In a case of less is more, Ford’s latest attempt to extract more performance out of a small engine has been stymied by the regulators at the EPA. As we previously reported, as part of an effort to appease Chinese tax codes and serve more potential buyers, the Blue Oval is planning to drop a 1.5-liter four-cylinder EcoBoost engine into the Fusion sedan, mated exclusively to a six-speed automatic, alongside the current 1.6-liter engine that it may eventually replace as the Fusion’s volume seller.
After putting the smallest of the Fusion’s available four-cylinders through the wringer, the EPA test results determined fuel-economy ratings of 23 mpg in the city, and 36 on the highway. While these figures are not insignificant, they’re also no more efficient than the 1.6-liter mill that’s paired exclusively with a six-speed manual. The 1.5 produces 178 horsepower—the same amount generated by the 1.6—but 7 fewer lb-ft of torque, at 177. Yet the stick-shifted 1.6 is good for ratings of 25 and 37.
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The Fusion’s available stop-start technology will make an appearance on the 1.5-liter Fusion’s ledger, and may deliver a nominal improvement in fuel economy, as it does in the 1.6-liter, where it adds 1 mpg to each cycle. If we’ve learned one thing from Ford’s fine dissecting of powerplants and transmissions, it’s that there’s no replacement for displacement—or for a good stick.
Source: CarAndDriver
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