Ford Fiesta To Get 3-Cylinder, 123 HP Engine

If you're looking for an efficient compact car that gets you from A to B swiftly and safely, the next Ford Fiesta may be the car for you. Ford has announced that it's putting its smallest engine into its smallest car. The engine is a one-liter, three-cylinder turbocharged motor with 123 horsepower and 148 lb.-ft. of torque.

Ford says that the small three-cylinder engine will have the same power as a standard four-cylinder engine, but only with better fuel economy of course. The Fiesta's standard four-cylinder engine is a 1.6-liter motor rated at 120 horsepower with 112 lb.-ft. of torque. The company says that the turbocharger adds extra power to the three-cylinder motor without guzzling more gas.

Ford says it expects the new motor to make the Fiesta the most gas-efficient car in the US (not including hybrids), but the company provided no MPG estimates, since the car hasn't undergone testing yet for its EPA rating. The current Fiesta is rated at 29 MPG in the city, 39 MPG on the highway, and 33 MPG combined.

As a publicity stunt last week, Ford packed one of their three-cylinder engine blocks in a suitcase and ran it through airport security (see photo above). They even showed off how it can fit just fine in an overhead bin on an airplane. It looks like the TSA may have to add "engine blocks" to the list of items that passengers can or can't bring aboard a plane.

[via USA Today]