Will Ford’s F-150 2.7L EcoBoost Be Long-Term Best Choice?
Three years into the new generation of F-150, the 2.7L EcoBoost engine is still impressing critics for it’s performance and affordability. But will the favorable mentions last? Over the last 30 years automakers have been converting our taste from large low-stressed naturally breathing engines to high-stressed boosted small displacement engines that match power and increase efficiency. We’re accustomed to the invincible V8 Ford reliability through the last decades showing almost spotless history in the Consumer Reports data. Nobody is speaking about the sacrifice of efficiency with reliability regarding turbocharged engines.
The benefits of turbocharging in the modern era derive for the ability to push as much power out of a small engine as you can with a larger engine. With today’s tuning abilities manufacturers can program a turbo to spin up sooner in the RPM range producing more power quicker than traditional big motors could. This is what I enjoy about this 2.7L engine; it pumps all 375 ft-lb of torque as low as 3000 RPM when the 5.0L V8 is reaching its peak 850 RPM later. All while achieving better fuel economy and pulling the max towing ability of 8,850 lbs and payload of 2,250 lbs.
Our Truck Specialist Chad Kirchner attended the world-release event a year back for the 2.7L EcoBoost and commented the general public couldn’t tell the difference from the 3.5L EcoBoost to the 2.7L EcoBoost. “Unless you drive the two back-to-back, you can’t tell the difference in everyday driving.”
However looking at just the physicality of it all seeing that Ford is pulling almost as much horsepower out of smaller displacement engine equals more stressing of the components from pressurized turbocharging. This traditionally lowers reliability although only time will tell. I don’t see too many vintage turbocharged cars on the road anymore and hopefully Ford will change that reliability stigma.
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