Ford Fiesta SE 1 Liter EcoBoost EPA Rated At 45 MPG

TTAC Staff
by TTAC Staff

The U.S. EPA has released its latest fuel economy ratings and the 2014 Ford Fiesta SE with the 1 liter 3 cylinder EcoBoost engine and a 5 speed manual transmission had the highest mpg rating of any non-hybrid gasoline powered car, 45 mpg highway, 32 city and 37 mpg combined. Both three and five door models had the same rating. Interestingly, Ford will still offer the Fiesta SFE (Super Fuel Economy), which actually gets poorer gas mileage than the 1 liter EcoBoost SE, 30 city/41 highway.

In addition to being offered in the U.S. Fiesta, the 1 liter EcoBoost is available in five different European Fords. The turbocharged triple now accounts for 32% of Focus and 26% of Fiesta sales in Europe and Ford has doubled production of the Cologne, Germany assembled engine to 1,000 powerplants per day.

2013 and 2014 EPA ratings for city, highway and combined:

GASOLINE


Chevrolet Spark: 30/39/34


Ford Fiesta SFE: 32/45/37


Nissan Versa: 31/40/35


Smart Fortwo: 34/38/36


Scion iQ 36/37/37

DIESEL


BMW 328D 32/45/37


Chevrolet Cruze: 27/46/33


Mercedes-Benz E250 Bluetec: 28/45/34


Volkswagen Golf 30/42/34


Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagon: 30/42/34


Volkswagen Passat: 31/43/35

GASOLINE-ELECTRIC HYBRIDS


Ford Fusion Hybrid: 47/47/47


Honda Accord Hybrid: 50/45/47


Honda Insight: 41/44/42


Honda CR-Z: 36/39/37


Lincoln MKZ Hybrid: 45/45/45


Toyota Camry Hybrid: 43/39/41


Toyota Prius: 51/48/50


Toyota Prius V: 44/40/42


Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid: 42/48/45

TTAC Staff
TTAC Staff

More by TTAC Staff

Comments
Join the conversation
5 of 106 comments
  • Ajla Ajla on Oct 31, 2013

    Whatever, I just paid $3.02/gal for gas. At those prices, I'm buying a V10 Ram.

  • Manbridge Manbridge on Oct 31, 2013

    So it gets the same mileage as my lightened POS commuter 1990 Celica which I got for free. BFD. But I'm sure it will last for 23 years being easily worked on by the average guy with hand tools needing nothing more than an alternator replacement........ HA!

  • APaGttH APaGttH on Oct 31, 2013

    Jack and Derek: Below the TTAC logo are a series of highlighted stories, These haven't rotated in a LONG time, Isn't it about time this story: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/03/want-to-save-gas-dont-buy-american-announcing-the-true-heroes-and-true-villains-at-the-pump/ ...comes off the home page permalink top row? It is over 18 months old now and smacks by the headline of the old regime. Maybe the data is the same, but can I politely ask then for an update at least?

  • Jerome10 Jerome10 on Nov 01, 2013

    I just drove one of these cars in Germany about 2 months ago. I'm not sure how I feel about it. It certainly made enough power. The car was plenty quick. More than the numbers would have you believe. I think it has to be that turbo. It certainly is much quicker feeling in the butt than a 4cyl VW or Opel Corsa. And I don't remember exactly, but want to say for the week I averaged 5.2L/100km (on the computer...I know, I know)....so 45mpg on the dot. On the other hand, it had 2 big downsides in my opinion. 1) 3 cylinder engine. This was the 2nd I'd ever driven, after a Polo 3 cyl a few years earlier. I won't lie...I HATE these things. They are rough, and they sound, frankly, terrible. You could just always feel the vibration in the cars (both the Ford and the VW). And revving them...I really don't even know how to describe it. There is nothing aurally pleasing at all. 2) The turbo lag on the motor is wretched. I don't have loads of experience beyond VW 2.0T and BMW I6 turbos, but those things you can't even tell they're turbocharged. In the Ford, there was a definite 1 second or so lag before the turbo kicked in. And off boost the engine has nothing there, then WHAM. I would give it too much gas to compensate for the off-boost lack of power, then snap my neck when it kicked in. I don't know about Ford's other turbo engines, but if they're all like this, no thanks. This car was nowhere close to any 4 or 6 cylinder gas or diesel turbos I've ever driven. So, for those who don't care, want MPG with some decent pep, don't care about 3 cyl feel or sound, maybe it will work. On boost it definitely feels peppier than small 1.6 or so non turbo 4s. And the mileage is definitely better. But for me, I can't say I'd pick a car with this engine. It just feels way too unrefined and the turbo lag for me was maddening. Feel vs a VW 2.0L gas or diesel turbo is miles ahead. I would say if MPG is king get the VW diesel any day over this. But I suspect the cost difference in the engines is huge, which might not be worth it over the Ford. A great engine for people who don't care about engines and just want top MPG in gasoline with still some decent get up and go. For the rest of us, no way. Otherwise I loved the car. This and the Polo are definitely my favorites in this class. Lot of fun to drive. If they could eliminate that turbo lag, would really improve it (can't fix the 3 cyl I guess)

Next