Ford EcoSport Revolutionises Fuel-Efficient Power

[russellw]

Ford EcoSport will be the first Ford vehicle in Australia to feature the patented three-cylinder engine, whose power and performance rival a traditional 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine while delivering superior fuel efficiency

The Ford EcoSport will also be available with the 1.5-litre petrol engine with twin independent variable camshaft timing (Ti-VCT)

To further improve fuel economy, the aerodynamic Ford EcoSport boasts an outstanding drag coefficient of 0.371

Melbourne, 27 Nov, 2013 – The Ford EcoSport combines performance with economy, responsiveness with smoothness, thanks to an advanced powertrain range fronted by the award-winning 1.0-litre EcoBoost® engine.

The urban SUV is the first vehicle in Australia to feature the patented 1.0-litre three-cylinder EcoBoost engine. Ford’s proven EcoBoost technology is already available in the Ford Fiesta ST, Focus ST, Mondeo and Falcon.

One of the smallest engines in its class, Ford’s 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine is big on power, torque and refinement. Producing 92 kW of power and peak torque of 170 Nm, the quiet and smooth-running engine will deliver power and performance that rivals a traditional 1.6-litre petrol engine.

With 25 per cent fewer moving parts, the three-cylinder EcoBoost is able to deliver superior fuel economy and lower emissions. In Australia, the Ford EcoSport with the 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine achieves a combined fuel economy figure of 5.7 litres/100km1 while emitting 131g/km of carbon dioxide1.

Tiny enough to fit on a sheet of A4 paper or stow away in an airplane overhead luggage compartment, the 1.0-litre EcoBoost enhances Ford’s growing global family of EcoBoost engines which includes 1.5-, 1.6- and 2.0-litre four-cylinders, and two 3.5-litre V6 variants.

Ford’s EcoBoost technology, which holds more than 125 patents, combines direct fuel injection, turbocharging and variable valve timing to enable a downsized engine to gain fuel economy by up to 20 per cent over larger engines with no loss of performance.
“We believe our customers will be delighted by how the 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine performs,” said Graham Pearson, Ford Asia Pacific Assistant Vehicle Line Director, Small Cars. “Customers will experience it first-hand when they start and drive the Ford EcoSport. They will notice how quiet the engine is, how quickly the SUV accelerates, and how little fuel it needs.”

The little engine that can
The 1.0-litre EcoBoost is unlike any engine in Ford’s history spanning more than a century. Not only is it the company’s first three-cylinder engine but it also has the highest power density of any Ford production engine.

Typical three-cylinder engines are inherently off-balance and out of sync, causing unpleasant vibrations. More than 200 engineers based at Ford’s technical centres in Dunton, U.K., and Merkenich, Germany worked their magic to transform the three-cylinder into the smooth and refined 1.0-litre Ford EcoBoost.

The traditional solution to reducing shaking forces in small-displacement engines is to install a counter-rotating balance shaft inside the motor that cancels out most vibrations. But that adds to weight, costs, and reduces fuel economy.

The engineers came up with a smart alternative. They deliberately unbalanced the pulley and flywheel with weights placed precisely to counteract the natural shaking forces of the engine and drive the energy in a less sensitive direction. The engine mounts are also designed to decouple as well as absorb the engine’s shaking forces.
The 1.0-litre EcoBoost also debuts many new technologies never before seen in a Ford vehicle such as:

The super-small, light, and extremely responsive turbocharger delivers power quickly when the throttle is open from low rpm. The turbocharger’s ability to reach nearly 250,000 rpm results in virtually no turbo lag and the engine’s peak torque of 170 Nm over 1,400-4,500 rpm is more than enough for drivers to pull away and overtake easily

The exhaust manifold is cast into the cylinder head so the exhaust gases can be water-cooled to enable optimum fuel-to-air ratio across a wider rev band

The unique cast iron block warms the engine quicker than a conventional aluminium block, cutting the amount of “warm-up” energy required by 50 per cent and increasing fuel economy

The “split-cooling” system has separate thermostats for the cylinder head and block to allow quick warm-up

Two main engine drive belts are immersed in oil to deliver a quieter, more efficient engine while the variable oil pump ensures optimal oil pressure across the full speed range

These innovations resulted in the 1.0-litre EcoBoost being voted the 2012 and 2013 International Engine of The Year.

More choices for fuel-efficient power
The all-new Ford EcoSport will also be available with the global 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, which delivers peak power of 82 kW at 6300 rpm and peak torque of 140 Nm at 4400 rpm.

The petrol engine features the twin independent variable camshaft timing (Ti-VCT) technology, which allows extremely precise, variable control of “valve overlap” – the window of time in which both the intake and exhaust vanes in an engine are open at the same time. By adjusting overlap continuously, the engine can operate at optimum settings for peak fuel economy or power output as conditions demand.

Another benefit of this technology is a broadened torque curve. The Ti-VCT strategy allows the intake valve to be advanced, so instant power is delivered when the customer demands it at low speeds. At high speeds, the intake cam is retarded and higher airflows are available. For the driver, this means improved low-speed torque and increased fuel economy.

Moreover, Ti-VCT facilitates an “internal exhaust gas recirculation” effect, reducing nitrogen oxide (a contributor to smog) and hydrocarbon emissions throughout the engine’s operating range.

To further improve fuel efficiency, a five-speed manual transmission is standard with the 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine.
The 1.5-litre Ti-VCT engine can be mated to either the five-speed manual transmission or smooth six-speed Ford PowerShift automatic transmission. In manual form, the 1.5-litre Ti-VCT engine returns a combined fuel economy figure of 6.5 litres/100km and carbon dioxide emissions of 154 g/km1. With the PowerShift automatic, the petrol engine returns an identical 6.5 litres/100km and carbon dioxide emissions of 154 g/km1.

The advanced six-speed PowerShift automatic transmission combines the efficiency, optimised gear ratios and responsive performance of a traditional manual transmission with the smoothness, convenience and ease-of-use of a conventional automatic. Low-friction dry clutches are employed, combined with six well-spaced gears to provide responsive acceleration from rest, smooth transitions between gears and optimised fuel economy when cruising.
All the engines are Euro V emission compliant.

An aerodynamic shape
Unlike passenger sedans, an SUV does not naturally lend itself to an aerodynamic shape. That’s why the design and engineering teams spent a year and a half shaping the body of the all-new Ford EcoSport to make it more efficient when slicing through the air.
They spent 160 hours in the wind tunnel tweaking mere millimetres and put in more than 10,000 hours on computational fluid dynamics simulations to find the perfect silhouette. Their hard work resulted in an outstanding drag coefficient of 0.371 on the Ford EcoSport.
Some examples of the aerodynamic actions include:

A slight rise at the end of the hood to eliminate areas of turbulence

Front baffle built into the bumper to avoid recirculation of air and improve airflow under the vehicle

Improved sealing between the hood and the front grille

The raked A-pillar and tilted side mirrors are designed to also reduce wind noise

Air deflectors in front of the rear tyres

D-pillar kicker to propel air flow

“We have made every possible effort to ensure the Ford EcoSport takes you where you want to go, without hurting your hip pocket - from a slippery, fuel-efficient shape to engines that are both powerful and fuel-economical,” Pearson said.

Source: Ford Media

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