Many will doubt that this 340 hp monster will boost Ford's sales in USA/Canada.

Will this machine average more than 20 mpg?

It seems that Ford has not received the proper message yet.

"Eco-boost"???

Well, as long as the next Focus can also get a similar 20% boost in fuel economy - then they have my interest.

On the bright side it is better fuel economy and lower emissions than the standard alternative they would have installed in the past (4.6L V-8).

Now I wonder when this becomes the engine of choice for the performance Mustang.

with that turbo on board, i don't think a stop start system would work out too well.

There's no reason you can't use stop/start technology use in turbo charged engines.

Seems more like "Ego-Boost" A 2L turbo would be "Eco" in this car. Even a 1L turbo would actually still be drivable.

I think VW is more aware of Peak Oil than Ford USA.

Yes it will get more than 20mpg, the standard 3.5l in the ford edge gets 16 city and 24 highway. There will always be a market for vehicles capable of transporting 7 plus people. We should be thankful that there is a shift from vehicle such as the deceased excursion with a 6.0 or 7.3L diesel and a 6.8L gas engine to vehicles such as this with a 6 speed transmission and almost 1/2 the engine displacement. There are 4 cyl. ecoboost engine planned for production that will be used in smaller vehicles. It is thought that this technology will cause a shift in the engines installed in vehicles, 4 cyl's where v-6's had been and v-6 where the v-8's had been. This will leave the v-8 in a small number of halo vehicles. There are also plans in launch a 4.4L v-6 diesel in the f150 and maybe in the expedition. Seeing as ford is the #2 seller of hybrid vehicles I am sure they are looking into the start stop systems, cyl deactivation and mild hybrid systems for use to improve economy.

even when the turbo is being cooked by its own heat? I guess you never heard of turbo timers...

Yeah turbotimers are great on old antiquated turbo engines from the 80's and 90's or for those who run their turbo motor at WOT for great periods of time and then suddenly shut down the motor. While I do see semi-aggressive driving in stop light situations the overwhelming majority of people are not going full throttle in 300+hp engines when a stop light is coming up or when in stop and go traffic...

BTW - why don't you tell me how many turbo diesels, Subaru's, and other turbo vehicles from modern cars (newer than 10 years) you've seen with premature wear and/or failure of the turbo bearings? How many of these vehicles have turbo timers? I have never seen a production turbocharged vehicle in the US that included a turbotimer.

I work on diesel engines for a living, the failures seen are almost always from neglect or another component failure. Either not changing the oil, damaged/dirty air filter, or something contaminating the lube oil like diesel fuel or coolant. The use of a turbo timers is really not needed now unless your are doing something like installing a chip (NOT RECOMMENDED) or pulling a trailer over a pass, getting to the top and shutting it down.

"...340 hp (254 kW) and 340 lb-ft (461 Nm) of torque."

All this in a three row seat crossover that will get over 20 mpg combined is not bad. Much better than the Excursion, Expedition, Explorer style of motoring.

I would agree that not everyone needs 3 row seating nor 300 hp, but some people think that they do and as long as there is a market for this, auto makers will provide it. It is profit margins and these types of vehicles have brought those in.