I love the power of mine. Compared to the V6 it really sets you in the seat on acceleration. Definitely not as “tried and true” as the V6 though.. and obviously slightly more complex with direct fuel injection and turbo. You asked what else the engine is in... it’s my understanding that it’s the same engine architecture as the Alfa Romeo Gulia, but with a different cylinder head and different exhaust packaging that gives it slightly less power than the Gulia.
I wouldn’t be completely scared off by the motor.. there doesn’t seem to be mass reports of issues.. they’ve been on the road for a couple of years already, you’d think we’d be hearing about issues by now.
Some service things to consider;
1-You’ll have to run a specific oil in the 4cyl.. MS-13340 rated. I’ve only found it in Penzoil or Mopar synthetic. I run Penzoil.. $22ish at Walmart for 5qt jug
2-Spark plugs are supposed to be replaced every 30k miles on 4cyl turbo. No idea why.
3-Being a direct injected, turbo charged engine... means that you WILL have to address carbon on intake valves at some point. Without fuel being sprayed on the intake side of intake valves.. carbon buildup is inevitable. The engine seems to have a pretty sizable PCV filtration system , which will help.. and I’m sure that the special oil requirements have something to do with mitigation of intake valve carboning issues. (Low burn off oil).. but it will happen at some point. There are aftermarket intake valve cleaner sprays.. but in my experience they don’t work all that well.. you’ll probably have to pull the intake manifold and media blast (usually walnut shells) the carbon off intake valves at some point during the life of the engine.
You’ll have to decide if the extra maintenance is worth the added seat of the pants power. I own a 2.0... and I would say that it actually IS NOT. The V6 is pretty damn good. I bought my Jeep as a leftover with huge discounts. That’s how I ended up with the 2.0.. and I’ll admit.. that seat of the pants feeling when it surges at full torque... impressed the hell out of me. So I gave it a shot. I’m very happy with mine so far. But the V6 is probably the more logical option.
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