Three-pot EcoBoost for new Mondeo - but not in Oz

FORD will fit its 1.0-litre three-cylinder EcoBoost turbo-petrol engine to the next-generation Mondeo mid-sizer when it launches in Europe.

However Ford Australia public affairs director Sinead Phipps told GoAuto that locally delivered Mondeos will not get the diminutive drivetrain when the car is launched here toward the end of next year or early 2014.

The announcement came out of Ford’s ‘Go Further’ European product reveal event in Amsterdam along with the first official photos of the new Mondeo, which will make its public debut at the Paris motor show on September 27.

As expected, the Mondeo looks almost identical to the North American market Fusion sedan unveiled at the Detroit show in January.

Ford says the little EcoBoost will be the smallest engine to have been fitted to a car of its size – and fitting such a small engine to a car just 95mm shorter than the Aussie Ford Falcon shows the Blue Oval’s faith in its three-cylinder engine to punch above its weight.

Its 92kW of power and 170Nm of torque – which rises to 200Nm for short bursts in overboost mode – makes it at least as potent as a naturally aspirated 1.8-litre unit used in small cars like the Toyota Corolla.

Because the EcoBoost’s peak torque is generated from just 1450rpm, compared with around 4500rpm for naturally-aspirated engines, it should provide a more relaxed drive than the figures suggest.

The tiny 1.0-litre displacement is also expected to yield class-leading fuel economy, with CO2 emissions expected to come in below 130 grams per kilometre that will reward European buyers with tax breaks.

Ford’s record low CO2 emissions for the current-generation Mondeo is 114g/km, achieved on the European Econetic variant that is powered by an 85kW 1.6-litre turbo-diesel engine with idle-stop.

As reported yesterday, Ford Australia confirmed the 1.0-litre engine will be fitted in next year’s facelifted Fiesta light car and is expected to introduce it on the Focus small car in due course.

Ford will also use the engine on its EcoSport baby SUV, which was originally planned to be the first car sold in Australia to feature the EcoBoost triple, but will now be pipped to the post by the Fiesta.

In Europe the three-pot is already available on the Focus, Fiesta-based B-Max people-mover and Focus-based C-Max people-movers.

In addition to the 92kW version to be used in the Mondeo, the 1.0-litre EcoBoost is built in 74kW and 88kW tune and debuted on the Focus in Europe earlier this year, picking up the International Engine of the Year award in June.

European reports say Ford has held back from beginning production of the new Mondeo production at its Genk factory in Belgium due to quality issues, and that the current model will be either stockpiled or its production run extended to make up for the three month delay.

Australian Mondeo sales are down 22.7 per cent year-to-date with 3554 units leaving showrooms – and new competitors in the shape of the all-new Mazda6 and Holden Malibu will apply further heat to the ageing mid-sizer before its delayed replacement arrives.