Ford C-Max Gets First 1.6-liter EcoBoost Engine; Maker Mum on U.S. Plan for MPV
By Scott Doggett September 4, 2009
Ford of Europe today released the first official images of the all-new C-MAX multi-purpose vehicle, which will be the first in a string of Ford vehicles packing an all-new 1.6-liter EcoBoost direct-injection gasoline engine.
The 2011 C-Max takes its handsome design from the iosis MAX concept car unveiled at this year's Geneva Motor Show. We like the coupe-resembling sweeping roofline, the aggressive stance and other design features, but it's the engine we like most.
This would be the same fuel-efficient, low-emissions, four-cylinder, turbo-charged engine Ford spent $109 million developing and which we described in October 2008.
In general, EcoBoost engines achieve 20 percent better fuel economy and 15 percent lower carbon-dioxide emissions than current larger displacement gasoline engines of similar power -- and they do all this without compromising driving performance.
However, Ford spokesmen today wouldn't comment on the C-Max's emissions or fuel economy; that, they said, will have to wait until the vehicle debuts at the Frankfurt Motor Show later this month.
Although stating that the C-Max will be available in Europe starting the second half of next year and will have a base price around $23,200, Ford spokesmen would not say if the vehicle would be sold in North America.
The C-Max is part of Ford's lineup of global vehicles being developed from Ford's new compact car platform, which also serves as the underpinnings for the European version of the Ford Focus. So it's possible it would come to the U.S.
If it did make its way to the New World, its price and features would put it in competition with the larger Dodge Grand Caravan minivan, which has a manufacturer's suggested starting price of $23,545.
But the C-Max would also compete with the Focus, Ford's fuel-efficient crossover slated to come from the Old World to the New next year -- and the Focus would likely prove tough competition for the C-Max.
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