Vauxhall is embarking on a complete renewal of its engine line-up between 2013 and 2016.
The highlights are a new 1.6-litre turbodiesel and a sub-100g/km three-cylinder petrol unit. Three new families of engines are coming, the key one being the MDE (medium diesel engine) — a 1.6-litre turbodiesel with a power output of between 100 and 140bhp — and on sale in 2013.
The MDE will replace higher-power 1.3 CDTi powerplants and the evergreen 1.7 CDTi, the most popular Astra engine in the UK.
“We are investing heavily in new powertrains ready for Euro 6 and to ensure we stay top of the class,” says Rita Forst, GM’s European engineering boss.
All the new petrol engines will feature direct injection. The SGE (small gasoline engine) will range in capacity from 1.0 to 1.4 litres, while the MGE (medium gasoline engine) will be a 1.6.
The 1.0-litre unit will have three cylinders and will power the Junior hatch, an upmarket supermini aimed at the Mini and Fiat 500, although it won’t be ready for the Junior’s launch at the Paris show next autumn.Instead, the triple will be added to the range about a year after the Junior’s launch, when the SGE family goes into production.
All three new engine families will be built at a new £420 million factory in Hungary, capable of building 500,000 engines a year.
Vauxhall is also raising the power output of the 2.0-litre Family B diesel engine, adding a second turbo to boost peak output to 200bhp in its most powerful version.
The Family II petrol engine will get internal improvements to boost power, efficiency and emissions and be on sale in late 2015, ready for EU6.
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