Tough fuel economy regulations

Everybody says you can't make money off small cars.

Tough fuel economy regulations are forcing the issue for sure, but people are also finding out for themselves that small cars are comfortable and safe these days. And who doesn’t want to pay less for fuel?

The 1-litre, 3 cylinder is the latest in the line of engines Ford calls EcoBoost. Direct fuel injection plus turbocharging gives a 30 per cent improvement in fuel economy and a 20 per cent reduction in CO2. That’s technology that is going to be available to everyone.”

A recent test drive north of Los Angeles in a Ford Fiesta with that 1-litre, 3-cylinder motor. The engine is smaller than many motorcycle engines but it propelled the sub-compact Fiesta with ease. It even sounded good.

To keep the engine noise down, they ran the bottom of the timing chain through an oil bath. They bolted on a turbo-charger, gave it direct gas injection and variable valve timing and came up with an engine that produces 126 horsepower and 148 lb-ft of torque.

How does it perform? 126 hp from a 1-litre engine is amazing.

A Lamborghini “only” gets 108 horsepower out of a litre of displacement. As Mulally points out, turbocharging is a key to the success.

The little turbo blades are spinning at an unbelievable 248,000 RPM producing quite a boost. It brings the power on very quickly and can make acceleration a bit twitchy until you catch on to it.

Expect to pay about a thousand bucks extra for the three-banger over the stock four-cylinder when they reach the showrooms, but official pricing has not been announced.

Ford hasn’t given its "official” fuel economy numbers for the Fiesta 1-litre yet, but promises they’ll be in the order of 40 mpg city, 50 mpg highway.

Governments are determined that we will all be reducing our fuel requirements by more than half in the foreseeable future. We take another step in 2016 and the big one by 2025. Whether you like it or not a three cylinder car could be parked in your driveway too. The three-cylinder era is upon us.