Challenger SRT Hellcat

Make
Dodge
Segment
Coupe

When we think of signature Ford engines, the 5.0-liter Coyote V8 and the 5.2-liter Voodoo V8 instantly spring to mind. However, neither of these engines appear in the company's signature car, the GT. EcoBoost engines are Ford's true signature engine series and the smallest one will soon be the brand's most popular. The new 2018 Fiesta will use a 1.0-liter three-cylinder EcoBoost engine. Even the sporty ST model will ditch its 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine in favor of a 1.5-liter three-cylinder. This new 1.5-liter will soon be Ford's most popular engine.

In an interview with Autocar, Ford's Europe product development chief, Joe Bakaj, said that the new 1.5-liter three-cylinder could appear in models all the way up to the Mondeo, which currently uses the 1.0-liter unit. Even though the three-cylinder has already increased in size, Bakaj said that the engine is unlike to get any bigger. "A capacity of 500cc per cylinder is about right for thermal efficiency," he said. "Besides, we don't need cars to get more powerful. We need them to get lighter." This new 1.5-liter engine produces 198 hp in the Fiesta ST and will soon be the best selling engine for Ford in Europe. This news proves exactly why Ford is in better shape for the future than Dodge.

Unlike Ford, Dodge has been putting a lot of development and marketing dollars into building 700-plus hp cars with supercharged V8 engines. Ford has cars at the bottom of the range that will sell well in the future, but it seems like Dodge is only focused on "right now." We certainly love what Dodge has been doing lately, but the company really needs to take a look at its future, and figure out how to match Ford at the affordable end of the car spectrum.