Great Power, Great Responsibility

MANILA, Philippines - Car enthusiasts often shudder at the mere mention of green technology. Typically, they view this as anti-fun, where reducing fuel consumption to a trickle rules above seat-of-the-pants excitement. And normally they would be right – drive a petrol-powered car and compare it to a lean-burning diesel or hybrid and you’ll see the nonchalant, couldn’t care less face of the driver. The fuel meter does go down much slower, but at what expense? A duller driving experience? Surely, there’s got to be something out; something there that provides sensible fuel economy but retains everything a true car enthusiast would want.

And what could be higher on a car enthusiast’s list than a turbocharger. This almost magical, mythical part isn’t new; it’s been used extensively by car tuners. Videos of turbocharged Japanese compacts taking on thoroughbred European racing machines and winning are on the YouTube playlist of any petrol head. Surprisingly, this technology is now going beyond the realm of racers and ricers. Turbocharging is now ready for primetime and one of the first to discover this phenomenon is Ford and their new family of EcoBoost engines.

Simply put, EcoBoost is Ford’s way to downsize a car’s engine without sacrificing any of its power and torque. The mere mention of “Eco” plus “downsizing” may trigger alarm bells in a car enthusiast, but you’ve got to dig deeper. First, EcoBoost combines two key technologies that improve an engine’s fuel efficiency and reduce its greenhouse emissions: direct injection and variable valve timing. Then, Ford keeps things exciting by bolting on a low-inertia turbocharger. Thanks to this set-up, Ford is able to reduce the engine’s size (and its corresponding weight) while keeping power and torque equivalent to, or even higher than a comparable large displacement engine. As a result, an EcoBoost engine boasts up to 20 percent better fuel efficiency and 15 percent lower greenhouse emissions than a larger engine not equipped with EcoBoost. And surprisingly, the EcoBoost does all this and it can run on regular 93-octane unleaded when typical turbocharged engines require a diet of premium fuel.

Testing a fleet of EcoBoot-powered vehicles like the Taurus SHO at Ford’s Dearborn Development Center two years ago, this new piece of engine technology will definitely impress both the environmentally-conscious and enthusiast driver alike. The most noticeable difference with EcoBoost is the lack of lag commonly associated with turbocharged engines. At full throttle, there’s tremendous amounts of torque which can dig you into a seatback at almost every RPM up to its redline. Plus, the snarling exhaust note is equally addictive. In normal driving, the EcoBoost is every bit as smooth and responsive, acting more like a large displacement motor than a small engine with a bolted on turbo.

Ford sees EcoBoost as a much more affordable, simpler and versatile alternative to hybrids and diesels. In fact, EcoBoost is easily adaptable to Ford’s current range of engines. Its Duratec series, for example, is simply treated with a special thermal spray to handle the higher fuel pressures. EcoBoost boasts no less than 125 additional patents to Ford’s existing portfolio of 4,618 active patents. Ford is hedging their bets on EcoBoost that they’re rolling out different configurations of the engine ranging from a 1.0-liter 3-cyliner engine (120 horsepower, 200 Nm) to a twin-turbo 3.5-liter 6-cyliner engine (365 horsepower, 569 Nm). In the Philippines, Ford Group Philippines will debut a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder version EcoBoost on a new variant of the Explorer that’s good for 237 horsepower and 339 Nm of torque. And it doesn’t end there – Ford also plans to equip EcoBoost to future model variants.