Getaway

83gtragtop 'Fuel efficiency and power do not walk hand and hand.....advances technology can inprove both at the same time.'

I agree...to an extent (internal combustion technology is still remarkably inefficient). However, Ford has not advanced any new technology. This is old stuff that Ford is adopting (and marketing) in poor economic times. The concept of shifting the fuel injector and adding a turbo is not extraordinary (or new) by any means.

To reply to another post...
The 2.0 liter in the Focus is not producing 300hp on stock internals. It is 250 tops (200-212 fwhp), even in Europe, with crossed fingers and prayers.
The 2008 Focus St (EU) is 225 bhp 5-cyl from Volvo.
The 2002 Focus RS was 212 bhp.

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...cus/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Focus_(International)

The 2008 Focus RS WRC is only 300 bhp (406 lb-ft), and although I agree that is closer to the numbers mentioned, this is a race car...not a daily driver. The engine will not sustain that power, and is not easily attainable via Mr. Average Joe.
http://www.rsportscars.com/ford/2008-ford-focus-rs-wrc/

edit to add...
2009 Focus RS is using the engine from the 2008 Focus ST... 2.5 liter turbo 295 hp and 302 lb-ft (zero to 62mph in "less than six seconds" ). I also noticed there is another thread on this carwithin this section. Here's an info link...
http://www.automobilemag.com/feature..._rs/index.html

rdsx18

But how much can it really improve is the question. I don't think we will see a 300hp stang that can also get 25mpg city. Sure it might be able to get 21 or 22, but this is only 2 or 3mpg better than what I get in my v8 S197 right now.

83gtragtop

21/22 city combined with a 27/28 highway would equal 25 mpg mixed driving....which is very good. No way you are getting 19mpg city ONLY in your GT. They are rated at 15/22. My friend averages 18 mpg mixed.

rdsx18

I do get 19 almost pure city driving. I hit the highway 3 times a week, for a mile and a half each time, the rest is city. I take it easy on my car when I don't want to beat on it, I don't need to waste gas and hurt my car. Also I just did a 250 mile round trip that was 98% highway and I averaged 25mpg, wouldv'e been 26 if I didn't hit bumper to bumper traffic in 4 spots.

crazy horse

Wouldn't a much simple option be to work on improving efficiency of V8's? Applying direct injection and DOD to a V8 would likely yield at least as good results as a smaller turbo engine. Simply coming up with a more efficient engine design to begin with would help a lot. Lets face it, the mod platform isn't the best at much of anything. GM's LS family has larger displacements, more power, and better fuel economy all while using a design that most consider archaic.

There are just certain vehicles that require a respectable amount of power. If you require XXX amount of power to get the job done, it doesn't really matter what size engine your using to do the job. A boosted 4cyl will get better mileage than a traditional V8 because when not under load it can reduce fuel consumption. A V8 with DOD is doing basically the same thing. When you a certain amount of power, it will require a certain amount of fuel. The only way of changing that is by improving efficiency. There's no law that says V8's are as efficient as they can be. I would think that V8's have the most room for improvement.

Anyway, I don't really care as long as it doesn't look like sin and I can get my 6+L.