V4

My first GM rental car—that Pontiac from January—had a V6 in it. Because the thing torque-steered worse than a pissed-off bull, it was downright scary to drive.

So, when I mashed the gas on my now-returned Chevrolet Classic and it tried to pull the steering wheel completely out of my hands, I was largely unsurprised. I figured it had the same—perhaps slightly detuned—V6 under the front.

Now, the first thing that I usually do to a rental car is pop the hood open and take a look around. It's interesting stuff to me, and I figure I owe it to myself to investigate a car that I would never, ever contemplate actually owning.

Last time, I took a photo. Here's the 3.4 L V6 in the Pontiac.

I was too busy disliking the Classic when I first got it, though, so I waited until yesterday to look. Imagine my surprise when I opened the hood and found this.

What the shit?

It turns out that this car is a four-banger. I was genuinely surprised to find that in there. Hello, little engine!

Incidentally, my Camry has a engine of similar size—the 5S-FE is also a 2.2 L four-cylinder. But this engine seemed significantly more powerful than the Toyota motor...until I drove the Camry around out here. Oh, sea level. Right.

I'm guessing they make similar amounts of power, but the Ecotec in the Chevrolet is much torquier at the bottom end, which makes it a bit easier to drive around town. The downside, in this case, is absolutely atrocious fuel consumption; the Chevy managed 20 and 22 mpg after the two fillups. My Camry usually pulls closer to 28 in the city.

I feel pretty weird about this. I suppose I wouldn't feel so odd if I had guessed an American V6 was really a 4-cylinder, but it just surprises me so much that I got it the other way around.