In a very interesting article from the BBC, a journalist had some very important things to say about the new technology in smaller displacement turbo engines. This year the Ford EcoSport will be coming to India, and it will be powered by a small 1 litre turbo engine called the EcoBoost. The purpose of Ford’s new smaller engines is to replace larger engines with smaller ones that can provide the same amount of power. However, there are now reports coming in from various consumer websites and forums, and even written letters have been sent to manufacturers that their smaller engines are not living up to their promise of providing more power and more efficiency.
One consumer report states that many customers have complained about the new Ford Fusion Sedan with its 1.6 litre 4-cylinder EcoBoost engine, saying that the 0-60 acceleration is slower and its gas mileage is lower than bigger engine competitors. The same report found that a regular 1.8 litre engine from the Chevrolet Cruze without turbocharging created exactly the same amount of power and gave the exact same gas mileage as the 1.4 litre turbocharged Chevrolet Cruze did, and without the added cost of the turbo.
The journalist who wrote the article was testing a 1 litre3-cylinder EcoBoost engine driving it at full speed and found that the 1.6 litre 4-cylinder actually provided a better fuel economy. An engineer responded by claiming that smaller turbo charged engines require more fuel to operate under the strain at full speed. However, this happens only at full speed, which means if you drive the naturally aspirated engine at lower speeds and the turbo charged engine at lower speeds, the turbo engine would provide a better fuel economy.
This is something you might want to deeply consider and find more information on about before you decide to buy a car with a small turbocharged engine such as a Ford EcoSport.
