Ford recently scooped the prestigious International Engine Of The Year award with its 1,0-litre Ecoboost engine. We took the opportunity to sample this unit first-hand in the form of a Ford Focus in Cologne, Germany, before it makes its way here in the EcoSport compact SUV early next year.
With the current trend of developing more efficient engines, Ford has taken the route of downsizing combined with direct injection and turbocharging to realise its efficiency goals.
The Ford Focus is a known entity and has established itself as a very strong contender in the popular and hotly contested C-segment. The drive highlighted the ride and handling talents of the chassis and allowed the emphasis of the exercise to shift to the engine.
Driving in town, I was astounded by the engine’s smoothness and refinement. The maximum torque figure of 170 N.m (200 N.m during overboost) is available at only 1 400 r/min and wafts the 1,3-tonne car along effortlessly. Even dropping the vehicle speed to a mere 40 km/h in fourth gear and flooring the pedal resulted in a smooth pick-up and surge in acceleration, not unlike that of a turbodiesel engine. The sound reminded me of a V6, albeit on a smaller scale.
In the name of science, a short stretch on the Autobahn was used to test the power delivery in the upper part of the rev range. Selecting sixth gear and seeing the speedometer needle passing an indicated 190 km/h (with the vehicle still accelerating) is surreal knowing that the engine capacity is only 999 cm3.
Claimed fuel consumption is 5,0 litres/100 km for the 91 kW version, although we managed a still-respectable 7,1 litres/100 km as a result of some spirited driving.
The engine will only be available in South Africa in the new Ecosport SUV which will go on sale in 2013 – we can’t wait!
Note: A full tech report on the engine will be available in the October edition of CAR magazine.
Fast Facts
Engine: three-cylinder inline
Fuel supply: direct injection, turbocharged and intercooled
Bore and stroke: (mm): 71,9/82,0
Cubic capacity (cm3): 999
Compression ratio: 10:1
Max power (kW): 74/91*
Max torque (N.m/r/min): 170/1 300-4 500 (200 during over boost)
Fuel consumption (L/100km): 4,8/5,0*
CO2 (g/km): 109/114
Engine mass (kg): 97
*two power levels available
