Two Ford Power Plants Make Ward’s Auto ‘2012 Best Engines’ List
Ford’s industry-leading engine technologies gained more fans recently, when the noted experts at Ward’s Auto named two different Blue Oval power plants to their roster of “Best Engines” for 2012.
This included the Ford Edge’s 2.0-liter EcoBoost I4, which displayed both an “uncanny ability to motivate the Edge” and fuel economy that “deserves plaudits in this segment.” The specs here put an exclamation point on those comments, as the engine’s direct injection and twin independent variable camshaft timing (Ti-VCT) combine to deliver 240 hp, 270 lb.-ft. of torque and an EPA line of 21 mpg city/30 mpg highway/24 mpg.
“Fuel efficiency is important to our customers,” said Amy Marentic, Ford’s group marketing manager, Large Cars and Crossovers. “Adding the EcoBoost engine to the new Ford Edge crossover makes for 13 vehicles delivering 30 mpg or more in the Ford showroom.”
And remember, the same award-winning 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine also is available beneath the hood of the Ford Explorer, where it returns a class-leading 28 mpg highway, to go with ratings of 20 mpg city/23 mpg highway.
Also joining the “Best Engines” list—for the second straight year—is the big-time 5.0-liter V8 leveraged by the Ford Mustang Boss 302. Building on what was already the automaker’s most powerful naturally aspirated production V8 (when used in the Mustang GT), the engine in the Boss 302 has been retuned to reach 440 hp and 380 lb.-ft. of torque. That’s courtesy of enhancements that include a revised intake, CNC-machined heads, a lightened valve train and a strengthened reciprocating assembly.
The result is a power plant that helps the 2012 Boss serve as the perfect homage to its classic 1969 predecessor.
“In keeping with the spirit of the original, the new Boss 302 engine achieves its maximum power output at speeds at or above 7,500 rpm,” Mike Harrison, Ford V8 engine program manager “Unlike the original engine, however, low-speed torque and drivability are uncompromised thanks to twin independent variable camshaft timing technology and computer-aided engineering design tools.”
Consider it another way Ford’s under-the-hood innovations provide big advantages over the competition.