When it comes to the three-cylinder engine, i think many people are spitting on it. Although countless high-end engineers have gone to great lengths to break the inherent physical flaws of the three-cylinder engine and try to create an internal combustion engine that integrates fuel economy and mechanical stability, for the vast majority of consumers, the three-cylinder engine is still a "black" field that they are unwilling to touch. It is conceivable that the dilemma faced by the three-cylinder model is far more arduous than making people believe that "not all manual trains are cheap cars".
When you see this and think that today is to give the three-cylinder engine a proper name, then you are wrong. On the contrary, today is the story of the return of a prodigal son of a "three-cylinder car".
The admission of the protagonist must be counted from the end of 2018. At that time, Ford Focus, officially completed the evolution of three generations of models, and the new Focus will not only increase the wheelbase from 2648mm to 2705mm, but also increased the automatic parking, ACC adaptive cruise, LED light source and other high-tech configuration, seeing that this is another brilliant replacement of Fox, the result is the official full series of replacement (1.5L/1.5T) three-cylinder engine...
You know, this feeling is like after I fell out of love and met a fair-skinned, gentle and elegant girl, and versatile, so I got up and chased for a long time, saved a lot of money to go to kiss, and found that the other party was actually a man.
A friend who gave up buying a car because the new Focus is a three-cylinder engine said
As a golf owner, I understand the pain in my friend's heart. Because for us ordinary workers and people who love to drive, there are only a few cars that can be seen and affordable, and Fox is the most important player in these models, and suddenly one day it is "crippled", who is not uncomfortable?
There is no basis for talking, we speak in terms of sales. In 2013 and 2014, Fox pressed the xuanyi, corolla, langyi and other hot cars, becoming the annual sales king for two consecutive years. At the most scenic time, fox's monthly sales were close to 40,000 vehicles, at that time, Nissan Xuanyi's monthly sales were only 24,000 vehicles, and Langyi's monthly sales had just exceeded 30,000, and its nemesis Golf, sales were not even worth mentioning. Even in 2016, Fox sold 240,000 vehicles a year, and the average monthly sales of 20,000 units were enough to prove that it was the next popular model at the moment.
When the fourth generation of Fox went public in 2018, its sales fell directly off a cliff. The former annual sales king has sold 20,353 vehicles in 2021, less than it sold in a month five years ago.
The fate of The fox world is by no means directly caused by a three-cylinder engine, and the rapid development of the market over the years, the competition between competitive models and the change in the orientation of national policies have all increased the difficulty of Fox's survival. But who can deny that the three-cylinder engine is not the biggest original sin?
Take what saves you, my Fox. It is estimated to have become the most headache problem for Changan Ford in recent years.
In fact, Changan Ford already knows the answer, otherwise it would not frequently flow out of the rumor that the domestic Focus will change the 1.6T four-cylinder engine. However, even the Focus of the international market is a three-cylinder engine, only for China's Fox to replace the four-cylinder machine, Changan Ford has to come up with some courage to break the boat.
In the blink of an eye, this generation of Fox has also reached the day of the mid-term revamp, and we have finally waited for its "lost return". According to the latest declaration chart, the new Focus will officially return to the ranks of four-cylinder engines, but the machine is not the previously rumored 1.6T, but the 1.5T four-cylinder model CAF479WQ6. In other words, the engines used by the Ford Mondeo and The Wing Tiger before. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing for Ford fans.
In more detail, the WQ479 series engines used by Mondeo and the WQ5 used by Winghu are both 134kW and 243N·m (1750~4500rpm), while the WQ6 used by the new Focus has a maximum power of 130kW, which is only 2kW more than the current three-cylinder engine. Needless to dig into, it must be an official compromise to meet emissions regulations. And among them, thousands of tastes can only sigh a sentence of the times to create heroes.
Fox, which switched back to a four-cylinder engine, completely abandoned the "Martin face" that he had loved before, and replaced it with a front face that resembled EVOS and the new Mondeo. It seems that this new design language will become the main style of Changan Ford in the next few years. And this will also mean that the new Fox at home will have a different front face style from the new Fox abroad.
【Overseas version of the new Focus】
In addition, the changes in the appearance of the new Focus are no longer obvious, thus retaining the original taste and lines of this generation of Fox.
As for the size, the hatchback model has a length, width and height of 4401/1824/1470mm and a wheelbase of 2705mm, while the sedan version has a length, width and height of 4664/1824/1467mm, with a wheelbase of 2705mm. Compared with the current model, the three dimensions are slightly improved, but the actual riding space must not feel anything.
So, after switching back to the four-cylinder Fox, can sales return to the peak?
Judging from buick's heroic experience, from the recovery of the whole series of three cylinders to four cylinders, sales have naturally picked up, but this detour has come back again, and it can only sigh a sentence of years and changes in the world. Moreover, for The Ford Focus, the 3 years it missed from 2019 to 2021 are also the 3 years that are quite critical before the official retirement of pure fuel vehicles. So, hoping for Fox to win the annual sales king again must be a fool's dream, but no matter what, since we waited until Fox returned to the four-cylinder engine, it was a victory.