Ford’s 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine goes on sale across the Ford Focus range in the UK next month. This industry-first EcoBoost engine delivers performance to rival a traditional 1.6-litre engine with significantly improved fuel efficiency and class-leading ultra-low CO2 emissions.

The 1.0-litre, three-cylinder EcoBoost engine is available with two power levels – in the five-door Focus at 125PS it delivers a combined fuel economy of 56.5mpg and low petrol CO2 emissions of 114g/km (a level unmatched by Focus competitors with similar power outputs), while the 100PS version delivers a combined fuel economy of 58.9mpg and outright best-in-class petrol CO2 emissions of 109g/km.

Though the 1.0-litre EcoBoost cylinder block can fit onto a sheet of A4 paper it delivers up to 125PS and 170Nm peak torque (200Nm with overboost) between 1,400 and 4,500rpm, giving it the highest power density of any Ford production engine to date.

Graham Hoare, European executive powertrain director based at Dunton, said: "This is the third addition to our acclaimed EcoBoost engine family. Joining the 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre EcoBoost engines which span 150PS to 240PS, this 1.0-litre EcoBoost signals a new era of downsized, super frugal engines for the sub-130PS segment. During development our UK engineers focused onimproving thermal efficiency and reducing friction of the engine's internal moving parts, especially during warm-up."