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Many Americans won't like engine downsizing, but if automakers hope to meet increasingly strict Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, we'll have to get used to it. In Europe, small engines have been a way of life for years, with sub-1.5-liter powerplants common. But that's there. Will Ford's latest small-displacement offering for the U.S. -- the turbocharged 1.0-liter three-cylinder EcoBoost engine coming for the 2014 Ford Fiesta -- make a positive impression here?
First introduced in the Euro-market Ford Focus earlier this year, the 1.0 EcoBoost makes the logical move to the smaller Fiesta, coinciding with the B-segment car's mid-cycle refresh. In the 2014 Fiesta, the turbo three-cylinder setup yields 123 hp and 148 lb-ft of torque - up just 3 hp from the lower trim, naturally aspirated 1.6-liter I-4 model, but with an impressive 36 more lb-ft Ford invited a group of journalists to drive the new Aston Martin-nosed Fiesta in European trim before its launch later in 2013. These cars came equipped with many of the same features that will be available in the States, including Sync, which makes its European debut in the 2014 Fiesta. One feature not planned for the U.S. market -- at least not yet -- is the stop-start function, which went completely unnoticed during the first half of my drive. If you don't like the idea of your engine starting and stopping automatically, Ford allows you to turn the feature off with a center console-mounted button.
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