2014 Ford Fiesta 1.0-liter Ecoboost

Gallery:
http://green.autoblog.com/photos/for...photo-5462299/


There's an analogy to diesel engines hiding in the new Ford Fiesta with the 1.0-liter EcoBoost powerplant. There's still a segment of the population that has bad memories of diesel engines, and that makes it harder for Audi or Volkswagen to sell their new clean diesels in the US today. Not impossible, but more of a challenge than it needs to be. In the same way, ask any car geek if they've had good experiences with three-cylinder engines, and the response is likely to be a flashback to a bad ride in a Geo Metro.

But, if no one were to tell you that the new Fiesta 1.0-liter EcoBoost is rocking three cylinders, you'd probably be hard pressed to notice. The engine has already found a home in the Ford Focus (read our Quick Spin) and, after driving about 100 miles around Los Angeles and the Malibu hills in a Euro-spec Fiesta equipped with one, we can safely say that this is a solid B-segment car – one that happens to get over 40 miles per gallon (city) without a hybrid powertrain. Here's what we learned about the car and Ford's plans to bring it to the US.

• The Fiesta with a 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine is already on sale in Europe, and will come to the US in about a year, in late 2013. There will be a few little changes (the Econetic badges will be replaced with the EcoBoost wording that we have here) and what we think is a big one. Specifically, auto start-stop, which is available on the European model, will not be an option for Americans. The reason, we were told, is that B-segment customers are extremely price sensitive, and spending a few hundred extra bucks on this technology – which the EPA tests still don't quite understand – is something Ford doesn't expect them to do. There is still a chance this will change, though.
  
• Still, at an estimated 40+ mpg, this flavor of the Fiesta will likely be the "most fuel-efficient, non-hybrid vehicle sold in North America." The current high-mileage Fiesta SFE model gets 40 on the highway (and 33 combined, 29 city). Ford is not talking about combined or city mpg estimates for the new Fiesta just yet.
  
• It bears repeating that you do not feel that this is a shaky three-cylinder engine. The power – 123 horses – is there when you want it, with plenty of low-end torque. Some people on our drive were bothered by noise from the high-speed turbocharger that spins up to 248,000 rpm "almost instantaneously," but this is not enough to detract many points from the overall package.
  
• Also, since a three-cylinder engine is inherently imbalanced, Ford optimized the engine mounts and made other adjustments to decouple engine shaking forces for "extreme smoothness." It worked.
  
• For shorter people, the low placement of the side mirrors, especially on the passenger side, might be a problem. I'm about 5'9", and it was fine, but my co-pilot on this drive was a few inches shorter and she could not easily use the mirrors. They do sit awfully low, as you can see here.
  
• Going around tight corners, the Fiesta 1.0-liter EcoBoost feels a heckuva lot better than the Honda Fit in the same situation, but we found it roughly the same as the new Chevrolet Spark, two vehicles it will compete against for frugal-minded city drivers.
  
• Some of the other ways the new Fiesta will try to set itself apart is the big "40+ mpg!" sign that's sure to be emblazoned all over the dealership, the connectivity of Sync and MyFordTouch (with a new, 6.5-inch touch screen) and Sony HD radio.
  
• Jim Farley, executive vice president of global marketing, sales, service and Lincoln, said the new Fiesta is part of Ford's new high-mpg line-up, making fuel economy a reason to buy a Ford. It used to be, he said, "when people thought fuel economy, they did not think of Ford. We have made a tremendous amount of progress in the last few years of changing that perception."

Put all this together and you've got a compelling "smaller is better" package that we need more details on to properly assess (price is a big one). For years, people have been asking for the Euro-spec Fiesta in the US. Well, we're going to get it, start-stop excluded.

http://green.autoblog.com/photos/for...photo-5462299/

 

Lots going on for the Fiesta line-up with an EcoBoost 1.0 and 1.6 ST

 

i could see owning one of these as a frugal runaround instead of the big suv.

wonder when this model might make it to the u.s.?

 

OMG...........3 bangers, how far will the cylinder downsizing goes?

I want to drive this, want to see how rough that engine is, it should be a bit smoother then my lawn mower

 

Perfect for city driving. Small, compact, efficient, useful

 

they say it is not rough at all... but also, few people started reporting turbo failures in the UK as soon as they started selling :-).

Apparently Ford told the press that people are not waiting for their cars to cool before shutting the engine - which i was not aware was the requirement for factory turbo's... seems like they might have cut some corners with the oil cooling.

 

Most modern turbos (and, by "Modern" I mean those of, say, the last 10-15 years) don't just use oil-coolers or intercoolers, but also circulate 190-200 degree engine coolant around the turbo in a water-jacket, which is (supposed) to bring the turbo's operating temperature down sharply from the former 400-500 degrees. That kind of temperature on the older turbos, if not carefully managed or dealt with with measures like idle before shut-off, could cook the oil into carbon-particles. That is one reason why they required either synthetic or turbo-approved semi-synthetic conventional oils.

 

So I am assuming this is a gas and not a diesel engine. The specs you listed and the writeup did not make this really clear.

I really do love VW's diesel engines, but at current diesel prices, they make them a tough sell. Diesel is anywhere from $0.60 to $1.00 a gallon more, negating any sort of economy benefits. Really it pisses me off that our government taxes diesel at a much higher rate than gas, yet trains and trucks run on diesel, thus increasing the cost of any sort of good since EVERYTHING is shipped using diesel fuel.

 

Gallery:
http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2014-...photo-2610462/


I'll be honest; when Ford first unveiled its 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6, I was skeptical. Past attempts at building turbocharged American cars were almost universally awful, I reasoned, so why would Ford's latest effort be any different? This may seem foolish today, considering the success that the growing EcoBoost range has achieved – particularly the 2.0-liter and 1.6-liter mills. Yet I once again found myself questioning Ford.

It's the makeup of the 1.0-liter, turbocharged three-cylinder slotted into the compact engine bay of this Fiesta that has a way of breeding doubt. Three-cylinder engines remain an extreme rarity in the US. What's more, they earned a less-than-desirable reputation for applications in the 1980s and 1990s, and my trepidation about this latest three-pot as a result.

As I found out, though, history is a poor informant of modern technology. The thrust available in other cars with the EcoBoost badge on the back has not gone missing here; something the International Engine of the Year committee has lauded. That august body named the 1.0-liter Ecoboost the best engine of 2012 and 2013. After a week of driving, it didn't take long for my fear of threes to get turned into something like that line of thinking.

Driving Notes

• How much power can a 1.0-liter, turbocharged three-cylinder that's small enough to go through an airport x-ray machine really produce? 90 horsepower, maybe 100, right? There's not much wrong with that specific output. The reality is more impressive, though. The 1.0 in the Fiesta turns out 123 ponies and 125 pound-feet of torque. Dig into the throttle, and the heroic little mill can call up a total of 148 pound-feet of torque, courtesy of an overboost function. Perhaps most impressive is that peak torque is available at just 1,400 rpm. For reference, the standard 1.6 in the Fiesta only pumps out 120 hp and 112 lb-ft of torque – so yes, this little triple is actually more powerful.
• The result of all this easily accessible grunt is ridiculously, hilariously good. The Fiesta pulls with a diesel-like sense of authority, regardless of gear or engine speed, and had little difficulty when it came to on-ramps or highway merging, where power is most likely to be needed. Throughout my week, every single situation I put the 1.0-liter in, it wowed with its super accessible acceleration. Put another way, if this engine were in a Pepsi Challenge with the standard 1.6, I'm convinced it'd win every time.
• As low and mid-range output are this engine's strongest assets, the transmission should be geared to exploit that. In the Fiesta, it is. The five-speed manual isn't great to work with, with long throws and a vague clutch, but it's geared perfectly for this engine. At 80 mph, the engine turns over at just 3,000 rpm. At 70, it spins at 2,500. And yet, the gearing is broad enough and the power ample enough that you won't be forced to work the clutch and transmission too much to get about. This powertrain is just very, very easy to drive and live with.
• For those that are concerned about the engine's sound, well, don't be. Sure, it's a bit clattery when idling and it doesn't sound great when accelerating hard, but it's not a buzzy or harsh engine, and it's darn near silent at cruising speeds, even when turning over at 3,000 rpm.
• There are a fair few flies in this ointment, though. First and foremost, we have fuel economy. Ford rates the Fiesta EcoBoost at 32 miles per gallon in the city and 45 mpg on the highway. I didn't have much difficulty matching the 37-mpg combined rating, and the EcoBoost's ratings are noticeably better than the 1.6, which returns 30 and 41 mpg when fitted with a manual transmission and the SFE package. The problem, as I see it, is this: there's a stigma against super-small engines like the 1.0, and unless they provide some ridiculous improvements in fuel efficiency, consumers will dismiss them outright. As of this writing, I simply don't think there's enough of a benefit to tempt the average buyer to get behind the wheel and find out how good this engine really is.
• I think this is solvable problem, though, if Ford opts to develop the Fiesta EcoBoost as a fuel-sippers choice. Start-stop would be a natural fit here, as would active grille shutters and, perhaps, the excellent suite of efficiency training systems found on Ford's hybrid and electric offerings. It would add some to the cost (perhaps $295?) but it would fit with Ford's plan to introduce that technology to more models. It's not likely to provide a huge bump in the EPA sticker numbers, but the real-world improvement could be enough for Joe Consumer to decide to take it for a spin, just to see what it's all about.
• The Fiesta SE starts at $16,080 for the five-door model, which doesn't include an $825 destination charge. Adding the three-pot turbo kicks the price up $995. It's a reasonable sum, considering the premiums that other EcoBoost mills offer, and one that I wouldn't be too miffed about paying. My tester also featured a $290 Comfort Pack, which added heated seats. Beyond that, the only other options worth mentioning are MyFord Touch and a sunroof, both of which add $795 apiece to the Fiesta's bottom line (although my car didn't have either). As tested, the car you see above is $18,190, including destination.
• A final problem, as I see it, is that Ford hasn't done a lot to make this a very appealing engine to customers. It's only available on the mid-level SE trim, and can only be had with a five-speed manual and 15-inch steel wheels. It is, at least, available in both sedan and five-door models. If the ho-hum fuel mileage doesn't doom Fiesta EcoBoost sales, the fact that its availability is so limited will. But this is the first year the 1.0 is on sale in the US, so it's entirely plausible that Ford is waiting to see what the initial consumer and critical response is before making it more widely available. Here's hoping that's the case.

http://www.autoblog.com/2014/05/09/2...ew-quick-spin/

 

People raving about this, supposedly the engine is a gem and Ford has another home run!

 

It's not really my thing because I believe that 3 cylinder engines are UNDERPOWERED.

But hey, if some needs basic transportation with four wheels on a tight budget, then I guess this works for them

 

Perfect for a new driver.

 

Basically, I agree. I'll believe this 3-banger's smoothness when I see and feel it, though, from what I remember of the old Geo Metro/Suzuki Swift 3-banger, the vibration wasn't too bad except at idle.

 

Don't forget, though, that this one is a force-fed turbo, with 148 ft-lbs. of torque...exactly twice the 77 ft-lbs. of the old Geo metro 3-cylinder. In a car the size of the Fiesta, that's easily enough for it to keep up with most stop-and-go traffic.