Suzuki R06A / K6A (Kei)

Suzuki's 660 cc three-cylinder — the K6A and its successor the R06A — in the Jimny, Alto and the Kei-class cars.

660 cc is a legal limit rather than an engineering choice, which is the thing to understand about it: Japan's Kei category caps displacement and power, so these engines are engineered to make the most of a fixed ceiling and are often turbocharged to get there.

A turbocharged Kei engine works hard for its living, and the consequences are ordinary but arrive sooner: the turbo's oil feed and the oil itself are what decide its life, and a short-journey car with an extended oil interval is the common version of a failed turbo here.

The K6A's known item is the timing chain and its tensioner, giving a rattle on a cold start that should not be dismissed as normal — on a three-cylinder the noise is easy to attribute to the engine's inherent imbalance, and it is not.

The R06A moved to a chain-driven layout with different service points, so the generation decides which advice applies.