We invest a great deal of our electricity assessing and quantifying velocity. Whole narratives are centered around straightline acceleration, the consequences of various tires on 707-hp muscle cars in the drag-strip (alright, one 707-hp muscle-car), as well as prodding rental cars for their top rates--in reverse. We interrupt that programing to present a check of some thing decidedly perhaps not all that quick: the three-cylinder 2015 Ford Focus Eco Boost sedan.

The Rule of Three

First released in small Fiesta a year ago, Ford's 1.0-liter three-cylinder EcoBoost engine joins the refreshed-for-2015 Concentrate line as a $795 alternative. Accessible just on the mid-level, SE-spec Emphasis, the Eco Boost displaces 999 cc (61 cubic inches!) yet, thanks to turbo charging and direct-injection, squeezes out 123 hp and 148 lb-feet of torque. A six-speed manual is the sole transmission option (routine Focuses get a five-speed or an optional six-speed dual clutch automated), and an engine-stop-start fuel-conserving function is normal.

As you'd assume from a car with one less cylinder than is standard because of its size as well as cost--compact sedans generally are driven by four-cylinder engines, four-cylinder engines, or four-cylinder engines--the Concentrate Eco Boost is pokier to 60 miles per hour than every manual transmission Emphasis we have examined by nearly two seconds. With half the displacement of the foundation Focus's 2.0-liter four (and 37 less hp and 2 more pounds-feet of torque), even the additional equipment can not aid significantly, as our recorded functionality figures reveal. The run to 60 miles per hour needs 9.4 seconds, and you could do your taxes in the time it takes to protect the quarter mile.

However, we actually appreciate the 1.0-liter motor. It is a wonderful small factory, silent in operation and able of mean-sounding growls when caned. But while the Eco Boost is a remarkably hot performer in the Fiesta, it is pressed dry transferring the bigger Focus. That is exactly what the Focus's 2972-pound curb weight does to a power-plant that signifies the "downsized" choice even in the almost 350-lbs-light Fiesta. Remove hurry out of your precedence, along with the EcoBoost Focus slips into a more joyful mode. Outside the paucity of torsion off idle, you can nearly be deceived into believing they are driving a routine, naturally-aspirated, four-cylinder Concentrate.

Look at That--We Got Decent Mpg from Something

The EPA charges this Eco Boost at 29 mpg in town and 40 to the main road (2 mpg better than the most successful four-cylinder Emphasis in town, as well as the same on the main road). We handled 33 mpg, dead on the US Environmental Protection Agency's joined estimation and 3 mpg better than we observed in the 1.0-liter Fiesta sedan. The stop-start method proved pretty smooth in killing and r e-firing the engine at stoplights, also. When the likes of BMW and Land-Rover have problem restarting four-cylinder engines easily with related methods, the Focus's comparatively jolt-free beginnings are a success. There is no escaping the three-cylinder's unique throat-clearing up on re-awakening, yet. In case you do not enjoy it, the program can be switched off off entirely.

As we have observed with other 2015 Focuses, our test vehicle was apparently quieter than earlier versions (we noticed 70 decibels at A - 70-mph cruise, compared with 71 in the final Focus sedan we examined), thanks to laminated front windows and additional sound-deadening stuff. Maybe even better, the upgraded non-touchscreen sound controls are organized more rationally than before. Utilizing the radio has become an intuitive event, an excellent thing, as Ford produced the steering wheel controls for infotainment features a bit smaller.

The mid-level Concentrate SE--again, the single trim level accessible using the Eco Boost three--comes properly-outfitted for $20,080 (the hatchback body design adds $500). Besides the 1.0-liter motor for $795, our test vehicle featured a fantastic SE EcoBoost bundle that added $700 and a set of slickness 17-inch aluminum wheels, a bodykit, foglamps, and rear disc brakes. Chuck in another $645 for the Winter package (warmth for the front seats, the leather-wrapped steering-wheel, as well as the side-mirrors), $255 for parking sensors, and $395 for our check car's beautiful Ruby-Red paint, as well as the complete comes to an totally realistic $22,075.

But the main number here is actually the EcoBoost's $795 up-charge. As a livable day-to-day driver, the 1.0-liter Concentrate is a great auto. It is up to you whether losing some speed for several extra milespergallon is worth it.