Do 4 cylinder engines have problems going uphill?

Question

My parents disapprove of me looking at a car with a 4 cylinder engine. They say that 4 cylinder engines have problems going uphill. This causes the engines to die out faster. Is this true?

The car I'm looking at is the Toyota Yaris. It's very cheap and looks like it saves alot of gas. I'm only going to use this car to get around Dallas, Texas. I feel my financial status will be at a good point if I spend about 13k on this car rather than spending 20k+ on a 6 cylinder engine car.

Answer 1

Four cylinders since the 1980's are matched with small, lightweight cars. That combination should have no trouble pulling itself. Besides with gas prices escalating why feed an engine bigger than you need?

Answer 2

Various factors involved than just that. First and foremost is, how steep is the incline. How often, what is the speed limit, you usually take on this road. Weight is a factor as well. 4 cylinders isn't bad if it were something small like a Civic (which the little proker is getting fatter), but when you have a 4 cylinder SUV like a Rav4, then it'll obviously struggle. The transmission gearing would need to be good, to NOT make it obvious, but obviously, it will struggle.

Usually what occured when the vehicle is underpowered for certain conditions, your engine will rev much higher, in turn, using up much more fuel, the transmission making up for it will be shifting much more often or holding a lower gear for much longer.

Plus, you have some 4 cylinders like in a Scion where you just get maybe 105HP, then you have some like an Altima with 175HP, so again, a few more things to consider...

If it IS a concern, I would go with a V6 instead to play it safe.

Hope this helps...

Answer 3

Don't let the stereotype that 4 is a smaller, and therefore, weaker, number than 6 or 8, fool you.

You should note a huge factor in determining how "fast" a car is not just due to how much HP it has, but also by the Weight. Technically you can have, say, for a hypothetical example, a V10 Semi carrying 50,000 lbs go slow up a hill, and a Go-Cart can probably go up it quicker. But that's an extreme case.

In general, yes, weight is a factor, as well as the transmission. When going up a hill, you should be in a lower gear (ie. drop down a gear or so) in order to have more power and torque (in that lower gear) to make it up a hill "better". I do this in all sized engine cars.

My recommendation will be a manual transmission, since you will have total control in what gear the car is in. Automatic transmissions might be a bit difficult to "force" into a gear you want; sometimes you have to let go of the gas, then put your foot back on the gas, and the auto will hopefully will drop down a gear. However, nowadays most auto cars have the ability for you to sorta select what gear the car is in (I don't know of the generic term for this as each manufacturer might call it a different name, but basically you might have seen it as the + and - "Drive" on the auto shifter --sorry for the bad description). Anyway, the point is, properly being in the correct gear is a large factor into going up a hill successfully.

Anyway, in terms of the engine size and number of cylinders, a 4-cylinder is definitely adequate (especially for newer cars nowaday) for everyday use. As a lot of people have said, they are generally very fuel efficient, cheaper, and have low emissions. They are also not deprived of power. Unfortunately, in this day and age, people are very concerned with status and bragging rights ("Ha! I have more HP than you!", etc.). I honestly think that, for a regular sized sedan not carrying too big a load, you probably don't need more than 150 HP for every day use. Hugeeee HP numbers are, admittingly, just a bragging right. Of course, unless you're a car enthusiast and love driving, you probably want every bit of HP you can get for fun. But then again, it's exactly that... just for FUN, not something that's "needed" for everyday driving, both down and up the hills.

If you need to be towing stuff, like trailers (for example), then you will probably want a truck, which most come in at least V6 anyway and have relatively higher amounts of Torque for good towing capacity. Otherwise, a 4-banger car will be just adaquate.

Many performance cars have 4 cylinders, and they are by no means "slow." Especially factory turbocharged 4 cylinder cars like a Subaru WRX STI or Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution make roughly (i'm rounding) 300 HP, which is more than a lot of V6s. You can even have naturally aspirated (non turbo or non-super charged cars) that are 4 cylinders that can make roughly 200HP (Civic SI, Acura RSX-S, etc.) which definitely don't have an issue with going uphill.

In terms of dying out faster: as I said.. cars nowadays shouldn't have an issue tackling hills, so they won't be stressed very much in my opinion, so they should be just fine (again, if it is not towing anything and the amount/weight of the passengers is reasonable--even if you had like four 300 pound people in it, most cars should still be fine. It'll be noticable that you'll be slower, but i think it should be fine). 4-bangers can be very reliable and last for years!

Good luck.

Edit: It looks like you added the additional info of the Yaris. That should be fine, as well as its similar competitors of Honda Fit and Nissan Versa. Now I haven't driven any of those cars, and I honestly haven't been reading much on them (I know those 3 cars are covered in practically any car magazine, you can probably look up those articles). However, in the family we've had cars from those 3 manufacturers, and they lasted a long time and were reliable. Definitely take a test drive at your dealership! Once again.. good luck, but IMHO a 4-cylinder is just fine (I own one even).

Answer 4

Yeah when u have 5---450 pound passegers. And you your self are pushing the same. What do parents know. Now days 4 cylinder engines are very dependable. Go with a Honda Civic. It will last for years. Just ASK around. But it all depends on you maybe you want to tow a boat/RV then go with a V-8 Pick up. All american trucks are good for pulling....

Answer 5

I have a 2001 Mits eclipse 4 cyl. It's a great car. It's a manual transmission, so I have NO problems accelerating about as fast as a 6cyl. As for the uphill thing - everyone is right when they say that a lot of weight will slow it some, but I use to drive a semi and it slowed when I was pulling 80,000lbs, so.... 4cyl cars are great on gas and not nearly as slow as say a 3cyl car! Talk about a 3 cyl - they are slow going uphill unless you only have a driver weighing like a 100 lbs in it!

Answer 6

get the four cylinder! Get it with a manual transimssion and this will be no problem! This is a common myth i know not to be true. And a 2.3 liter acura cl 4 cylinder (manual) will outrun most 6 cylinders on the road, uphill too, without sacrificing gas mileage. 4 cylinders are good everyday cars, perfect size if you aren't going over 100mph. plus they get awsome gas mileage. I know not why your parents would disaprove.

Answer 7

It all depends on the weight of the car and the transmission.
Of course a bigger engine will do a better job, but there really is no need to have a big engine in a small car.

Answer 8

Vehicles with 4 cylinders have problems going up hills if you are carrying dead weight, such as lardy friends. They don't tend to accellerate well without a good running start either.

Answer 9

to be honest, everyone thinks a four cylinder is a wimp, but it really depends on the transmission
that'll be the thing giving you problems, no the cylinders

Answer 10

yes and no. it will slow down a bit but the 4 cyl. are built tougher today and are less expensive to fix. they get better gas mileage and are good motors