2012 Ford Focus to get 1.0 litre 3-pot Ecoboost engine

Ford has revealed that it plans to offer the new Ford Focus with a 1.0 litre, 3-cylinder Ecoboost engine with either 99bhp or 118bhp from 2012.

We’re getting used to car makers downsizing engines to cope with the ever increasing regulations on emissions and economy; v10s become V8s and V8s become V6s. And now we’re about to see a Ford Focus forsake its traditional 4-pot lump for a 1.0 litre 3-pot Ecoboost lump.

Ford has revealed plans to offer the new Focus with their latest 1.0 litre, 3-cylinder Ecoboost engine, starting in 2012. Which does, on the face of it, seem like a big ask if you’re ever going to get anywhere.

But 1.0 litre engines aren’t made the way they were, and 3-pot engines are now every bit as refined as a four-pot. So the 1.0 litre engine for the Focus is capable of delivering either 99bhp or 118bhp, which is enough to make reasonable progress with decent emissions and economy in the process.

Ford say the new 3-pot Ecoboost engine will deliver the power and performance of a traditional four-pot 1.6 litre engine, but still keep emissions below 120g/km. Which we’re sure it will, but when the latest 1.6 litre diesel in the Focus Econetic is delivering 83.1mpg and 89g/km, we’re not entirely sure we get Ford’s point.

Despite that, the 3-pot Ecoboost is a clever piece of kit. It has lots of eco-kit from Ford’s arsenal, such as auto stop-start, Active Grill Shutter and Regenerative charging. Ford has also deliberately ‘unbalanced’ the flywheel and pulley to off-set the inherent unbalanced feel of a 3-pot – a less expensive and energy-sapping route than adding balancer shafts. Clever thinking.

We’re sure this is just the start for 3-pot lumps and there’s little doubt Ford will move the emissions and economy on as the 1.0 litre 3-pot starts to penetrate the market.

We’ll be more than a little  interested to see how the Focus with a 1.0 litre lump performs when it arrives next year.