So if this car has an Atkinson cycle, but the new Micra has a Miller cycle. Can anyone explain the difference to me in simple terms that even Jeremy Clarkson could understand?
Ford unwraps '2013 Mondeo'
CES 2012 Week The great and good of the Ford Motor Company today whipped the dust covers off the new Fusion at the North American International Motor Show in Detroit. Should we care? Yes, because this is the 2013 Ford Mondeo, give or take a few minor technical details. Ford Fusion It is based on Ford's new global C/D …
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Monday 9th January 2012 20:11 GMT Zimmer
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Apparently a Miller is essentially an Atkinson with a supercharger , to add boost to replace the loss of power experienced in the true Atkinson cycle. In both their cycles( Atkinson and Miller) the compression stroke is effiectively 'shortened' by leaving the inlet valve open longer so that compression occurs later in that phase of upward piston movement....
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Monday 9th January 2012 19:46 GMT Neil Barnes
Atkinson vs Miller cycles
Atkinson engines squirt out some of the air that comes in during the intake phase before closing the valve and starting the compression. The ignition/expansion phase therefore has effectively a larger volume than the compression volume, so there's some scope for more efficient use of the fuel, it seems. On the other hand, the inhaled air is less than an Otto cycle engine of the same nominal capacity, so there's less specific power for engine size.
If it's got a supercharger bolted on, it turns into a Miller cycle engine; as far as I know (and I cheerfully admit I know damn all about it) that's the only difference.
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Tuesday 10th January 2012 08:03 GMT Andrew 59
@ Andy Miller
Excellent :)
Now I have another question: taking the details from the Micra which has a 1.2 litre supercharged Miller engine, and (let's assume) it spits out about a third of its compression cycle, what advantage is there to the 1.2 Miller engine over a supercharged 800cc Otto cycle engine?
And when I say advantage, I mean other than to marketing people.
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Tuesday 10th January 2012 09:02 GMT Robredz
You mean one similar to the FIAT Twin Air in the 500?, other experts may well know more, but could the larer capacity engine although down on power, deliver more torque, and therefore pull better without having to rev the nuts off it like you do with a FIAT twin air, to make fast progress to the detriment of the economy?
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Monday 9th January 2012 17:15 GMT naeem
but what about the weight?
The current Mondeo, when it was introduced, came in at 147kg more than the previous model, with no real changes in the engine line-up. More obviously, it also came in looking like slightly smaller than an adult blue whale.
Looks nice - and "different" enough to make an impact - i just hope the improved handling of the last 2 models hasn't deterioated.
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Monday 9th January 2012 17:42 GMT Silverburn
Given previous trends with the focus, I think youre out of luck - this thing looks *hyooj*, so I doubt you'll see much savings over the previous model. And ford have started "softening" their cars too - witness the new focus. So don't expect crisp handling.
I still say the best handling modern car ford did was the original ka.
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Monday 9th January 2012 21:02 GMT FutureShock999
Not Lucky Europe
This is actually the version going on sale IN THE US!!! We are only hoping that it makes it over the the EU/UK in something like this form...because wow, have Ford's designers done some nice work. Cues from Aston Martin abound, and the whole thing looks like a 1990s show car that on one would ever build. Huh. Someone just did...
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Monday 9th January 2012 22:34 GMT bep
smiley faces
I once saw a Japanese car designer explain that they did this quite deliberately. He saw it as part of the Japanese animist tradition of ascribing personality to inanimate objects. Since most people would agree that cars have 'personalities' it's a logical extension to give them faces as well.
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Tuesday 10th January 2012 09:25 GMT Zog The Undeniable
OK, thermodynamics 101. To increase the efficiency of an internal combustion, you must increase the expansion ratio. Not the compression ratio, the expansion ratio, because this determines how much heat you have transferred into useful work. Compression, on the other hand, absorbs work. Conventionally the compression ratio is the same as the expansion ratio, which is why everyone quotes it for Otto and Diesel cycle engines. The thing about Atkinson and Miller cycle engines is that they cheat; they compress less than they expand by taking a cylinder full of air but then letting some of it back into the manifold before compressing the rest. Bhp per litre (and per kg) go down because you're burning less mixture, of course, but thermal efficiency goes up. Fit a slightly larger engine or a supercharger to compensate and you still save fuel.
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Tuesday 10th January 2012 10:00 GMT Velv
"Should we care? Yes, because this is the 2013 Ford Mondeo"
Err, I didn't think any self respecting El Reg reader would be seen dead buying a Ford. None of the toys are new, already featuring on several Japanese and German offerings, many of which are cheaper than the Ford, and some of which are assembled in Britain.
But then I guess some people are still won't buy Japanese or German.
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Tuesday 10th January 2012 13:26 GMT Alex King
Eh?
Don't understand where the 'good looking car' comments are coming from. Looks like a giant, amorphous blob to me, with the current trend for basking-shark style grilles continued up front. It doesn't look like an Aston - it looks like a ford with a cheap copy of an Aston grille.
The hybrid is pointless for europe, where their diesels already get better MPG in the current model, and the EV only one must have a poo range if they won't even tell us what it is.
Colour me underwhelmed.