How to drive the Ecoboost?

[6gFan]

I have taken 4 test drives in Ecoboost Mustangs now and I feel like I am not getting the full potential out of the engine. I felt like all of them were underpowered; but I may not be driving them correctly.
Three of the cars were manual and one was automatic.
How high are you reving them out and at what RPM are you shifting?
For comparison I also drove a 2015 Subaru WRX. I enjoyed driving the WRX because it always felt as though the engine was on boost with abundant torque and ready to go. (I did not care for the sedan body style and will not be purchasing a WRX.) I did not feel that sense of torque and responsiveness while driving the Ecoboost. I know that the Ecoboost needs premium gasoline to generate rated power and it is possible all of the cars I drove were running regular. I did remember to ask during the latest test drive and the guy said the car had premium gasoline in it--but no way to know for sure.
Am I doing something wrong in the way I am driving or am I expecting more from the Ecoboost than it has to give? Should I just stick with the GT?

Sponsored

 

[RBK]

Did you have traction control turned off? If not, it really saps the life out of the engine.

 

[EcoSwag1990]

The dealers will never put premium gas in the cars on the lot so that is the first issue. Then the drive modes make a big difference in throttle response and shift patterns. The premium models have toggle switches to change the drive modes (sport, sport+, track, snow)

No need to turn off traction control to feel the power just put it in sport or sport+

 

[OppoLock]

I have taken 4 test drives in Ecoboost Mustangs now and I feel like I am not getting the full potential out of the engine. I felt like all of them were underpowered; but I may not be driving them correctly.
Three of the cars were manual and one was automatic.
How high are you reving them out and at what RPM are you shifting?
For comparison I also drove a 2015 Subaru WRX. I enjoyed driving the WRX because it always felt as though the engine was on boost with abundant torque and ready to go. (I did not care for the sedan body style and will not be purchasing a WRX.) I did not feel that sense of torque and responsiveness while driving the Ecoboost. I know that the Ecoboost needs premium gasoline to generate rated power and it is possible all of the cars I drove were running regular. I did remember to ask during the latest test drive and the guy said the car had premium gasoline in it--but no way to know for sure.
Am I doing something wrong in the way I am driving or am I expecting more from the Ecoboost than it has to give? Should I just stick with the GT?

Were you keeping the tach on boil in the midrange? That's where you'd "feel" the most out of it. If you kept it up high toward the redline you'd have fallen out of the torque band.

 

[huachucastang]

Need to put it in sport mode.....night and day

 

[Fox5.0]

Yes dealers do not put 91 in the tank, so that might be an issue.

 

[Justpassingas]

Mines an automatic....What others have said.... Put it in Sport mode....BIG difference....no way i feel like its underpowered

 

[jared89]

I dont really think the fuel will make that big of a difference. If the eco boost feels under powered did you try a gt:shrug:Were all the eco boosts premium? . I never drove one so i can not comment.

 

[Fox5.0]

I dont really think the fuel will make that big of a difference. If the eco boost feels under powered did you try a gt:shrug:Were all the eco boosts premium? . I never drove one so i can not comment.

I read that the Eco looses like 10% without premium fuel?

 

[EcoSwag1990]

It does

 

[gtlaw]

Try a gt

 

[6gFan]

Thank you for the responses. I have test driven GT's multiple times and in various configurations. I very much enjoy the GT and the available power. The reason for asking about the Ecoboost is that in the past I have found that a light weight car with good handling can be very enjoyable as a daily driver. I am willing to consider the Ecoboost instead of the GT, but from the experiences I have had test driving the Ecoboost it feels underpowered for what I want.
Since people seem to enjoy driving the Ecoboost, I was wondering if I was not driving it correctly.

 

[l2frankie]

Has any tuner figured out how to retune base cars to have sport mode on 24/7? Not sure if I worded that correctly

 

[BYTOR1969]

If test driving an automatic or manual car,
put the toogle switch on track mode. If in an automatic put the shifter in S instead of D.
it holds onto the rpms and shifts around 4k.
These settings change the car into a beast.

 

[Asharus]

Thank you for the responses. I have test driven GT's multiple times and in various configurations. I very much enjoy the GT and the available power. The reason for asking about the Ecoboost is that in the past I have found that a light weight car with good handling can be very enjoyable as a daily driver. I am willing to consider the Ecoboost instead of the GT, but from the experiences I have had test driving the Ecoboost it feels underpowered for what I want.
Since people seem to enjoy driving the Ecoboost, I was wondering if I was not driving it correctly.

that's a lot of test drives. you should know by now which of the two you really want. i would go with the car that doesn't need you to press up up down down left right left right select start or the right fuel to feel right. good luck with the purchase.

Sponsored