Not the case with VW or Seat 1L or 1.2L TSI engines at 115 and 110 HP. They have six speed gearboxes and supercharged 3 or 4 piston engines on entry level Polo, Golf and Leon models. With two people in the vehicle it climbs well, it runs okay on the highway although with high fuel consumption, it overtakes okay and runs economically in the city. The 1.5 TSI runs faster and burns even less fuel on the highway but it's considerably more expensive.

Agreed. I'm driving a 1.2L TSI Polo, although with 90 HP. It's a fine, well-rounded, affordable car that feels snappy enough. Plus, I think the UX is quite alright - it uses a touch screen, but primary functions are covered by physical buttons and controls.

I'm also hearing nothing but good things about Ford's 1.0L EcoBoost engines. So it's certainly not a question of volume/size alone.

I have a 1l ecoboost and it is quite snappy when you get up to speed. There just isn't enough volume to get off the line quickly but with 4 people cramped up they still work pretty well even at autobahn speeds (at least if you have the 125hp model). Quite fuel efficient as well if you stay below 120kph.

Well there are also 110 and 130 HP versions of the C3 Aircross' 1.2L gasoline engine but the parent was talking about the 85 HP version.

Admittedly I should have said that "85 HP" was for city driving rather than "1.2L".

Minor nit; turbocharged, not supercharged.

It's both, actually. The TSI engine is named after its main novel feature: Twincharged Stratified Injection. The supercharger is connected to the crank via a clutch and gets disconnected at high RPM.

TSI standards for turbocharged stratified injection, not twin.

Neither the 1.0 EA211 or the 1.2 EA111 are twin-charged. The 2005 1.4 EA111 was however twin-charged and was replaced in 2012 with the newer 1.4 EA211 turbocharged engine. This has now become the 1.5 EA211.