Toyota Claims Record-Setting Efficiency for New Engine

March 1, 2018—Toyota gave the words "dynamic force" to its new 2.0-liter gas engine for the TNGA platform. It features variable port and direct injection, an increased angle between the valves and a more thorough and rapid combustion process, reported CNET.

Toyota claims it'll be the most thermally efficient 2.0-liter gas engine on the market, offering 40 percent efficiency in a standard gas car, and 41 percent when part of a hybrid powertrain.

Being able to hot-swap between port and direct fuel injection will also allow the engine to prioritize output or fuel efficiency, depending on engine load and the driver's wants.

Toyota also showed off a new variant of its gas-electric hybrid system, based on some of the tech inside the latest generation of Prius. The power control unit, generators and motors are all smaller and more efficient. The battery is smaller and lighter, as well. The result is a lighter, more efficient hybrid system that'll make for lighter and more efficient vehicles. Makes sense.

But Toyota didn't just focus on efficiency. It also tweaked the hybrid system to deliver extra torque from the electric motor under acceleration. 

Toyota claims it will introduce 17 different versions of nine different engines, 10 versions of four transmissions and 10 versions of six hybrid systems by the end of 2021.

New powertrain components should reduce global carbon dioxide emissions from Toyota vehicles by more than 18 percent.