Ford recently introduced the all-new Focus and its new 1.5-liter EcoBoost three-cylinder engine.
When the car was unveiled, the company said North American specifications would be announced closer to launch. However, it now appears the 1.5-liter engine is coming stateside.
Automotive News reports Ford’s vice president of powertrain engineering confirmed the three-cylinder engine will indeed be offered in America. While David Filipe declined to say which model or models will have the engine, he said it will replace the current 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine that is used in the Fusion and Escape.
There’s no word on when the engine will arrive in America but the Focus won’t go on sale in the United States until the second half of 2019. This means the engine could potentially celebrate its North American debut in the next-generation Escape which is also coming next year.
Ford hasn’t released U.S. performance specifications but the European version of the engine has outputs of 150 PS (148 hp / 110 kW) and 182 PS (180 hp / 133 kW). The engine is also the first three-cylinder powertrain to be offered with cylinder deactivation technology.
Under light loads, such as coasting, one of the cylinders can stop working to improve fuel efficiency. When additional power is needed, the third cylinder can be reactivated in just 14 milliseconds which Ford says is “20 times faster than the blink of an eye.”
Automotive News points out the engine will become the first Ford unit to run on two-cylinders since the 1906 Model F. That’s an interesting historical footnote but it’s nothing compared to the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra which will be offered with 5.3- and 6.2-liter V8 engines that can run on one-cylinder.
