Ford teases new, fuel-efficient EcoBoost engines for C-Max, Escape

Last auto show season, Ford boasted that its new C-Max and redesigned Escape would make significant advances in fuel economy. Now, with the LA Auto Show about a month away, Ford has teased out more specifics regarding the powertrains in these 2013 models.

The key to the fuel economy gains is using its EcoBoost-branded turbocharging technology atop small-displacement four-cylinder engines.

The Escape will be offered with new 1.6- and 2.0-liter EcoBoost engines and a 2.5-liter engine. As with other applications, Ford claims the EcoBoost engines in the Escape and later the C-Max will deliver the performance of a larger engine with small-engine fuel economy. The EcoBoost engines will be available on all-wheel-drive models. Ford claims the 1.6-liter version will return better than 31 mpg on the highway, besting the current Escape Hybrid. The 1.6-liter engine is currently offered in the Focus and C-Max in Europe. The 2.0-liter EcoBoost is offered in the Edge and Explorer, and Ford estimates that its power output will be similar, putting it around 240 horsepower.

There are no immediate, or announced, plans to put an electrified powertrain in the next-gen Escape. However, electricity will play a key role in the C-Max, which will be offered as both a hybrid and a plug-in hybrid. Ford claims the C-Max hybrid with its lithium-ion batteries will boast a 25-percent fuel economy improvement over the outgoing Escape hybrid, and it will not be offered with a conventional gasoline powertrain, making it the automaker's first dedicated hybrid in this market. A quick calculation, based on the 25-percent improvement, puts the C-Max Hybrid fuel economy around 43 mpg city, 39 mpg highway.

The C-Max Energi plug-in aims to deliver more than 500 miles of driving range and recharge quicker than the Chevrolet Volt.

More details are expected in November, and we will share the latest details here from the LA Auto Show.

—Jeff Bartlett