Best engine ? For Mh

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R M said:
I no opinions vary !
What's the best mh engine or the most bomb proof ?
3-0 litre ?
2-8 litre
2-3 litre
Etc ?
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3.0 litre is a cam chain up to 180 bhp a peach of an engine 😎
2.8 litre is cam belt but older bullet proof engine
2.3 litre cam belt is fiats standard engine
2.2 litre is a ford puma cam chain
engine
These are all sevel van engines so I wouldn’t get a comfortmatic gearbox after reading the woes on here the manual gearbox is fine!
We are talking old engines here pre adblue etc!
New ones I know nothing about.
I have a 2013 lhd Citroen jumper (relay) with the 2.2 litre ford puma no problems with it and 86000 miles 👍😁
 
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Gingernuts said:
3.0 litre is a cam chain up to 180 bhp a peach of an engine 😎
2.8 litre is cam belt but older bullet proof engine
2.3 litre cam belt is fiats standard engine
2.2 litre is a ford puma cam chain
engine
These are all sevel van engines so I wouldn’t get a comfortmatic gearbox after reading the woes on here the manual gearbox is fine!
We are talking old engines here pre adblue etc!
New ones I know nothing about.
I have a 2013 lhd Citroen jumper (relay) with the 2.2 litre ford puma no problems with it and 86000 miles 👍😁
Click to expand...
2.2 is also a cam belt newer fiat engine, upto 180 bhp and if with 9 sp ZF box - as smooth as a babies……
 
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treblid said:
It's not the litre displacement you need to concentrate on, it's the PS or HP.
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I can’t agree really as a small displacement engine can make the same power as one 3 times the size but it wouldn’t be nice in a Motorhome as it would be low on torque and would need to be revving all the time.
 
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Gingernuts said:
3.0 litre is a cam chain up to 180 bhp a peach of an engine 😎
2.8 litre is cam belt but older bullet proof engine
2.3 litre cam belt is fiats standard engine
2.2 litre is a ford puma cam chain
engine
These are all sevel van engines so I wouldn’t get a comfortmatic gearbox after reading the woes on here the manual gearbox is fine!
We are talking old engines here pre adblue etc!
New ones I know nothing about.
I have a 2013 lhd Citroen jumper (relay) with the 2.2 litre ford puma no problems with it and 86000 miles 👍😁
Click to expand...

3.0 Iveco unit runs standard at 205bhp+ and for a small displacement engine, they are pretty torquey too! ✔️

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jongood said:
Its not hp for a motorhome its NM that makes the difference
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Remember the age demographic on here, better off saying lb ft… 🤣

Saw this the other day in San Javier ES, snapped a pic as I know you like this kind of thing! 😇

IMG_6003.webp
 
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We’ve had 5 diesel engine types and they have all been good. I liked the Merc 5 cylinder, the Fiat/Iveco 3.0 ltr and the Fiat 2.3 we have now works great. For our use I like manual transmission as well.
Phil

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jongood said:
If you're asking about Ducatos then the 3 litre is head and shoulders above the rest
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Agreed with Jon there, had 3 big 5 ton Ducatos over the years and the Iveco 3.0 engine they use are bombproof and never seem to run out of torque, currently in a new Ducato with the newest 2.0 180hp engine with manual box and it drives fantastic for such a lightweight engine, also loads of torque but ive just bought a Mercedes with the 2.0 litre 190 hp Merc engine with 9G tronic auto box I've yet to see what it's like but reviews are very solid so here's hoping 🙂
 
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3.0 V6 Mercedes is a dream engine, though not as reliable as the 2.7 5 cylinder.

I always liked the Idea of a 4.6. MAN on a bigger rig as many tell me it's a great engine.

I don't like timing belts.

And I dont follow manufacturers instructions for oil, I change around 4,000-6,000 miles. If you have ever changed long life engine oil after 20,000 miles you will see why.

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EuroTrotters said:
3.0 V6 Mercedes is a dream engine, though not as reliable as the 2.7 5 cylinder.

I always liked the Idea of a 4.6. MAN on a bigger rig as many tell me it's a great engine.

I don't like timing belts.

And I dont follow manufacturers instructions for oil, I change around 4,000-6,000 miles. If you have ever changed long life engine oil after 20,000 miles you will see why.
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Do you consider MPG? I wouldn't like the idea of the cost of driving to Spain or Croatia with one of those engines...
 
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The snag I find with smaller and smaller engines pushing out higher horsepower is that the usable power band gets narrower and narrower, resulting in a higher number of gears to keep you in the 'sweet spot' of peak power, how many gears do the latest autos have - is it eight or nine? Give me a a bigger cc lazy slow running engine with it's wide power band for way fewer gear changes and torque from 800rpm. My 3.0ltr will trundle along at 30mph in 5th gear pulling my 4,000 kg vehicle and 1,500kg of trailer and it only puts out 140bhp
 
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I find it depends on the size and weight of the motorhome .

I had a 2008 , 5 tonne fiat ducato based frankia with the 3.0 litre engine.
I had a 2004 3.9 tonne fiat ducato based hymer with the 2.8 engine

The hymer was a far better driving van , pulled up the hills etc far better than the 3.0 frankia did.

The iveco based Flair I have now I think would be better with the 3.0 litre engine on the hills .
 
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treblid said:
Screenshot 2025-03-10 at 22.15.13.webp
Screenshot 2025-03-10 at 22.15.25.webp
Do you consider MPG? I wouldn't like the idea of the cost of driving to Spain or Croatia with one of those engines...
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I meant to add, not the most economical engine.

But in the whole grand scheme of things and the amount many of us spend on accessories. A drop in the ocean.

But My cars are not much better, wit the exception of our Audi A3

Range Rover 21 MPG
Toyota Previa 21.7 MPG
Toyota Vellfire 23 MPG
Mercedes S500 19 MPG
 
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Bill-H said:
The snag I find with smaller and smaller engines pushing out higher horsepower is that the usable power band gets narrower and narrower, resulting in a higher number of gears to keep you in the 'sweet spot' of peak power, how many gears do the latest autos have - is it eight or nine? Give me a a bigger cc lazy slow running engine with it's wide power band for way fewer gear changes and torque from 800rpm. My 3.0ltr will trundle along at 30mph in 5th gear pulling my 4,000 kg vehicle and 1,500kg of trailer and it only puts out 140bhp
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30 mph in fifth with all that weight is impressive - but is it a good thing?
It does rather suggest that at 70 you’d be running in too low a gear.
I now have a 9-speed auto box and find that at a steady 55 on the motorway, it’s in 7th - the next two gears coming in only at higher speeds. I don’t really mind how many changes the box has to make (I can hardly detect them, anyway), but I do appreciate the much improved mpg: 2.1 litre (Merc)) auto in 4.4-tonne van gives me 29-ish mpg. The previous 2.7 litre (Merc) manual in 3.5 tonne van gave 24.

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