Tech / Special Interest → Automotive > Ecotec vs EcoBoost and rental car detuning

Ecotec vs EcoBoost and rental car detuning

We were out of town this past weekend and rented a Chevy Captiva for driving around Minneapolis. It had an Ecotec engine. I thought it might be GM's name for similar technologies to Ford's EcoBoost, which basically means turbocharged with direct injection.

Boy was I wrong. I just looked up the specs for the engine in that Captiva. I don't know if ours was equipped with the 2.0l rated as 132 hp and torque of 126 lb-ft or the 2.4l rated at 182hp and 172 lb-ft.

Either way, in a 3800+ pound car with two passengers and luggage for the weekend, it was amazingly, shockingly slow.

Don't get me wrong. For a fleet car, it was pretty decent. Well appointed if somewhat cheap interior. The transmission was very smooth. But when you kicked the right pedal the engine would scream and speed would only begrudgingly build. There was zero feel of torque at all.

I'm used to my 1,000 pound heavier Flex with at least twice as much power, so this took some adjusting. I wouldn't expect every car on the road to perform like my daily driver, but still can't believe how slow the Chevy felt. And I looked up Ecotec and see that it's not at all like EcoBoost.

I had a similar experience with a Dodge Charger rental (abysmally slow, almost dangerously so) and a Chrysler Pacifica (same thing) a few years back. I know that rental car fleets typically don't have the more powerful engines in their standard cars, but it was almost as if this Chevy and the two Mopars were detuned. (I'm sure I'd feel the same way if I had rented Fords or other brands.)

Do rental car companies do this or have I just gotten some really slow rental cars? And before you tell me that it's because my current car is fast, the two Mopars (and a Hyundai now that I think about it more) were rented when I had a much slower and less powerful car.

I don't think they are detuned but rather they get the cheapest car they can from the manufacturer which means -the crappiest engines with zero concerns about power to weight. The transmissions are probably with the worst gear ratios to help prevent people from flogging the cars more than they generally are.
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Brian

"It drops into your stomach like a Abrams's tank.... driven by Rosanne Barr..." A. Bourdain

Could very well vary from rental agency to agency and area to area. Generally- most agencies will get the cheapest as they are still expensive and the money they make on them - really small.

Certainly, the cars you describe are NOT the ones Mospaw drove.
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Brian

"It drops into your stomach like a Abrams's tank.... driven by Rosanne Barr..." A. Bourdain

The Chevy is not turbo-ed, it has direct injection and variable valve timing. 182 HP from 2.4L of displacement.

Keep in mind that the Captiva is the Saturn Vue, which of course is an older design now.

The Ecotec is an antique of an engine nowadays.

GM makes some fantastic engines (V6 HIgh Feature, LS V8's etc) - and some real dogs ...