The idea of a 1.0 litre engine pulling a Ford Fiesta about may not sound very appealing, but throw in the likes of a turbocharger and direct injection with say, 120 PS for numbers and it doesn’t sound quite so boring, does it?
Such a scenario isn’t that far away from reality; the company’s 1.0 litre three-pot EcoBoost looks to be a certain offering on the B-segment hatch in this market, sometime in 2012. It promises much, and much is expected of it.
First seen in the Ford Start concept car that debuted in Beijing in 2010, the engine made its European debut in the Ford B-MAX at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. Full technical details are set to be announced in Frankfurt in September, so the mill should make its market debut next year.
Ahead of this, we managed to get some idea of how much the engine will offer in terms of output. According to David Filipe, Ford of Europe’s chief engineer of engine programs, the European-designed mill – developed at Ford’s Dunton Technical Centre in the UK – will come in two output variant forms when it makes its market debut.
“We’re coming out with two initial output levels for the engine, which will be 120 PS and 105 PS,” said Filipe, who was in town for the launch of the Mondeo and S-MAX Ecoboost models. His work at Ford has included the design and development of Ford’s in-line Ecoboost programs, including the 1.0, 1.6 and 2.0 litre Ecoboost engines as well as the Diesel Stage V engine programs.
The higher 120 PS output form is identical to the Fiesta’s current 1.6 litre twin independent variable camshaft timing, normally-aspirated lump, so it won’t fall short when it comes to numbers. And it promises to be zestier too, according to Filipe.
“That 1.0 litre is very much more fun to drive, compared to the normally-aspirated 1.6. For one, the torque comes in earlier,” he said. As to the choice of partnering powertrain, Filipe said that while the brand would always try to protect itself to be flexible with options, its prime task is to get the engine going with a twin dry-clutch transmission.
Tech-wise, besides turbocharging (another Borg Warner unit again, presumably), direct-injection and Ti-VCT, the three-cylinder – with a 10.0:1 compression ratio – contains a number of innovative efficiency solutions, among them an offset crankshaft that reduces friction and an advanced, Ford-designed split cooling system that allows the cylinder block to warm up before the cylinder head.
Elsewhere, the 1.0 litre EcoBoost, which will come with a cast iron block, cast aluminium cylinder head and cast aluminium sump, features an exhaust manifold cast into the cylinder head – the one-piece assembly lowers the temperature of the exhaust gases, enabling the engine to run in a wider rpm band with the optimum fuel-to-air ratio. The new design also saves weight and allows the engine to operate more smoothly.
It’s set to be available globally – including the US – in the company’s small cars, and will be deployed in the Fiesta, Focus and C-MAX, among others, when the time comes. It will also be a significant milestone when it is introduced, because Ford has never before built a regular production car with fewer than four-cylinders.
Ford may have come to the table later with turbocharging and DI than its European competitors, so how is it aiming to make up ground? “Some of our competitors have been out there with similar technology bundles, but I think we’ve been more aggressive and clear on our strategy to make it a high volume solution,” Filipe said.
“Some competitors have it as a low volume answer for certain products and applications, but we are taking it all across our engines around the globe, and that’s how we get the cost structure more affordable to our customers,” he added, bridging into the next question, that of deployment costs.
In the initial phase of any new cycle or technology, there’s always the issue of increased cost, and though Ford’s plans are ambitious (it plans to offer the EcoBoost engine in up to 80% of its vehicle nameplates, supporting global sales of 1.5 million EcoBoost-powered vehicles per year in the near future), won’t EcoBoost also bring about added cost to the consumer, at least initially?
“As we add the technology, it will cost a bit more, but we’re adding volume and scale to keep the costs of turbo, DI and variable cam timing as low as we can. The fuel economy will certainly get better (by up to 20%), and if you look at other technologies that deliver the same fuel economy, it’s going to be much more cost-effective than those other technologies, so even if it does cost more to start with, it’ll be very good value as it goes along. It really is the lowest cost solution over the long run,” Filipe stated.
Then there’s always the point of perception, about displacement being everything and that something like a 1.0 litre mill, though turbocharged, isn’t going to cut it on a Fiesta will still ring loud in this region, though thankfully the likes of VW’s offerings of late have helped dispel those archaic beliefs somewhat.
David Westerman, regional manager for Asia-Pacific, Ford Export Operations, says that’s something that the Blue Oval’s marketing people will have to break down. “It’s a challenge, but we’ve got to work on dispelling a lot of stereotypes and customer perception about displacement that a vehicle this size needs an engine of a certain size,” he said.
Though the three displacement units in the current EcoBoost family (aside from the primarily US-based V6) cover ground well enough in terms of output and spread – 150 PS and 180 PS for the 1.6 litre, 203 PS and 240 PS for the 2.0 litre as well as the 105 PS and 120 PS for the upcoming 1.0 litre – the question surely begs as to whether there are plans to open say a 1.2 or 1.4 litre option to provide an even more comprehensive solution in terms of output tune coverage.
Felipe says that things are being looked at, though nothing as yet has been fixed. “We are studying to see if there are any gaps that are there, for example between 1.0 litre and 1.6, and if there is, to fill them.” Finally, to the point about fuel requirements, he said that the likes of the 2.0 litre (as found on the Mondeo) can run RON 91 as a minimum, with the 203 PS output rating obtained with RON 95; in terms of robustness, a wide variety of fuel quality grades are used on an EcoBoost design during testing, so it’ll handle what we have comfortably.
On a different note, here’s an interesting snippet of info, and Asean-based at that. The company is exploring the possibility of a small seven-seater, essentially something along the lines of the Nissan Grand Livina. “We know that here, the families are larger and the passenger needs are greater, and as such, a seven-passenger carrying ability is an important feature for a platform in this marketplace,” Westerman said in reply to a question whether there were plans to introduce a B/C segment-spanning product in the region.
“We’re certainly looking at applications to bring it to the marketplace, something smaller than an S-MAX and priced competitively,” he added, though no indication was given as to when such a product would be introduced.
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Better yet, stick a 1.6L EcoBoost in a Fiesta.
100% agreed. Adding amazing bucketloads of torque and power to an already amazing handling car.
Ford is doing that, the upcoming Fiesta ST will be powered by a 1.6 liter EcoBoost which is expected to make 180hp.
Ford’s upcoming Fiesta ST will be powered by a 1.6 liter EcoBoost which is expected to have 180PS.
My replies don’t seem to be showing:
@NW, the upcoming Fiesta ST will be powered by a 1.6 EcoBoost engine which is expected to make 180PS.
kalau tak makan minyak, makan engine (I had to phrase that in Malay).
“That 1.0 litre is very much fun to drive, compared to the normally aspirated 1.6. For one, the torque comes in earlier,” he said.
Read the above statement…..torque at low rpm, thats what make a fun/drivable car….Those Japs NA wt its peak torque at high 4,000rpm shud learn ths
Definitely can smoke those City/Vios.. lulz
If it can smoke Vios then Saga can tapau
& close shop -pokai & lingkup lah !!
Did I say smoke them in terms of sales?! Funny la u~
Fortunately for Proton, most Malaysian still buy badge, not car…
For us average drivers, higher torque but higher fuel efficiency is almost everything we need instead of the acceleration of 0-100km/hr. So what if your car goes 0-100km/hr in 4 seconds but the peak torque comes at 7000rpm +? And you waste a lot more fuel while idling in city traffic every day, you might even need to visit the petrol stations twice a week. I wouldn’t like that.
This is exaclty the reason why cars don’t have motorbike engines.
A Kawasaki ZX-10 or BMW S1000RR have roughly 200hp out of 1 liter WITHOUT any turbo or supercharger. And the engine only weights around 60kg!
Sounds good, but i.e. the S1000RR has it’s peak torque at 9750rpm… ;)
Spot on, superbikes are for fun but cars are for daily use/grind……low rev & high torque pls
Hi Guys
Mike from Liverpool Uk
Yes, this is what Proton MUST do if you want to export to the UK. Protons are sold here as budget buys which is good, but the engines are high CO2 & not cheap to run. If Lotus design you a 3 pot engine like this your be on your way….
Cheers
Mike
For the love of life, PLEASE…. include manual overide on the powershift for the Fiesta.No point of going ecoboost coz its no fun if you can’t choose the right gear when driving.
i think the reason fiesta didnt equip manual selection on its twin clutch box is because it will disturb the computer brain and causing the computer to confuse which gear to select.For example,when the car computer think it should change gear from 3 to 4 then suddenly the driver want to select 2nd gear.The gear will go to 2nd gear but it may stuck about couple of milisecond to deside . Which cause less smooth ride
My replies don’t seem to be showing…
@NW,
Ford’s upcoming Fiesta ST will be powered by a 1.6 EcoBoost which is expected to have 180PS.
For one we will never get the 1.0 L engine as the protected market does not allow for sub 1.6 cc cars to be ckd-ed. No touch zone for 1.6 and below except for perodua or proton.Even if the car was AFTA made …
Ckd? Even now the Fiesta is CBU.
And if what you say is true explain how Vios and city 1.5 is CKD.
You have got a very pertinent point. i must admit I do not know the exact details pertaining to the tariffs and local content requirements of the engines for it to breach the 1.5 or less displacement if there is even such a clause…but there is something in place to prevent the smaller displacement engines from coming in either economically or otherwise..please enlighten us if you do know the details ….thx
Jazz hybrid is 1.3… and it is CKD
Good. To be compete with Viva 1.0 engine.
This is totally not an appropriate comparison, Viva is not supercharged or turbocharged. To be exact, Ford Ecoboost 1.0 has the complete wins over every other engine makes in the world so far.
The closest rival is Volkswagen 1.2 TSI, 1.2 litre TSI = 1.6 litre normall aspirated engine.
Ford Ecoboost 1.0 L = 1.6 lire normally aspirated engine.
Just imagine having a 1.0 L car, and yet getting all the power and torque of normally aspirated 1.6L. And the best fun of all, when traffic lights turn green from red, a very slight depressing on the throttle can get the Ford Ecoboost 1L powered car to rush forward ahead and leaving other cars behind = good acceleration at low RPM as the maximum torque comes early in low engine RPM band.
"good acceleration at low RPM as the maximum torque comes early in low engine RPM band." I just love that :).
Looks like the Blue Oval has been making refreshing strides in powerplant advancement progress,at a very rapid rate i see.It's good to see them still in the game.
The new EcoBoost powerplants gives the end user who will buy the Fords that use these range of engines a varied choice and requirement options.Good technology all the same and a welcome to the motoring scene.I just hope SD will eventually offer it here after they complete the feasability and user demograhics study.An ace effort.
Cheers.
Add in the 8 speed automatic gear Ford is developing. The current 6 speed is doing 2700 RPM at 110 km/l, like to see it at 2000RPM for further fuel saving.