Two Teutons with forced-induction 4-cylinders fight for your hearts and wallets.
By Douglas Kott / Photos by Bruce Benedict
The great thing about turbos is that when not asked to make additional power, they loaf along rather
innocuously, exacting little to no penalty in fuel economy. So in these times of ever-tightening CAFE and emissions standards, automakers are starting to embrace smaller-displacement turbocharged engines that rival the power of their brawnier non-turbo forebears, yet sip fuel instead of making rude slurping sounds at the pump.
Two such examples of the trend are the all-new BMW 328i, a slightly larger yet slightly lighter 3 Series with a 2.0-liter four making 240 bhp; and the Mercedes-Benz C250 Sport, cosmetically refreshed for 2012 and fitted with a 1.8-liter powerplant rated at 201 bhp. As for transmissions, the Mercedes-built 7-speed 7G-tronic Plus automatic is the C250 Sport’s sole gearbox, making the BMW’s new ZF 8HP45 8-speed automatic a natural fit for comparison purposes, though a 6-speed manual is standard. We actually welcomed these 2-pedal sports sedans, as many times a turbocharged engine paired with an automatic is like a mustard-slathered corn dog at the county fair…it just seems right. The torque converters tend to mask tip-in turbo lag, and the automatic’s no-lift shifts minimize turbo rpm drop-off for a virtually uninterrupted flow of power through the gears.
This all sounds good on paper, but how about in real-world execution? To find out, we drove to the quaint gold rush town of Julian, California, a place that offers Zagat-worthy apple pie and small-town charm as well as close proximity to great driving roads. For two days, we cornered, braked, transitioned, accelerated; we pondered the cars’ subtleties, argued their merits and scrutinized their weaknesses. Finally, we subjected them to our usual battery of instrumented tests. Here’s what we found.
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