turbo engine or normal engine: the pros, the cons and the maintenance

a turbocharger forces more air into the engine than it could draw in on its own, which lets a smaller engine make the power of a bigger one. that is why so many new vehicles have a 1.5 litre turbo where they once had a 2.5 litre without.

the trade is real, in both directions.

turbo engine versus a normal engine

a turbo engine makes more power for its size, uses less fuel when you drive it gently, and gives you strong pull from low revs. it also runs hotter, works its oil far harder, and has more parts that can fail.

a naturally aspirated engine, one without a turbo, is simpler. fewer things to go wrong, less demanding on oil, and generally cheaper to keep on the road past 200,000 kilometres. it gives up power for its size and low-rev pull.

neither is better in the abstract. what matters is whether the maintenance the turbo needs actually gets done.

turbocharged engines: pros and cons

pros

• more power from a smaller, lighter engine
• better fuel economy in steady driving, and lower taxes and insurance in some brackets
• strong low-rev pull, which makes a small car feel far bigger
• better performance at altitude, where an ordinary engine loses power

cons

• higher running temperatures, which is hard on oil
• shorter oil change intervals, and the oil specification is not optional
• more parts: the turbo itself, the intercooler, more plumbing, more sensors
• a turbo replacement is a four figure job on most vehicles
• real-world fuel economy often falls short of the sticker, because the economy depends on staying out of the turbo

are turbo engines more expensive to maintain?

yes, modestly, and almost all of the difference is oil.

a turbocharger spins at enormous speed and is lubricated and cooled by engine oil. that oil runs hotter than it would in an engine without one, and heat is what breaks oil down. old or wrong oil coking in the turbo's bearing is the single most common way turbochargers die, and it is entirely preventable.

so on a turbo engine:

• the oil specification matters. not "5W-30", but the exact approval the manufacturer lists. the wrong oil that meets the viscosity is still the wrong oil.
• the interval is shorter, often meaningfully shorter than the same manufacturer's non-turbo engines.
• short trips are harder on it than they are on an ordinary engine, because the oil never gets hot enough to drive off moisture and fuel.
• let it idle briefly after a hard run before switching off, so oil keeps moving through a turbo that is still very hot.

everything else is much the same as any other engine.

should you buy a used turbocharged vehicle?

it depends almost entirely on how the last owner treated the oil, which is why service records matter more on a turbo than on almost anything else.

that is a question worth asking about any turbocharged vehicle you are looking at, here or anywhere else. at this dealership the reconditioning we have done is published on every vehicle, so you can see what was actually addressed rather than being told it was inspected.