There really is a replacement for displacement

An interesting little video clip popped up on YouTube about a year ago. Under normal circumstances, it was not really to the same standard as the typical minute-long shaky-cam movies uploaded a million times a day — i.e. it didn’t feature anyone doing a face-plant after trying to jump a skateboard down a flight of stairs, or “Dave the Friendly Goth” exploring religion.

No, it was a 10-minute long, very dry presentation with a very dry Ford engineer doing the stand-up and voice work against a Lincoln MKS backdrop. Snore, right?

Letting the movie play through to about the seven-minute mark brought the real fun: a drag race with a Ford Taurus against a BMW 5 Series (of unspecified displacement) and a Cadillac STS. Picking a winner on paper, you’d put your cash down on the Bimmer to wipe the floor with the pair from Detroit. And you’d also expect the STS to build a solid gap on Ford’s big four-door.

When the cars do leap off the line, though, it’s the Taurus that runs like a scalded cat, easily beating the silver BMW with the Caddy lagging way behind. Leaving evil thoughts of a reborn Taurus SHO aside for now, what exactly was under its hood to blow away the sport-lux contenders?

The answer is Ford’s new EcoBoost technology, which is essentially a pair of turbochargers attached to a direct-injection version of the company’s new 3.5-litre Duratec V6. And it’s an integral part of Ford’s commitment to sustainability in the world of skyrocketing fuel prices since the system can increase fuel efficiency by 20 or 30 percent.

While the idea of a turbocharged, direct-injection gasoline engine is nothing new — General Motors, Honda/Acura, Volkswagen/Audi and Mazda all produce their own versions — what is important is the level to which the technology is being implemented. Each of the aforementioned companies utilizes it in a handful of models, and it’s usually oriented for performance: Pontiac Solstice GXP/Saturn Sky RedLine, Chevrolet HHR SS/Cobalt SS, Acura RDX, and Mazda MS3/MS6/CX-7.

Ford’s (estimated) 340-hp force-fed engines (with an equal amount of torque) will debut about a year from now as the optional engine in the aforementioned MKS. However, the rumours floating around Dearborn call for a very aggressive rollout across the FoMoCo landscape. The twin-turbo 3.5 could make its way into the just-launched Flex while a V8 version in the new F-150 pickup would increase towing capacity without needing to spend huge bucks on a turbodiesel.

Plus, Ford has revealed that a 275-hp 2.0-litre four-cylinder EcoBoost motor is in the cards as well, providing potential in the Escape and Focus, and perhaps replacing the aging 4.0-litre V6 in the base Mustang. With advances in variable-vane turbochargers, piezo-electric injectors and computer-controlled throttle, modern turbos are easy to live with and offer nearly negligible lag, meaning those raised on the immediacy of a well-tuned, normally aspirated motor won’t have much to complain about.

Chances are Ford’s tech would pass through to Mazda as well, which would be fortunate, as the Japanese company’s 2.3-litre DISI engine has always been a little rich to run. The fuel savings and power increase would bode well for the revamped Mazda6 and even a Mazdaspeed MX-5.

The combined Volkswagen/Audi Group is really the only other manufacturer that sprinkles its own 2.0T engine through a large selection of vehicles. However, VAG is ahead of the game in Europe where it has rejuvenated the idea of ‘twin-charging’, meaning using a supercharger AND turbocharger on the same engine. Last seen on the all-conquering 800-hp Group B Lancia Delta S4, Volkswagen’s little 1.4-litre ‘TSI’ engine produces a healthy 167 hp and 177 lb-ft of torque.

In a portly Golf GT body, the car returns an average of 7.2 L/100 km city and 5.9 L/100 km highway, all while turning 0-100 km/h times of under eight seconds. This is the sort of model that Canadians would get behind in droves if only it was offered here.

Obviously, Ford and Volkswagen are on the right track, using downsized engines and up-sized engineering to keep them relevant in an increasingly hostile automobile market. While we’d all love to see pie-in-the-sky hydrogen/electric vehicles (and the infrastructure to run them) today, the EcoBoost-and-like offerings are significant real-world improvements that point towards a less bleak view of our driving future.