Ford’s 3-Cylinder EcoBoost Wins International Engine Of The Year, Again

Ford has gone back-to-back at the International Engine of the Year Awards (IEotY), with its 1.0 litre, three-cylinder EcoBoost engine taking the top prize for the second year running.

This is good news for Australian Ford customers who, as yet, have not had the chance to sample the 1.0 litre three-cylinder EcoBoost in any local product.

But come December, the new Ford EcoSport small SUV will become the first local offering to feature the three-pot, available with a five-speed manual only.

The 1.0 litre EcoBoost engine achieved the highest score in the IEotY’s 15-year history. 

"With a technology as mature as the internal combustion engine, it's very rare to achieve a true breakthrough, but that is exactly what the team accomplished with this engine," Joe Bakaj from Ford Global Powertrain said.

"You have to drive it to believe a small three-cylinder engine can deliver such performance and fuel economy."

And Ford has not wasted the opportunity, responding to news of its second consecutive IEotY win by announcing that it will increase production of the three-cylinder engine.

In Europe, the 1.0-litre EcoBoost is available in Fiesta, B-MAX, Focus, C-MAX and Grand C-MAX, and it also will be offered in the Transit Connect, Transit Courier, Tourneo Connect, Tourneo Courier, Mondeo and EcoSport.

Besides the imminent Australian arrival, the engine is now available in India and China, with North America getting its chance to sample the power plant in the Ford Fiesta, later in the year.

Other IEotY category winners are listed below.

New Engine
Ford three-cylinder turbo (EcoSport) = (*)

Green Engine
General Motors 1.4 litre range extender (Holden Volt) = (*)

Performance Engine
Ferrari 4.5 litre V8 (458 Italia) = (*)

Sub 1.0 litre
Ford three-cylinder turbo (EcoSport) = (*)

1.0-Litre to 1.4-Litre
Volkswagen 1.4 litre TSI Twincharger (Polo, Beetle, Golf, etc.) = (*)

1.4 litre to 1.8 litre
BMW-PSA 1.6 litre turbo petrol (Mini Cooper S, Peugeot 207, etc.) = (*)

1.8 litre to 2.0 litre
BMW 2.0 litre twin-turbo four-cylinder petrol (125i, 320i, Z4, etc.)

2.0 litre to 2.5 litre
Audi 2.5 litre five-cylinder turbo (TT RS, RS 3 Sportback) = (*)

2.5 litre to 3.0 litre
BMW 3.0 litre twin-turbo six-cylinder (1 Series M Coupe, 335is, Z4 35is) = (*)

3.0 litre to 4.0 litre
BMW M 4.0 litre V8 (BMW M3) = (*)

Above 4.0 litre
Ferrari 4.5 litre V8 (458 Italia) = (*)

(*) – Denotes category winner from 2012 IEotY Awards