EcoBoost is boosting Ford's fortunes in India and elsewhere

There are two words that are a rage these days in the Indian automotive scenario. An easy guess is obviously the ‘Ecosport’, the much-awaited and much-delayed compact crossover from Ford. The other, surprisingly, is also related to the Ecosport. It’s a technology that is making its debut in the model and promises to herald a sea of change in the way we relate engine displacement and power henceforth. Yes, we are talking about the ‘EcoBoost’, a technology patented by Ford and currently making waves across the world.

It’s hard to believe, but even years after launch, the journalists and the general public just don’t seem to have praised the EcoBoost enough. We aren’t exaggerating. For 3 of the last 4 years, one or the other engine in Ford’s EcoBoost family has found a place in the Ward’s annual list of 10 best engines in the world. In 2012, the then-new 1.0-liter 3-cylinder EcoBoost engine was chosen as the “International Engine of the Year”. For the second straight year, the tiny EcoBoost engine, that can fit into the overhead luggage bay of an aircraft, is again declared the 2013 International Engine of the Year. After heaping laurels at Ford last year, the jurors have decided yet again that there is no other engine that even comes close to beating the tiny EcoBoost.

So, what’s there in the EcoBoost that isn’t there in the other engines? What has Ford achieved that the other automotive manufacturers haven’t thought of?

EcoBoost is nothing but a family of turbocharged, direct-injection gasoline engines that are more powerful, fuel-efficient and less polluting than their conventional counterparts. By doing so, the EcoBoost engines have replaced conventional gasoline engines of higher displacement while continuing to be as powerful and more fuel-efficient. Consider this, the 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine in the upcoming Ecosport is more powerful than the 1.6-liter engine that powers the Fiesta sedan and more fuel-efficient than many 1.0-liter engines used by the competition.

The image below released by Ford illustrates what makes the EcoBoost engines stand out from the rest.

Unlike what most people think, Ford isn’t the only manufacturer with this technology. Volkswagen’s Turbo Stratified Injection engines or, more popularly, ‘TSI’ badged vehicles employ direct injection with turbocharging and, in some cases, supercharging as well. Hyundai’s T-GDI engines also have these two technologies working in tandem. Cited here are just a couple of examples. But, the smartest thing Ford did was to brand these engines under an attractive moniker called ‘EcoBoost’ and market the technology to the car-buying public. That’s what has got most people talking about Ford compared to the rest of the clan.

Sooner or later, you will come across someone who has driven an Ecosport powered by the EcoBoost engine in India. Before they start bragging about this tech and its merits, go ahead and show them who is the boss!