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Despite intense mainstream media interest in electrics, extended-range electrics, hybrids, plug-in hybrids and clean diesel, it's important to remember that the good old internal combustion engine isn't dead. Even as Ford continues rolling out its turbocharged EcoBoost engine, its most important new powerplant may be the 2012 Focus' 2.0-liter four. The 2.0 GDI is Ford's first-ever naturally aspirated engine with gas direct-injection.


Ford's I-4 engine program manager, Scott Markowski, says the new 2.0 GDI starts with the old 2.0-liter Duratec engine, and "we upgraded everything." Only the bore centers and the 87.5mm bore x 83.1mm stroke remain. The new engine is all-aluminum, with the stainless steel fuel rail on the side of the cylinder head instead of atop it, between intake and exhaust valves.

High-pressure solenoid injectors can pump 2200 to 2800 psi, versus 600-700 psi for a conventional port fuel injection system. The new engine's compression ratio is a musclecar era-like 12.0:1, though Ford recommends only regular unleaded gas, or you can use E85.



The result is 160 horsepower at 6500 rpm and 146 foot-pound at 4450 rpm, with a 7000 rpm redline, and fuel shutoff not much beyond that.


EPA fuel mileage is 28/40 mpg for the Focus SFE, a special fuel efficiency model with a rear deck spoiler and low rolling resistance tires, to compete with the Chevrolet Cruze Eco. Unlike the Cruze Eco, the Focus SFE reaches the magic 40 mpg highway when equipped with the six-speed Powershift transmission. It's a twin-clutch transmission sans torque converter, though Ford insists on calling it a six-speed automatic.

Non-SFE Focuses don't quite hit 40 mpg, though. Other trim levels, when equipped with the Powershift, are rated 28/38 mpg. Order the three-pedal five-speed manual, and the numbers drop to 28/36 mpg. Ford says the goal for every new model is to achieve best-in-class fuel efficiency. It falls just short in the compact category, where the 2011 Hyundai Elantra is rated 29/40 with six-speed manual or automatic. Ford's explanation is the power tradeoff; the new Elantra's 1.8-liter four, not a gas direct-injection engine, is rated 148 horsepower.