Why a hybrid Ford Mustang is inevitable?

You opened your favourite automotive news portal to feed yourself with attention-worthy news pieces. You scrolled down the long list of articles and if you happen to be a diehard fan of Ford Mustang, your jaw dropped. Your heart sank. You feel like screaming 'SACRILEGIOUS!!!' at the Blue Oval thanks to the news headlines that sounds roughly like this: Ford Mustang to join the hybrid bandwagon by 2020. 

"Gasp! A muscle car brute joining the ranks of Prius?! You gotta be kidding me!", I heard you exclaiming. Well, as much it's disheartening the Mustang is going to zap its V8 with a good dose of electric power, this isn't necessarily a bad thing and in some way, necessary. Here are reasons why:

Even high-end sports car brand is going hybrid route

Hybrid technology is no longer exclusive to run-of-the-mill, fuel conscious family wagon. Ferrari is contemplating on hybridising their entire model lineup by 2019. BMW performance arm, the BMW M, is also looking to complement their M cars with hybrid technology.

If that's not enough, Mercedes and Aston Martin are dishing out their own street-legal hybrid hypercar. 

Starting with Mercedes, their performance division, AMG, has confirmed their hybrid Mercedes AMG hypercar with F1-based (yep, it's the same engine found on Lewis Hamilton and already-retired Nico Rosberg's F1 car) 1.6 litre turbocharged V6 hybrid, though reportedly it might be larger in capacity as it's not subjected to motorsport regulation.

Joining Mercedes in producing insane street-legal hybrid hypercar, Aston Martin has team up with their partner, Red Bull Racing F1 Team, to develop their own version of the Mercedes hypercar, the AM-RB 001. This monster hypercar will get its power from a naturally aspirated V12, with extra power boost from F1-derived hybrid system.

All these leads to my next point...

Hybrid tech actually improves performance potential

Combine the internal combustion engine with electric motor and you have a recipe for a potentially tyre-shredding performance. I am going to use Ferrari LaFerrari as an example. 

The Ferrari LaFerrari's 6.3 litre naturally aspirated V12 outputs around 789 bhp. Supplemented by the 161 bhp HY-KERS electric motor, the only hybrid Ferrari production supercar generates a whooping total output of 950 bhp, good for propelling it from 0-62 mph in less than 3 seconds. Thanks to the hybrid powertrain, the LaFerrari is the most powerful  road-going Ferrari the brand from Maranello has ever produced, surpassing the F12 Berlinetta (730 bhp) and F12 tdf (770 bhp).

With LaFerrari's staggering performance figure in mind, I can't think of a reason why Ford wouldn't hybridise their iconic Mustang muscle car. If hybrid has granted LaFerrari the most powerful Ferrari road car crown, surely adopting hybrid tech is going to make the Mustang even more potent than the previous iteration of the Ford's pony car.

Of course, performance is not the only reason for going the hybrid route.

We have to go green yo! Coz tighter emission standard

This is by far the most crucial reason for sports cars to go hybrid. With emission standard getting tighter, this is becoming a necessity. More and more hybrid sports cars are hitting the roads, such as BMW i8, Koenigsegg Regera, second generation Honda NSX, out-of-production McLaren P1, Ferrari LaFerrari and Porsche 918 Spyder. These hybrid sports cars exist to give enthusiasts the performance they crave without getting under the environmentalist's skin.  

So implementing hybrid should be a win-win for the much loved Mustang. You still get a Mustang with tyre-smoking performance with lower emission to boot. Despite the benefits hybrid technology offers, there are several challenges to overcome.

The Challenges

Weight

Obviously, adding electric motor and battery pack do add weight, a complete opposite in performance enhancement. When Porsche was developing the 918 Spyder, their test driver and legendary rally champion, Walter Rohrl, was initially sceptical of it being a hybrid, as such approach will add weight (the 918 Spyder won him over eventually). 

With the current S550 Mustang weighing around 1600-1720 kg, implementing hybrid is going to make Ford's pony car weigh even more unless if they think like Koenigsegg.

Complexity

More parts, more stuff to break, higher expanses. Indeed, hybrid is one heck a complete headache-inducing piece of contraption to reap the performance and emission benefits. 

According to Mark Fitzgerald, a senior automotive analyst from a market research firm, Strategy Analytics, hybrid cars require additional components that you won't find in conventional cars such as "electric motors, electric inverters and converters, high-voltage batteries, electronic control units, semiconductors and sensors". Well, this is not entirely surprising as hybrid needs extra bits of stuff to make them function.

Conclusion

The idea of hybrid Mustang is not entirely a bad thing. Yes, there are camps that will go up in arms at the idea, but given the challenges that automakers are facing (emission being one of them), the wave of hybridisation is more or less unavoidable. All I can say is welcome to the future folks! 

         

Having problems with evasive maneuver? Ford's Evasive Steering Assist got you covered

The odds of surviving an accident in modern cars are getting increasingly likely thanks to the fitment of safety features, such as Automated Emergency Braking (AEB), Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Traction Control System (TCS), Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), airbags and many more. Well, Ford has decided to add another feature to the list of safety features, the Evasive Steering Assist (ESA).

Imagine you are dawdling around minding your own business when out of nowhere, say a crate, rolled into your path. Assuming you have AEB, the car will automatically slam on the brake to avoid collision. But, what if braking alone is not enough to avert disaster? Naturally you will jerk the steering to one side to steer around the obstacle, but what if you are not applying the right amount of steering to avoid the obstacle? This is where Ford's ESA can lend a helping hand.

Ford's ESA acts as a second pair of hand in case if the AEB could not prevent fender-bender alone. Just like AEB, ESA also relies on camera and radar system to determine if you are performing an evasive maneuver (ESA only kicks in during evasive maneuver, not before), and if necessary, speed up steering response to increase your chances of a successful evasive maneuver. Think of it like an invisible hand magically boosting the steering's response for a quicker evasion.

If you need more details on Ford's ESA, do watch the video below.

Video Credit: Ford Media

Review: Tur...tur...turbo BOOST!!! Ford Fiesta ST

I have always wondered how a turbocharged car would feel like. I have always wondered how it feels when it kicks in. I even wondered if the so called 'turbo lag' would spoil the fun of driving. My questions were eventually answered when I test drove the brand new Ford Fiesta ST.

The test drive happened to be conducted in conjunction with the Asia Klasika Motor Show taking place from 31st October-2nd November 2014 at Pullman Putrajaya. Seeing that this will be the first turbocharged car that I will lay my finger on, I thought "Just do it la! Cannot afford to squander this chance!".

Before I get to the test drive, let's cover the nitty gritty bits first. The ST is powered by a 1.6L 4 cylinder Ecoboost (Ford's speak for turbo and direct fuel injection) that outputs 182PS (180hp) at 5700rpm and 240Nm at 1600-5000rpm. All those grunts are channelled to the front wheels via the 6 speed manual transmission (no automatic options).

The ST's steering is electric power steering. Stopping power is taken care of by disc brake all-round, and it rolls on 205/40R17 tires on all four corners with alloy rim. A 15" mini spare wheel is also provided.

Testament to its ST badge, the exterior is decked out with sporty bodykit that includes dual chrome exhaust and rear spoiler. Also, it comes with rear parking sensors, front fog lights, auto headlights, rain sensing wipers, daytime running lights (DRL), power adjustable side mirror and halogen projector headlamps.

The interior niceties include sports alloy pedal covers, telescopic steering adjust, power windows, leather wrapped steering and gear lever, Recaro bucket seat, manually adjustable seat and the foldable rear seat that offers 60:40 split to increase cargo space.

On the safety front, ABS with EBD (Electronic Brakeforce Distribution), ESP (Electronic Stability Program) with Brake Assists and Traction Control, front airbags, left hand and right hand side airbags plus driver's knee airbag and seat belt pretensioners for front seats take care of keeping you safe while you wring the neck of your ST.

The ST is priced at RM149,888 OTR with insurance.

   

With the nitty gritty out of the way, let's head to the test drive. As I stepped into the ST, I was greeted by the lovely bucket seat along with the multi function display flanked by the tachometer and speedometer and of course the lovely sports alloy pedal cover. The interior space is plentiful so you would not feel claustrophobic.

       

Everything set and done, the test drive started. My first impression, the gearbox is very smooth. A nice flick of the wrist is enough to hook it into gear. The clutch is nicely weighted and easy to use. 

Next impression, the acceleration. The moment I set off, the car behaved like a normally aspirated (no turbo) car. So, I was a bit put off initially. Once climbing up a steep slope outside PICC, I floored the throttle and BAM the turbo kicks in and the car literally fly. The acceleration once the turbo kicks in is just....mindblowingly crazy. The car transformed from a sedate cruiser to an absolute beast once you spool up the turbo. All this while from Pullman to the slope I was experiencing the so called 'turbo lag'! It turns out that the turbo kicks in at roughly around 3000rpm and I was below it before I got to the slope. 

Worry about all those power? Do not worry. The ST's brake is powerful enough to keep you from wrapping yourself around trees. 

As for the ride and handling, the ride is a smidge uncomfortable, most probably because of its firm sports suspension and low profile tires (they did not put the ST badge for nothing), but I do not find it jarring to the point of rattling your teeth. 

Once the test drive is over, I was completely over the moon about the car. Despite being a performance-oriented hatchback, I doubt this car will be an impractical family car. The interior space is impressively vast that it does not feel like a wardrobe on 4 wheels. 

Worry about cargo space? No worries, just fold the rear seat and voila your hot hatch becomes your loyal grocery getter. 

Overall the Fiesta ST is a decent car. It is fast, surefooted and capacious. Hats off to the blue oval.