Do you like the idea of getting high fuel economy from your vehicle, but aren’t too keen on the thought of buying a hybrid or electric vehicle?
If so, you might want to take a look at some of the new breed of small displacement engines that use turbochargers – such as the Ford EcoBoost range.
Ford’s smallest production engine – which recently debuted in the UK – can best be described as a tiny three-cylinder 1L turbocharged mill with direct injection.
Despite the fact the little engine only displaces 1L and features three-cylinders, it boasts the same sort of power output provided by a traditional 1.6L engine.
Indeed, the turbocharger is responsible for the impressive power output, with the little engine generating 123hp and 125 pound-foot of torque.
Ford has invested heavily in the engine building plant where the new three-cylinder EcoBoost will be constructed to the tune of £110 million. This engine building plant isn’t small either; it has 870 employees and the capacity to build up to 350,000 units each year to start.
The auto manufacturer anticipates the engine will see solid sales outside of Europe, and at that point build capacity could hit 1.3 million units each year.
The new and tiny EcoBoost engine will also find its way under the hood, (or the bonnet as our friends in Europe like to call it), of the new Ford Fiesta.
It should be noted that the 1L EcoBoost engine offers fuel economy rivaling some hybrid vehicles, with Ford promising to deliver a combined fuel economy of 56.5 miles per gallon and CO2 emissions performance of 114g/km. The little engine should also be at home under the hood of even more compact cars, as the engine block is small enough to fit on a sheet of A4 paper.
