Three Is the New Four as Engines Downsize
Engines will only get smaller as automakers scramble to hit corporate average fuel-economy standards expected to reach 54.5 mpg by the 2025-model year. Automakers have experimented with three-cylinder engines before — the Geo Metro of the 1980s had one, for example, as did the VW Lupo city car — but they were as boring as they were thrifty.
The big problem with small engines has long been mediocre performance, but the adoption of turbocharging, direct injection, variable-cam timing and other tricks ensures decent, if not stellar, oomph. Ford, for example, boasts that its little three-cylinder will perform like a 1.6-liter four.
“All of this technology allows you to generate the same power with a smaller, more fuel-efficient engine,” Fedewa said.
The trend is becoming common in midsized sedans, which traditionally have featured V-6 engines. Hyundai, for example, shook it up when it offered only four-cylinder engines in the Sonata. Audi has done the same with the the A4, and General Motors will do so with the Malibu.
2012 Ford Edge 2.0L EcoBoost - First Drive Review
Americans like big stuff. We like big houses, big helpings of food, and big cars with big honkin’ engines. But no one—anywhere—likes big fuel bills, and with a gallon of gas here costing much more than the loose change found in our big, cushy couches, something has to give. Forced induction paired with smaller displacement is the favorite current strategy to solve that Catch-22, ostensibly offering efficiency improvements with no loss in performance. Companies are buying in with fervor, and Ford’s effort now includes the 2012 Edge and its new, 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder.
Installed in various Fords from the Taurus SHO to the F-150 , a 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V-6 was the first to wave the EcoBoost banner. The new, 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder is the next, launching this fall in the 2012 Edge and Explorer (and later in the Focus ST hot hatch). In the Edge—and the EcoBoost Explorer —it’s intended for those whose idea of utility is hauling people and groceries, and it’s only available with front-wheel drive and a six-speed automatic.
The big problem with small engines has long been mediocre performance, but the adoption of turbocharging, direct injection, variable-cam timing and other tricks ensures decent, if not stellar, oomph. Ford, for example, boasts that its little and more »
