2010 Lincoln MKT EcoBoost – Click above for high-res image gallery
For the last year and a half, Ford has repeatedly discussed EcoBoost as its high volume, mainstream technology for reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. While Ford is putting a lot of effort into developing hybrids, plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles, the high cost of those technologies will keep volumes low for the near term. Meanwhile, engine downsizing combined with turbocharging and direct fuel injection (GTDI) can cut consumption for a much lower cost. The technology arrives this summer, and while it has a green sheen to it, there's plenty of excitement for gearheads, as we've just learned.
Ford's first GTDI engine is the 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 that is set to debut in the Lincoln MKS, MKT, Ford Flex and Taurus SHO. Over the last eight months, Ford has conducted a number of background preview drives with EcoBoost equipped vehicles that we haven't been allowed to discuss. With production starting in the next few weeks, however, Ford allowed us to drive some pilot production examples of the two Lincolns powered by EcoBoost engines at its Romeo Proving Ground in Michigan. This time, we can finally tell you about it and give you a preview of the new MKT.With sales of the big Navigator sinking into oblivion along with just about every other full size SUV, Lincoln is introducing the MKT as a three-row, seven-passenger alternative for those who need something a bit bigger than the MKX. The MKT shares its Volvo-derived architecture with the Ford Flex. The rectilinear super-sized Mini styling of the Flex has been replaced with a look more in keeping with the current Lincoln design language that debuted on the MKR concept before being adapted to the production MKS. It is a look that's at once distinctive and controversial – not everyone will like it, but the MKT certainly stands apart from the crowd.
For our preview drive, we had the chance to compare the EcoBoost-equipped MKT against a more SUV-minded crossover, the 4.2-liter V8-powered Audi Q7. The Audi was chosen because, like the Lincoln, it can accommodate seven occupants (five in actual comfort) with a similar footprint. When developing the MKT and MKS, Lincoln considered whether to offer a V8 engine to compete with premium competitors. However, given the expectation that fuel economy and emissions standards would get tougher, the choice was made to follow a different path.
Thus, the Blue Oval has wrought an EcoBoost V6 that produce power levels equal to or better than competing 4.2- to 4.6-liter V8 engines, but with substantially better torque. We've already described the EcoBoost technology at length so we'll just briefly recap here. Turbocharging is nothing new to Ford or other automakers. Ford first started playing with downsized turbocharged engines in the early '80s. At that time, carburetors and and later port fuel injection meant that compression ratios had to be cut in order to prevent knocking and detonation. The result was weak low end torque, followed by a sudden rush of power. These engines had reliability issues and generally weren't that pleasant to drive.
The key to these new engines is direct fuel injection. With the turbochargers now pushing nothing but compressed air into the combustion chamber, there is no longer an opportunity for pre-ignition. Directly injecting fuel into the combustion chamber actually cools the compressed intake charge allowing the compression ratio of the EcoBoost engines to be kept much higher than in the past. The result: the 3.5-liter EcoBoost hits its torque peak of 350 lb-ft at just 1,500 rpm and stays there all the way to 5,250 rpm. The power peaks at 355 hp at 5,700 rpm. By comparison, the Q7 V8 generates only 325 lb-ft and peaks at 3,500 rpm.
For our preview drive, we had the chance to compare the EcoBoost-equipped MKT against a more SUV-minded crossover, the 4.2-liter V8-powered Audi Q7. The Audi was chosen because, like the Lincoln, it can accommodate seven occupants (five in actual comfort) with a similar footprint. When developing the MKT and MKS, Lincoln considered whether to offer a V8 engine to compete with premium competitors. However, given the expectation that fuel economy and emissions standards would get tougher, the choice was made to follow a different path.
Thus, the Blue Oval has wrought an EcoBoost V6 that produce power levels equal to or better than competing 4.2- to 4.6-liter V8 engines, but with substantially better torque. We've already described the EcoBoost technology at length so we'll just briefly recap here. Turbocharging is nothing new to Ford or other automakers. Ford first started playing with downsized turbocharged engines in the early '80s. At that time, carburetors and and later port fuel injection meant that compression ratios had to be cut in order to prevent knocking and detonation. The result was weak low end torque, followed by a sudden rush of power. These engines had reliability issues and generally weren't that pleasant to drive.
The key to these new engines is direct fuel injection. With the turbochargers now pushing nothing but compressed air into the combustion chamber, there is no longer an opportunity for pre-ignition. Directly injecting fuel into the combustion chamber actually cools the compressed intake charge allowing the compression ratio of the EcoBoost engines to be kept much higher than in the past. The result: the 3.5-liter EcoBoost hits its torque peak of 350 lb-ft at just 1,500 rpm and stays there all the way to 5,250 rpm. The power peaks at 355 hp at 5,700 rpm. By comparison, the Q7 V8 generates only 325 lb-ft and peaks at 3,500 rpm.
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