This week on Ignition
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MotorTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 What we have here is the new Ford Mustang.
00:09 It looks ready for the 21st century
00:15 with its modern fascia and tighter lines.
00:18 But what's more interesting than the design
00:20 is that for the first time in 30 years, this one's turbocharged
00:24 and it's a four-cylinder.
00:26 Before you call that blasphemy, consider
00:29 that this EcoBoost makes 10 horsepower and 40 pound-feet
00:32 more than the V6, and it weighs quite a bit less than the GT.
00:36 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:39 [TIRES SCREECHING]
01:09 Mustang EcoBoost certainly isn't the most powerful Mustang
01:12 in the lineup, but it might be the most interesting.
01:14 Why?
01:15 Well, it's because of what's under here.
01:16 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:20 That's a turbocharged 2.3 liter inline four.
01:25 Now, that displacement is coincidentally
01:27 the same as the turbo SVO from '84, '85,
01:31 although this engine shares nothing with that engine.
01:33 It is just an interesting coincidence.
01:35 Now, when you don't have a V6 or a V8,
01:38 although those engines are optional,
01:39 you have a lot of space in the engine bay.
01:41 And so this four-cylinder makes up for that space
01:44 by adding a turbo.
01:45 Starting with the bottom end, it's built.
01:47 You have forged crankshaft, forged connecting rods.
01:50 You have oil squirting, piston cooling jets.
01:53 You've got direct injection, so there's
01:54 delivering quite a bit of fuel to the engine as well.
01:57 The turbocharger is a twin-scroll unit.
01:59 Now, that means each exhaust port is essentially
02:03 delivering two pulses.
02:05 There's going to be a low RPM side and a high RPM side,
02:07 roughly.
02:08 And that's what's going to help this engine get to boost quick
02:11 and help reduce lag or eliminate it completely.
02:15 We'll find out how effective the system is on the dyno.
02:19 We have some good news and some not particularly good news
02:22 standing underneath this particular Mustang.
02:25 The not so great news is that we have
02:27 the six-speed automatic transmission instead
02:29 of the six-speed manual.
02:30 It's not the end of the world.
02:31 This automatic's fine, but I would
02:33 have loved to have driven this car with a manual transmission.
02:36 Anyway, the good news-- this car has a performance package
02:39 that adds a bunch of different upgrades to the chassis
02:42 to help it go faster, stop better, turn better,
02:45 and on and on, starting with the tires and wheels.
02:49 The wheels are 19 by 9 inches at all four corners.
02:52 The tires are 255/40 Pirelli P-Zeros.
02:55 We have upgraded brakes at all four corners, too.
02:58 On the front, they're 13.9-inch rotors
03:01 with four-piston calipers.
03:02 They're single-piston calipers in the back.
03:04 Speaking of the back, heading back there,
03:07 the exhaust pipe is actually pretty good diameter
03:09 coming down to the cat, although it does shrink up considerably
03:12 the further back we go.
03:14 We also have one exhaust pipe that splits into two
03:17 because, I don't know, reasons.
03:19 Seems to me like you're just adding weight for styling.
03:22 I'd much rather have just one exhaust pipe
03:24 and save whatever weight you added by doing that.
03:27 Further back, we have a 355 rear end
03:30 and the big story, which is what Ford has been flirting around
03:34 with for a long time now, an independent rear suspension.
03:38 Finally, Ford has embraced modern suspension technology
03:41 and thrown away the solid rear axle in favor
03:44 of some actual sophistication.
03:45 And whatever we lose on the drag strip
03:47 by losing the solid rear axle, we
03:49 should more than make up with vehicle handling.
03:52 I can't wait to see how this thing drives.
03:54 [ENGINE REVVING]
03:57 While we recorded peaks of 279 horsepower and 295 pound
04:11 feet of torque, we were happy to see that torque stayed above
04:13 290 for four out of the five runs,
04:16 varying around three pound feet.
04:19 Look at the shape of the power curve, how quickly torque
04:22 increases, and how the curve falls at 5,300 RPM.
04:26 That means the engine should feel great in the low
04:28 and mid range, giving tons of torque,
04:30 but might feel soft when you rev it out.
04:33 Surprised by the lack of high RPM grunt?
04:35 You shouldn't be.
04:36 Look at a power torque graph of the Focus or Fiesta ST,
04:40 and you'll see a very similar shape, though at lower numbers.
04:43 Clearly, this engine was developed
04:45 with a similar mindset.
04:46 And, well, we love that Fiesta.
04:49 [ENGINE REVVING]
04:52 With stability control off in the car in track mode,
04:55 a launch involved holding both pedals,
04:57 waiting for boost to surge and releasing the brake.
04:59 It's an amusing process.
05:02 Through the quarter at 14.1 seconds and 97.8 miles an hour,
05:06 the EcoBoost falls right between the best times we've recorded
05:09 from the Hyundai Genesis Coupe and the Volkswagen GTI.
05:15 [ENGINE REVVING]
05:17 It's 25.5 second figure eight lap
05:19 matches that of the Subaru WRX and Genesis Coupe,
05:24 as does its 0.96 average lateral G.
05:28 It also falls right around the last gen automatic Mustang V6
05:31 performance pack in all tests.
05:33 [ENGINE REVVING]
05:36 [MUSIC PLAYING]
05:41 [ENGINE REVVING]
05:42 [MUSIC PLAYING]
05:46 The Mustang EcoBoost is one of the cars
05:51 I've been most interested in driving this year,
05:53 because it's a turbo four cylinder Mustang.
05:56 And we haven't had that since around the time I was born.
05:59 [MUSIC PLAYING]
06:03 So how is it?
06:06 Well, it's interesting, because if you're
06:08 expecting this to be a replacement for the V8
06:11 or a competitive alternative, it's
06:13 not in terms of power delivery and fun factor.
06:17 But it is a significant upgrade over the V6.
06:21 [ENGINE REVVING]
06:23 The steering I actually like quite a bit in precision
06:28 and a little bit in weighting, too.
06:32 You turn the wheel, the car goes,
06:34 and there's not a lot of fuss, not a lot of fake stuff
06:37 happening in between that process.
06:39 It feels natural and tied down.
06:41 The motor is all low RPM.
06:45 It's all mid-range, as we found on the dyno.
06:48 And that's something you really notice when you push this car.
06:50 When you start trying to wring out every last RPM,
06:54 you find out that as the power band gets above 5,500 RPM,
06:59 it gets louder, but you're not necessarily going faster.
07:02 [MUSIC PLAYING]
07:05 And short shifting, that works.
07:07 That's something you have to do in a lot of these mid-range
07:10 engines.
07:11 Although it's not-- revving out engines is a lot more fun,
07:15 let's face it.
07:17 I think my excitement with this car
07:19 comes from the fact that I remember what the base V6
07:22 Mustang was like.
07:23 Even the V6 Premium that they started recently
07:27 and the performance packages that they threw on that.
07:29 It was a better step, but this is such a better car
07:32 than that car was.
07:33 [ENGINE REVVING]
07:38 Now, the problems.
07:39 There aren't many.
07:40 I think the biggest issue that's facing this car is weight.
07:44 This thing is just over 3,600 pounds.
07:47 And when you have 310 horsepower,
07:50 that's what Ford's claim is, that's a power to weight ratio
07:53 in the 11s, which isn't that great.
07:57 This thing may have a higher specific power
07:59 output than most of the $30,000 sporty cars,
08:03 but that weight's really going to hold it back
08:05 when it comes down to performance.
08:07 [MUSIC PLAYING]
08:10 I think what we have here isn't so much
08:12 the second coming of the turbo performance Mustang,
08:15 but a much better realistic Mustang for most people
08:19 to drive around every day.
08:20 I quite like this car tootling around town,
08:27 driving on the freeway.
08:29 The low RPM torque feels great.
08:31 It still looks cool.
08:32 All the features are nice and easy to use.
08:35 The steering is nice.
08:36 And you know, all around off ramps and on ramps
08:38 that have constant changing radii and all that stuff,
08:41 it's really fun.
08:41 [MUSIC PLAYING]
08:45 You start really pushing it like I'm trying to avoid here.
08:49 You start seeing the seams.
08:50 But again, I think that's OK.
08:52 [MUSIC PLAYING]
08:56 [TIRES SCREECHING]
08:59 [MUSIC PLAYING]
09:02 Streets of Willow and the Mustang EcoBoost.
09:25 Got a little 2.3 liter four with a turbo on it.
09:30 And it works.
09:31 [TIRES SCREECHING]
09:35 The body structure is one of the areas
09:37 where the Mustang is way better than it was last year.
09:41 I can feel it.
09:42 I can feel it on the road.
09:43 And I feel it here on the track.
09:45 Very strong body structure.
09:49 It gives the suspension something better to hang on to.
09:51 [TIRES SCREECHING]
09:54 All right, this pony and this cowboy are all warmed up.
09:57 It's time to turn the clocks on, see what kind of time
10:01 we can run with a little EcoBoost turbo four
10:04 cylinder here at Willow Springs.
10:05 [TIRES SCREECHING]
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11:41 [TIRES SCREECHING]
11:53 [TIRES SCREECHING]
11:56 It may not be the performance-oriented version
12:00 we had hoped, but the EcoBoost makes a very pleasant non-V8
12:05 entrant into the Mustang lineup.
12:06 Matching performance and price of similar cars
12:11 provided you option it reasonably.
12:14 It's by no means a replacement for that V8,
12:16 but nor is it the penalty box the V6 used to be.
12:19 It's better than that car in every way.
12:22 Plus, its higher fuel economy rating and strong low RPM
12:25 power delivery make the compelling choice
12:27 as a fun, sporty daily driver.
12:29 [LAUGHTER]
12:40 You just have to whip sound effects.
12:45 Sirens don't even need to add sound effects.
12:47 [HISSING]
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12:57 [HISSING]
12:58 [CLICKING]
13:01 Good?
13:03 Three?
13:07 No.
13:09 That's hot.
13:10 [HISSING]
13:13 [HISSING]
13:17 [BLANK_AUDIO]