A nice surprise this week. I was reminded just how refined petrol engines are compared to their diesel siblings when I spent the past week in a Ford Mondeo with the new EcoBoost engine. Although sales of diesel engine cars account for just over 80% of all Mondeos, there is still a significant demand for petrol engines.
For sure, diesels have made great strides over recent years, but so too have petrols, and this one was particularly quiet and smooth.
There was another surprise in store. It was only a 1.6 litre petrol unit! The Mondeo is a big car too, and yet I didn’t feel it was underpowered. It’s not as fast as the 2 litre, but that still doesn’t make it underpowered.
The turbo engine produces 158 bhp and is good for just over 40 mpg. That’s maybe not as miserly as a diesel, but for the low mileage private car driver it might make sense when you compare the purchase price and fuel costs.
Yet another wee surprise, it rode well on its 18 inch wheels, unlike some other cars which appear to have their suspension removed completely just so they can fit 18 inchers.
So don’t let anyone tell you diesels are the business, keep an open mind. You might get a surprise too.
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