austinnh
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
So after testing both engines, my impressions are somewhat different from what I was expecting based on what I had read on these forums and in magazines about turbocharged engines, so I want to pass on those impressions in case it might help others who are considering both engines and are worried about "turbo lag" (don't worry about it, at least not when you push the pedal down) or that the V8 is "too powerful" (it's not). On to my impressions:
Sound: I do not like the way the Ecoboost sounds. Maybe this is because right before I heard it the salesperson had to move a Focus ST out of the way and when he started that up it sounded awesome! It sounded "low" and "growly", and seemed to say "I'm relaxed, I'm ready, and I'm fast as hell," which is pretty much exactly what a performance turbo 4-cyl engine should say at idle. When he started the Ecoboost it sounded relatively "farty", and seemed to say "I'm locked in a continuous fart noise that will continue until you reach your destination and turn me off." Once in the cabin, I thought the Ecoboost was surprisingly loud even under normal driving. When I mentioned to my wife that the sound is "enhanced" by the speakers she said "why?" and all I could say was "I don't know." I hope for a way to disable this feature without disabling my radio because, based on all the youtube videos, the Ecoboost sounds just as good if not better without the "enhancement." Ultimately I ordered the Ecoboost and this wasn't a deal breaker because sound is something that can be adjusted later on with aftermarket exhaust.
Turbo lag: I have read a great deal about turbo lag but when I push down on the pedal to rev the engine, I don't notice it at all. Then I take my foot off the pedal and the revs don't drop! They just hang there for what feels like eternity. This makes it very difficult to shift up smoothly and quickly because when I shift up, I have to wait for the engine to slow down before I take my foot off the clutch, otherwise I get a noticeable lurch forward. This is going to take some getting used to and hopefully with practice I can shift quickly and smoothly. I'm very surprised that I've read so much about the "throttle response" in turbo cars with regard to acceleration but I can't remember ever reading about this issue of the engine not slowing down when you get off the gas, as I find this issue to be much more noticeable and potentially irritating. Hopefully I get used to it.
GT: To my surprise the GT was much quieter in the cabin under normal driving conditions. At constant speed (transmission in drive) all I could hear was tire and wind noise, and even those were pretty quiet resulting in one of the quietest sounding car cabins I've experienced. Naturally, the GT didn't have the issue of hanging onto it's revs the way the Eco did when I revved it. Even more to my surprise was that the GT was extremely tame and easy to drive at low speed. I've read a couple references in this forum to the GT being "hard" to drive or "too powerful" for day-to-day urban driving. But I don't think I've ever driven an auto car that felt more controllable, smooth, and predictable at low throttle than this GT Mustang auto. Not at all what I was expecting. Ford calls it the Coyote but under normal driving conditions it's more like a sleeping kitten. Of course when you step on it the kitten wakes up and instantly transforms into a roaring lion. Overall, this seems to be a stellar engine. It was fun to experience the power in a test drive and my wife and I had a good giggle at how extremely powerful it is, but for my day-to-day driving needs I have no use for such power. But this doesn't detract from the fact the Coyote is as pleasant and predictable an engine for day-to-day driving as I've ever experienced.
Anyway, as I said I was surprised that what stuck out to me about these two engines were things that I had never really read on these forums or in reviews: namely that the Eco hangs onto revs making it very difficult to shift smoothly and quickly, the Eco is quite loud under normal driving conditions, the GT, in contrast, is both quiet and smooth under normal conditions. Maybe I just wasn't reading in the right places but I feel like I mostly read things about the Eco being under-powered and the GT being too powerful or uncontrollable in normal urban driving conditions. I hope someone finds these impressions informative.
Sound: I do not like the way the Ecoboost sounds. Maybe this is because right before I heard it the salesperson had to move a Focus ST out of the way and when he started that up it sounded awesome! It sounded "low" and "growly", and seemed to say "I'm relaxed, I'm ready, and I'm fast as hell," which is pretty much exactly what a performance turbo 4-cyl engine should say at idle. When he started the Ecoboost it sounded relatively "farty", and seemed to say "I'm locked in a continuous fart noise that will continue until you reach your destination and turn me off." Once in the cabin, I thought the Ecoboost was surprisingly loud even under normal driving. When I mentioned to my wife that the sound is "enhanced" by the speakers she said "why?" and all I could say was "I don't know." I hope for a way to disable this feature without disabling my radio because, based on all the youtube videos, the Ecoboost sounds just as good if not better without the "enhancement." Ultimately I ordered the Ecoboost and this wasn't a deal breaker because sound is something that can be adjusted later on with aftermarket exhaust.
Turbo lag: I have read a great deal about turbo lag but when I push down on the pedal to rev the engine, I don't notice it at all. Then I take my foot off the pedal and the revs don't drop! They just hang there for what feels like eternity. This makes it very difficult to shift up smoothly and quickly because when I shift up, I have to wait for the engine to slow down before I take my foot off the clutch, otherwise I get a noticeable lurch forward. This is going to take some getting used to and hopefully with practice I can shift quickly and smoothly. I'm very surprised that I've read so much about the "throttle response" in turbo cars with regard to acceleration but I can't remember ever reading about this issue of the engine not slowing down when you get off the gas, as I find this issue to be much more noticeable and potentially irritating. Hopefully I get used to it.
GT: To my surprise the GT was much quieter in the cabin under normal driving conditions. At constant speed (transmission in drive) all I could hear was tire and wind noise, and even those were pretty quiet resulting in one of the quietest sounding car cabins I've experienced. Naturally, the GT didn't have the issue of hanging onto it's revs the way the Eco did when I revved it. Even more to my surprise was that the GT was extremely tame and easy to drive at low speed. I've read a couple references in this forum to the GT being "hard" to drive or "too powerful" for day-to-day urban driving. But I don't think I've ever driven an auto car that felt more controllable, smooth, and predictable at low throttle than this GT Mustang auto. Not at all what I was expecting. Ford calls it the Coyote but under normal driving conditions it's more like a sleeping kitten. Of course when you step on it the kitten wakes up and instantly transforms into a roaring lion. Overall, this seems to be a stellar engine. It was fun to experience the power in a test drive and my wife and I had a good giggle at how extremely powerful it is, but for my day-to-day driving needs I have no use for such power. But this doesn't detract from the fact the Coyote is as pleasant and predictable an engine for day-to-day driving as I've ever experienced.
Anyway, as I said I was surprised that what stuck out to me about these two engines were things that I had never really read on these forums or in reviews: namely that the Eco hangs onto revs making it very difficult to shift smoothly and quickly, the Eco is quite loud under normal driving conditions, the GT, in contrast, is both quiet and smooth under normal conditions. Maybe I just wasn't reading in the right places but I feel like I mostly read things about the Eco being under-powered and the GT being too powerful or uncontrollable in normal urban driving conditions. I hope someone finds these impressions informative.
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