Transmission efficiency and performance on paper

For a long time car manufacturers have claimed impressive power and torque figures in their product brochures. One would really wonder how this will be translated into real world driving experience and also how efficient the engine really is. This is why test driving a car before buying is critical. Test driving is not only for those who are buying a used car (to check for damage and other related issues), but it is also important when it comes to buying a brand new car. Buying a car based on the specs on the brochures will often leave the car buyer with a sense of dissatisfaction as the car usually does not live up to their expectations. Test driving the car will enable the car buyer to ascertain if the claims printed on the brochure lives up to expectations.

Having 200hp and 300Nm printed on the brochure but with a vehicle weight of 1800kg, it may look like the car will have decent performance but test driving the car will enable the potential buyer to see if it lives up to expectations. The test drive also will determine the overall experience that cannot be described in the brochure. The other key point is the transmission. On the brochure it maybe printed with 6 speed automatic but is the automatic transmission good? is it efficient? Test driving the car will show its true potential.

For example, to make a simple comparison between a Peugeot 308 1.6 Turbo and a VW Golf 1.4 TSI, both offer 160ps and 240Nm however the performance figures are very different. The Peugeot does the 0-100km/h sprint in 9.6 secs while the VW Golf does it in 8 secs. Why the big difference despite having the same power and torque figures? The simple answer is the transmission. The transmission loss between the two cars is the key difference. The Peugeot's 6 speed automatic being a traditional automatic usually loses about 20% to 25% of power while the VW's DSG transmission only loses 10% of power. This also has a direct impact on the fuel consumption as greater transmission efficiency means that the engine does not need to work as hard to deliver the required performance.

Korean cars in the past were also known to have poor transmission systems which really hampered its performance. Kia was notorious for having poorly designed transmission that high transmission losses which resulted in poor fuel consumption and overall performance. Having changed their design philosophy and investing a tonne of money into better research and development, I am glad to say that Kia has made some good progress over the last 3 years. I still have my reservations about the fuel consumption claims made by Hyundai and Kia because in the past their cars were not known for good fuel economy. Claims made in other countries based on their local tests are also inaccurate as the driving condition differ from that of our country plus the fact that in the tropical climate the air conditioning is used all the time and this has a big impact on average fuel economy figures.

My suggestion is to never buy a car purely from the brochure. Take the time to test drive it to get a real feel for the car. You may just discover a few things that you really dislike or like about the car that may affect your final decision.