Ask Honest John

Honest John Ask Honest John » Do the Vauxhall Antara and Jeep Compass have the same diesel engine, and is it a chain cam engine?
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks

Do the Vauxhall Antara and Jeep Compass have the same diesel engine, and is it a chain cam engine?

I've been looking at the Vauxhall Antara and Jeep Compass amongst others and I'm struck by the similarity of the engines, even down to the emission and performance levels. Both companies advertise these as new engines but are they new to the range, or actually new? Are they the same, in fact? The Antara is built, I gather, in Korea, whilst I'm not sure about the Compass. Can you enlighten me, please, with any information regarding similarities of manufacture. Is this engine chain cam driven?

Asked on 12 June 2011 by NW, via email

Answered by Honest John
The Compass engine is basically the same 2,148cc chain cam Mercedes-Benz diesel engine as is used in the current W204 C Class and W212 E Class. With 4WD it's very good, but that puts the price up quite a bit. Someone told me that the Hyundai/KIA 2.2 R-Type diesel was the same engine, but the R-Type is 2,199cc. The Antara and Captiva 2.2-litre diesel is 2,231cc.
Similar questions
I've just bought a new Fiat Panda 4x4 (1.24 petrol version on your advice) having been delighted with my first one which fetched a good price. That first car (a 2005 model) was labelled as being a Fiat...
I found the UK too hard on drivers with constantly rising costs, so I have moved to France. Yesterday I was offered a car by a French neighbour. He tells me the cam belt jumped the pulley, and he can't...
I bought a 2008-registered BMW 520D from a showroom and asked if it had the 177bhp engine fitted from September 2007. The sales manager confirmed that it did, but now we have owned it for three months...
Related models
Most fuel-efficient, road-biased Jeep yet. Softer looks than other Jeeps might not upset environmentalists.
Vauxhall version of the Chevrolet Captiva. Reasonably good looking. Improved for 2011 model year.