1.5 Engine at highway speeds

DSM

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I went on a weeks vacation drive from Texas to Indiana, over 2000 miles around trip. Highway speeds postings up to 75, I was going 80 to 82 miles an hour on 75 postings and it was a smooth ride and I even have the 1 1/2 inch left kit and Toyo open country A/T III 245/65/17 tires on it.
My wife has the 2020 Ford Fusion with the 3 cylinder engine and the ride I perfer and enjoy is the Big Bend
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christopheru

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Simply put. The turbo starts spinning up @ 1700 RPM.
Boost crosses 4psi at about 1900 rpm IF your accelerating. Boost climbs to I think 8 or 10 by 2600 rpm again IF your still on the throttle.
Around 3400 Rpm boost is near 12.
After that your Horse power starts to fill in.
Zoom Zoom,,,,
Oh crap wait, That’s Mazda,,
And this is where I have to scratch my head at Ford (not your analysis which makes sense). Saab started it in the late 1980s with turbos that maxed out at stupid torque (for the day - north of 250lb/ft) at fast idle (1350 rpm - going from memory here) and today, one of the kings of the hill is VW. My 1.8l Golf I traded for the BS makes max torque - 6lb/ft less than the 1.5l - at 1600rpm. The VW 1.4l makes the same torque at 1400rpm. Point is, the Ford engine is laggy in comparison to what can be done and the automatic isn’t helping matters since you cannot drop gears and hold it where you want it until go time (badlands yes, but they suffer the same lag issues compared to GTI engines or WRX engines which are similarly powerful but with more low down grunties). Add in the aerodynamic characteristics of a slab of rock and the BS won’t boot it like it could.
That said, doesn’t bother me any. The thing isn’t an autobahn car. I could have bought one - the Golf really wanted to fly and can cruise north of 200kmph all day where legal - but there is something to be said for cruising along back roads in a vehicle as laid back as the BS.
 

Osco

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Yeah Christopheru,
That’s the secret of the Bronco Sports intended design goals.
They had to make it appeal to a wide range of people.
From wanna be wild men in the woods and desert rats on the prairie. To Soccer moms and Urban dwellers who do 9 to 5 jobs in the big city.
We got a cool little Escape on steroids that’s extra roomy, comfy, more capable, economical, cool looking with a cool retro name.
I got the base model, I say FORD hit this one out of the park :,P
 

PaulJennGarneau

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Handles surprisingly well at highway speed! You won’t break any land speed records, but you won’t be the slowpoke either. On a 300 mile mixed interstate rural back road trip across Florida, we got 30mpg in Eco mode.
If you install any roof equipment/crossbars, expect some sound. Also, I’ve read some folks talk of engine hood movement at speed. One of the first bits I installed were hood pistons. They snug up the latch mechanism, so I noticed no hood chatter.
Bronc On!
 

christopheru

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Yeah Christopheru,
That’s the secret of the Bronco Sports intended design goals.
They had to make it appeal to a wide range of people.
From wanna be wild men in the woods and desert rats on the prairie. To Soccer moms and Urban dwellers who do 9 to 5 jobs in the big city.
We got a cool little Escape on steroids that’s extra roomy, comfy, more capable, economical, cool looking with a cool retro name.
I got the base model, I say FORD hit this one out of the park :,P
Agreed but for a few niggles.

It is an Escape. But not the car like one that exists now. It reminds me of the original Escape brought up to date and that was more or less inspired by a Land Rover and that was why I bought it - because it reminds me so strongly of Land Rover from 20 years ago.
 


Osco

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I just hope it is reliable over the long haul. The range rovers never were and were always gas hogs.
 

christopheru

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I just hope it is reliable over the long haul. The range rovers never were and were always gas hogs.
Same. We shall find out I suppose. I am into mine for five to seven years. I hope to be into camping and exploring in a big way by then and would like to have an overland rig for retirement.
 

Gartallica

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We have the OB with the 1.5L engine and find it has plenty of power for highway cruising. Most of the time we keep it in eco mode. It will jump right up if you floor it. We like the gas economy. We drive around 60mph. In the right lane out of your way....lol
This is what I'm curious about. I bought a '21 OB and it broke the next day. Found another '21OB I wanted, but it was special ordered and shouldn't have been advertised. I decided to order one and was forced into the' 22 and decided to go BL for the 2.0. Now a week later (today), that other OB became available with every option I wanted (and ordered for my BL). So now I have to decide whether to grab the '21 OB now at MSRP or pay $4k more (after factoring in X-Plan and the $1,500 credit) while waiting for my custom order.

I can't decide, but it sounds like folks here are happy with the 1.5 and wouldn't pony up the extra cash.

Any advice?
 

RSH

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I have a Badlands, if you drive a 2.0 you won't want the 1.5, you will feel the difference.
The Badlands and First Editions are also better equipped and have more capability than the other BS models. Unless your primary goal is fuel mileage then choose one of the 1.5 models.
 

mindleak

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Now I've never driven a BS with a 2.0, but I just did a ~1,000 mile road trip, with a majority of it being 75-85mph in Eco mode, and found the 1.5 had plenty for me going up and down hills. Never had any issues or trouble keeping speed.

Even the couple times I needed to floor it to pass someone, and even in Eco, it got up and went just fine.

Also definitely enjoyed the 25+ mpg.
 


The Shark

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I originally had a OBX but sold it and bought a BL. The 1.5 is adequate, never felt it was underpowered but as someone once told me when I had a normally aspirated Subaru Forester, don't drive the turbo because what you don't know you won't miss. I kind of feel that way about the BS, the 2.0 is just so much smoother with more power and quieter. As RSH said, if your main goal is better gas mileage than go with the 1.5, my 1.5 was averaging around 29-30 mpg, my 2.0 is about 26 mpg...but don't ever drive a BL. :)
 

Gartallica

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I originally had a OBX but sold it and bought a BL. The 1.5 is adequate, never felt it was underpowered but as someone once told me when I had a normally aspirated Subaru Forester, don't drive the turbo because what you don't know you won't miss. I kind of feel that way about the BS, the 2.0 is just so much smoother with more power and quieter. As RSH said, if your main goal is better gas mileage than go with the 1.5, my 1.5 was averaging around 29-30 mpg, my 2.0 is about 26 mpg...but don't ever drive a BL. :)
I'm getting 12 MPG right now using my side hustle '04 F150 as my commuter. I'm in MD, but travel regularly from Philly to Richmond. Anything is an improvement.

I'm thinking of driving this until the BL arrives, hope the used market is still stupid, then selling the OB to CARMAX and buying my custom. Again-- same exact build other than engine.

To me, speed isn't as important as rolling acceleration and power.

Decisions...
 

Justin

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This is what I'm curious about. I bought a '21 OB and it broke the next day. Found another '21OB I wanted, but it was special ordered and shouldn't have been advertised. I decided to order one and was forced into the' 22 and decided to go BL for the 2.0. Now a week later (today), that other OB became available with every option I wanted (and ordered for my BL). So now I have to decide whether to grab the '21 OB now at MSRP or pay $4k more (after factoring in X-Plan and the $1,500 credit) while waiting for my custom order.

I can't decide, but it sounds like folks here are happy with the 1.5 and wouldn't pony up the extra cash.

Any advice?
I'm coming from a 5.0 V8, just made a trip into the city, put nearly 1000km on my 1.5L BB. Honestly, it was perfectly fine.

You're able to pass just fine, and at around 120km/h my mileage was pretty happy.
 

JP25

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I'm getting 12 MPG right now using my side hustle '04 F150 as my commuter. I'm in MD, but travel regularly from Philly to Richmond. Anything is an improvement.

I'm thinking of driving this until the BL arrives, hope the used market is still stupid, then selling the OB to CARMAX and buying my custom. Again-- same exact build other than engine.

To me, speed isn't as important as rolling acceleration and power.

Decisions...
Just to provide a 1.5 experience in similar area (live in Arlington, VA and drive all over the DMV), I'd say my driving is about 70% "city" (DC-ish) and 30% "highway" (think heading west towards Shenandoah) and in my OB I'm getting about 23-25 mpg over last 4-5 tanks. I stick in normal mode most of the time and it has great get up and go, especially on the beltway, etc. where if they're going smoothly you're potentially weaving in and out in a safe way. Sport mode gives you more and honestly makes it a bit more fun, IMHO... it does eat a little bit extra gas though.

JP
 

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I have a Badlands, if you drive a 2.0 you won't want the 1.5, you will feel the difference.
The Badlands and First Editions are also better equipped and have more capability than the other BS models. Unless your primary goal is fuel mileage then choose one of the 1.5 models.
California has already seen gas far above $5 per gallon. I saw $8 but that could be internet misinformation.
My 26 mpg average with my 1.5L @ $3 per gallon works out to 13 mpg @ $6 per gallon and roughly 9 mpg’s @ $8.
A guy in a Jeep driving easy now @18 mpg will suffer more until we get control of,,, oops no politics, sorry.
Anyway I felt economy may soon mean far more to me than the 2 Liter could provide, over the long haul.
If I had it to do over again after my 12,000 miles in my 1.5L I’d still get the 1.5L mostly for the possible future stated above..
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