Diesel engines are economical, petrol ones easier to maintain

Dear Baraza,

I really admire your knowledge of motor vehicles.

The Wednesday DN2 pullout is the best thing that can happen to a car enthusiast, if not a day out with the Ferrari 250 GTO or the legendary 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC.

 I am an ardent reader of your column. Of late I have developed this large and (increasing appetite) for 7Ls and only you can feed it. It’s about the Toyota Hiace 7L, both diesel and petrol engines in either transmission. 

I would like to invest in tour vans and would really appreciate your knowledge in this field to make  some decisions.

a) Is it true that maintaining a diesel engine in the 7Ls is costly compared to a petrol one? And is it true that manual transmissions in 7Ls are prone to mechanical problems (hint, the valves) and are the claims that they have more complicated engines than their predecessors true?

Also, how would you rate their physical performance as tour vans, considering the long, rough terrain these vehicles cover on safaris?

b) How would you rate the overall engine performance of the 7L that comes with the 1990/2000cc and 3000cc and which version is more suitable for a tour van.

c) When it comes to modification, apart from creating a sun roof  and installing a  short-wave radio transmitter, what over modifications would you recommend on shocks, spacers, wheel size and rims, bearing in mind the muddy terrain and driving on shallow river banks?

d) How would a turbo engine perform in a tour van and what are the pros and cons of the 7Ls in general? Also, do the 7Ls have any re-sale value?

And oh, the article on the Toyota Hiace hissing braking system, that was a job well done, congrats!

Call me Ephantus  WM

Hello Sir, I will call you Ephantus WM

Thank you for the high praise.

I will toot my own sax and agree that yes, the Car Clinic pullout is exactly like a Ferrari 250 GTO or Bugatti Type 57 SC: beautiful to behold, uncomfortable to be in, ahead of its time but in the same vein still classic, rarefied, and ultimately the product of passion and of great historical significance to automotive history. I really need to stop bragging.

Now I’ll have to stop you and bring focus to the “uncomfortable-to-be-in” quality of this column, and sadly for you, you are about to find out why. I tend to be blunt.

If you are an ardent follower of this column, why are you still referring to the H200 Hiace as a “7L”? What is a 7L? There was a 3L and a 5L, sure, but these are engine codes and the 5L was the last of the L family of Toyota engines.

There was no 6L, nor was there a 7L. Vehicles that used the L engine family graduated to both the KZ and KD powerplants, with a subset of them recently receiving GD power (these number-letter combinations are just engine codes within Toyota’s lineup, they are not universal). The petrol variants of these Toyota vehicles use the TR engine family.

So now, with that cleared up, let us establish whether  we can demystify one or two things for you (‘’...beautiful to behold...”)

a) We need to separate two terms here: running a car and maintaining a car. Running a car is basically operating it and feeding it consumables, which can best be summarised as “fuel”, and in this regard diesel power is superior.

Diesel engines burn a lot less fuel per kilometre travelled compared to petrol ones, in some cases as little as half or even less;  it has something to do with chemistry and energy density.

To this add the benefit of diesel being almost 10 per cent cheaper per litre compared to petrol in our market and you can see that when it comes to getting a vehicle from point A to point B, diesel engines are a bean-counter’s wet dream. Running a diesel engine is a cinch.

b) Maintenance is a totally different issue and it swings the pendulum the other way. Diesel engines — especially those fitted with turbos and intercoolers — are complex and made from heavier materials, so they cost more to produce. This in turn means that their spares cost comparatively more as well, with petrol engines as control points (obviously).

To this add the complications occasioned by the inherent characteristics that make a diesel torque-y and economical: high cylinder pressures, high compression ratios, high energy yields during combustion and the result is dramatically shorter service intervals. You will be servicing a diesel engine a lot more frequently than you would a petrol equivalent, and the diesel’s sundries cost more. Maintaining a diesel engine is a bitch.

Do your maths. The engines we are looking at here specifically for the H200 Hiace are the KD diesels versus the TR petrols, of which there are two of each. Apparently, the naturally-aspirated 5L 3.0 litre diesel engine is still available as well for this model from Toyota Kenya, where I went for a visit in search of more detailed answers for you.

For starters, Toyota Kenya sells only the 2KD and 2TR engines, along with the turboless 5L, for this model.

They have pegged their service intervals at 5,000km for both engines, which I found quite interesting, given what I just wrote two paragraphs ago, but they insist it is all okay. In fact, the interval could easily and safely be stretched half as much again over the 5,000km limit but this is Kenya, where matatu drivers roam the earth in search of engines to wreck, so they have to be saved from themselves. The oil, from (insert French oil giant name here) is just the usual over-the-counter stuff you can buy from the nearest red-and-white; it is not specially formulated for Toyotas.

My take? I would do 7,500km in the petrol and stick to 5,000km with the diesel turbo, just to be safe, but only under less strenuous conditions compared to what the matatu business entails.

I have never heard of manual transmission problems with the Hiace H200.

What I know is that a lot of matatu owners chicken out of the lazymatics they sometimes import this vehicle with (and the turbo engine), instead opting to swap out both engine and transmission in favour of the more easily understood H100 internals, typically, a 5L engine coupled with a 5-speed manual gearbox. The interesting thing is that this particular combination is available on sale locally; you don’t need to build it yourself.

The implied susceptibility to mechanical issues (which valves are these you are hinting at?) is purely anecdotal and can be ascribed to poor care.

No surprises there, considering the mental capacity of the matatu drivers who are left in charge of these vans.

They are right to some extent, though, the KD engines are more complicated than the L family, but they are no less robust.

As tour vans, you are wisely advised to make some changes before attacking the bush tracks. Install heavy duty suspension, along with a lift kit.

Fit bigger, all-terrain tyres. A snorkel would help, as would fortification such as sump guards, bumper and light protection. With these, you are good to go, and the H200 will promptly make short work of the rough terrain thereafter.

b) I wouldn’t rate the 1TR 2.0 litre petrol too highly, but looking at its numbers compared to the 2TR leads to a revelation: the 2.0 litre delivers 83per cent of the power and 75 per cent of the torque that the bigger 2.7 litre does across the rev range. Interesting, and not bad at all, to be honest. However, this is a large commercial vehicle with a blocky profile; if your demands go beyond running light errands around town, you are better off with a more substantial powerplant such as the 3.0 litre 1KD you inquired about (137hp and 300Nm over 130hp and 182Nm - an obvious call to make).

c) See the conclusion of (a) above.

d) Expect good performance from either of the KD engines (the 3.0 litre 1KD or 2.5 litre 2KD), but place emphasis on preventative maintenance (timely service and correct usage) rather than curative maintenance, which can quickly transform you into a hissing, cussing hater of modern technology.

The economy is particularly impressive; my connections at Toyota say the 2KD returns an average of 12km/l under normal PSV usage. Twelve kilometres per litre, in a 16-seater PSV, and this is not just talk, this is feedback from their clients. How fascinating is that?

Pros of a H200: The vehicle is larger than the 100 it replaces, meaning it is more spacious and, therefore, more practical.

The new generation engines offer better performance and economy as well, and spares are available in plenty.

The wide variety of available engines also makes some custom decisions easier to arrive at.

Cons: The spares might not necessarily be cheap.

The vehicle itself is not cheap either; a brand new one at Toyota Kenya will cost you around Sh4 million, which is not half bad,  but we Kenyans, who love pre-owned things, are in for a nasty surprise when we discover that used ones (ex-Japan) peddle for around Sh3 million.

Explain to me exactly why I would spend that amount of money on a used vehicle of unknown provenance when, for 33 per cent more, I can get something new and shiny, with a warranty and free service for the first four months.

Knowledge is power and information is a weapon.

More cons: The dash-mounted manual gear lever takes some getting used to, especially for graduates of the Excalibur-like floor-mounted affairs.

The car is greatly misunderstood by the untrained and the misguided who, incidentally, have the loudest voice.

It is very easy to be misled into making wrong decisions or applications when running this vehicle. I have seen it happen –  remember my narration about the sacco vehicle that was driven only in second gear because the driver had no idea how to operate an automatic transmission?

Stick to the straight and narrow. 

QUALITY TYRES COST MORE, BUT THEY ARE WORTH IT

Dear Baraza,

I just googled an article you wrote in 2012 responding to a reader complaining about tyres “bouncing”. You promised to find out whether Yana tyres had deteriorated in quality and also to compile a comparison list (okay, I just added the latter). Could you please do an article that helps the average Kenyan get the best tyres?

 Or if you have been there, done that, could you give me the date  on w hich the article appeared?

I drive a Toyota Fielder and need new tyres.

Karen

Hi Karen,

Would you allow me to welcome you to a legal and logistical minefield?

I’m glad you are trawling the archives for past gems. 

Now, about the name brand comparisons... back then I was a romantic ideologist with big dreams about the direction this column should go and I’d live for these comparisons.

Not much has changed since then, but there was a change. Ideology was superseded by realism. These tests don’t come cheap, but they come with consequences.

I’d gladly do the test any time any day, but for this test to succeed, I’ll need the help and participation of anybody who sells tyres in the country.

The exposure they receive from such an experiment in turn translates to advertisement or publicity of some kind; whether the review/comparison in question is favourable or not,  an advertorial is an advertorial. In the  print media, these cost money.

There is also the question of where I acquire my test samples from.

My monthly bread does not allow me the luxury of blowing cheese researching doughnuts. As you can see, the comparison/intensive tyre test is not an easy one.

But then again, Baraza does not do easy. As we speak, plans are in place to place this kind of knowledge in the hands of the hoi polloi so that they never need ask such questions again. Knowledge is power.

For now I just have two words for your Fielder: 1. Buy tyres that will fit your wheels.

More often than not, quality tyres are a little bigger than beggar-man wheels 2. You get what you pay for.

Buy cheap and don’t be surprised by a cheap experience. Buy brand/quality/expensive and you will not have to think about tyres again for a while.

Your choice.