The downsizing of engines is a trend which has now been adopted by most car manufacturers. First, we had Fiat’s lovely little turbocharged V-twin and then came the 1.0-liter ecoBoost from Ford, and now Renault has decided to join the club with their new Energy TCe 90 engine.
It is the first three-cylinder turbo petrol engine ever developed by Renault and features state of the art technology which enable it to be both fun to use and economical at the same time. With its 899cc displacement, VVT (Variable Valve Timing) technology and low-intertia turbocharging the engine delivers 90hp at 5,000rpm and its peak torque of 135Nm is available across a wide rev range with 90% of it available from 1,650rpm. To further optimize the engine’s efficiency, it uses a ‘tumble’ effect inside the cylinders which aids combustion which becomes virtually instantaneous.
The other benefit of the reduced engine capacity is the increased fuel economy over a similarly powered naturally-aspirated unit (around 1 l/100km and 30g/km of CO2 less). It is also cheaper to produce and to run.
To further aid its eco credentials, it will also get a raft of additional fuel-saving measures, such as Stop-Start technology, thermal management technology, a more efficient oil pump and teflon coated timing chain.
The engine is expected to debut on the next Clio where it will probably replace some of the smaller and very outdated engines still lurking in Renault’s line-up. Also, it’s worth mentioning that the manufacturer claims it has deliberately made the engine sound like an old V6!
Via AutoEvolution