And yet, as you and many other have found, a 1.4 engine is easily able to pull a Octavia or Superb along.
Torque must be the difference. I'm no boy-racer, but I like to get a move on; and engines which are at their best only at the top end of the rev range don't suit me. I never liked SWMBO's succession of Mini Coopers for that reason.
I suppose it depends upon how sedate someone is as a driver, what car they owned before (i.e. what they are used to) and wheteher their requirements have changed.
Obviously a N/A 1.4 will have nowhere near the torque, let alone the power of a turbocharged version, even a lightly turbocharged one like the 122PS VAG 1.4 as a minimum, never mind the higher output versions.
I once had a mid 90s Nissan Almera 1.4 for a day when my Micra 1.0 was in for service - obviously a smaller car than the Civic (about the size and weight of the Jazz though), but compared to my Micra, which wasn't the slowest car on the road (VW Polo 1.0 40PS) at the time, the Almera went like a rocket.
I suspect that, like with yourself and Skidpan, once you've driven a car with a more powerful engine, especially one renowned for mid-range grunt, going back to an older-design concept N/A engine and having to rag it to make decent progress to match just doesn't cut the mustard.
By all accounts, the previous gen Civic with its 1.4 and especially 1.8 petrol engines are somewhat of a 'Marmite' experience - you either love them or hate them. Once again, I find it a right shame that certain aspects of VAGs really lets the side down, such as those of us who would like an auto box that actually is smooth, safe and reliable over the long term in all driving circumstances.
Looks like you guys got the sweet spot with those chosen - its a shame that the decent amount of goodwill gained by the 1.4TSI manual has taken a big hit with its replacement in the 1.5TSI EVO, as we can see on the thread on that engine's continuing issues.
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