Ford EcoBoost Challenge

After the Ford racing school at Miller Motorsports Park I craved more Ford fun. I found out about an event called the EcoBoost Challenge put on by Ford not too far from home. Early on a Saturday morning I drove down to see what Ford was offering.

Arriving at Santa Anita Park, I headed over to the festivities. Even though I’m quite capable behind the wheel of a sporty car, I was required to drive something a little less sporty. Of my three choices (truck, SUV or sedan) I chose the smallest available car. This happened to be the Ford Fusion.

After a several minute debrief on safe driving I headed out in the Fusion. It wasn’t terribly exiting but it was the only thing standing between me and getting in an ST. So I drove it and didn’t feel much in terms of a thrilling drive, but I still had one more car to drive before the fun was to begin. Ford brought along comparable cars to the ones they were highlighting, so in this case the Toyota Camry was my next ride to compare to the Fusion. Right away I understood why people might choose the Fusion over the Camry. The Camry felt big and heavy and just not fun. The Fusion seemed rather sporty to me after that.

Next, I finally got to head over to the ST section. After a similar talk on safe driving I hoped in and got three laps each; that is if the driver didn’t hit any cones. I didn’t but I also didn’t get much thrill or excitement from the ride. I’m not saying that the ST isn’t fun, because as I’ve told you countless times, it’s a blast, it’s just that driving such a tiny course at restricted speed kind of takes the fun out of the car. Not to mention that the car I had was obviously very much worn and squeaked through each turn. I will admit, though, that tossing the car around through the slalom and into tight corners did put a smile on my face.