long warranties if they don't think the car can last that long?

https://www.aarp.org/auto/trends-lifestyle/...-cars-last.html