05 Feb 07
See Lease.
FFV is Ford's term for its E85-compatible engines which can also run on conventional gasoline. The Focus FFV is one of the few ethanol-fuelled cars on sale in the UK as yet, along with the Saab Biopower models. GM's term, FlexFuel, denotes a car which can use E85 or petrol; not to be confused with dual-fuel or bi-fuel, terms used by various manufacturers for LPG- or CNG-petrol models.
In a four-wheel-drive (or all-wheel-drive) vehicle, power is supplied to both the front and rear axles, though not necessarily all the time. Some systems have full-time four-wheel drive, with power sent in a fixed ratio to both front and rear pairs of wheels: others have a part-time or 'torque on demand' system, where power goes to one axle unless a loss of grip is detected, with power then automatically sent to the axle with the most traction. Many high-performance cars with four-wheel drive have sophisticated systems that can automatically vary the power sent to the wheels, according to which wheel has the most grip on the road. Some 4x4s are front- or rear-wheel drive for normal road use, but the driver can select four-wheel drive to go off-road.
A Volkswagen-Audi term: fuel stratified-charge injection. A direct-injection petrol system with an extra stratified-charge mode: when the engine is not working hard, fuel is injected later in the combustion cycle and swirled into the cylinder to create a charge at the point of ignition. Allows for a very lean fuel-air mixture, and thus improved economy. TFSI denotes a turbocharged engine with this technology.
