Eli5: 2 cars have the same Horsepower but different engine in terms of displacement (2.0L TDI vs 3.0L TDI) but what difference does it make and which one is better?

Question

Eli5: 2 cars have the same Horsepower but different engine in terms of displacement (2.0L TDI vs 3.0L TDI) but what difference does it make and which one is better?

In: 87

Answer 1

This is assuming the two engines are in the same vehicle. I’m thinking the lower displacement one is likely turbocharged to make up the difference in horsepower but not necessarily. The turbo will probably have better gas mileage because a turbo setup allows the power to be used on demand where as a higher displacement engine is usually using more gas. The trade off is more engine complexity for the turbo which can translate to lower reliability and higher maintenance costs. Also there is a degree of turbo lag where the power it adds isn’t instant because the turbo has to spool up first. This lag isn’t as noticeable on smaller turbo chargers.