Toyota Motor Corp partially remodeled its Corolla and employed a high-efficiency 1.5L engine.
To achieve a thermal efficiency of 38%, which is higher than the efficiency of the engine of the previous model (36%), Toyota employed the Atkinson cycle, which improves fuel efficiency, increased compression ratio, improved combustion, etc.
The engine is also equipped with an idle reduction mechanism (start-stop system). As a result, the company improved fuel efficiency by 3.4km/L (approx 8mpg).
The new engine has the same parts and size of the basic structure and the same combustion technology as the high-efficiency 1.3L engine that Toyota started to use in the spring of 2014. But the new engine has a different length of piston stroke to increase displacement.
In addition, its air intake and exhaust system has a shape suited for a 1.5L engine. And Toyota employed different peripheral components by, for example, using an aluminum alloy part for connecting the engine to the body in place of a cast iron part to reduce weight.
The name of the new 1.5L engine is "2NR-FKE" while that of the previous engine is "1NZ-FE." The compression ratio was improved from 10.5 to 13.5.
The fuel efficiencies of the new "Corolla Axio" sedan and "Corolla Fielder" wagon (1.5L engine, CVT) are 23.4km/L and 23.0km/L, respectively, which increased from 20.0km/L and 19.6km/L.
Among the previous Corolla models, only the hybrid model is equipped with an idle reduction mechanism. This time, the gasoline engine model (1.5L engine, CVT) also comes with the mechanism.
