Autos.ca has a great article about Direct vs. Port Fuel Injection. I’ve talked about Direct Injection in the past, but this summary is written quite well and talks about the advantages and disadvantages. As more and more cars adopt direct injection, it’s good to learn about what is probably going to be in your next car.

Back in 2008, when Direct Injection was relatively new technology I compiled a list of cars that featured it in their engines. Fast forward to 2011 and many cars use this. Winding Road compiled a complete list of all cars (in the USA) that feature this tech:

Audi

2.0-liter, turbocharged inline-4. Applications: A3, A4, A5, A6, Q5, TT, TTS
2.0-liter turbo-diesel inline-4. Applications: A3 TDI
3.0-liter supercharged V-6. Applications: S4, S5, A6, A7, Q7
3.0-liter turbo-diesel V-6. Applications: Q7 TDI
3.2-liter V-6. Applications: Q5
4.2-liter V-8. Applications: S5, RS5, A8, A8L, R8
5.2-liter V-10. Applications: R8
6.3-liter W-12. Applications: A8L

BMW
3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-6. Applications: 135i, I Series M Coupe, 335is, 535i, X3, X5, Z4
3.0-liter turbo-diesel inline-6. Applications: 335d, X5
4.4-liter turbocharged V-8. Applications: 550i, 550iGT, 650i, 750i, X5, X5M, X6, X6M (also upcoming M5)
6.0-liter turbocharged V-12. Applications: 760Li

Fisker
2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4 (sourced from GM). Applications: Karma

Ferrari
4.3-liter V-8. Applications: California
4.5-liter V-8. Applications: 458 Italia, SA Aperta
6.3-liter V-12. Applications: FF

Ford/Lincoln
2.0-liter “EcoBoost” turbocharged inline-4. Applications: Edge, MKX, Explorer, Focus ST (upcoming, 2012)
3.5-liter “EcoBoost” turbocharged V-6. Applications: Taurus SHO/MKS, Flex/MKT, F-150

General Motors
2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4. Applications: Buick Regal, Buick Regal GS
2.4-liter inline-4. Applications: Buick Verano, Buick Regal, Buick LaCrosse, Chevrolet Malibu, Chevrolet Equinox, GMC Terrain
3.0-liter V-6. Applications: Chevrolet Equinox, Cadillac CTS
3.6-liter V-6. Applications: Chevrolet Camaro, Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia, Buick LaCrosse, Buick Enclave, Cadillac CTS, Cadillac SRX

Hyundai
1.6-liter inline-4. Applications: Accent, Veloster
2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4. Applications: Sonata, Genesis Coupe
2.4-liter inline-4. Applications: Sonata, Tucson, Santa Fe
3.8-liter V-6. Applications: Genesis
5.0-liter V-8. Applications: Genesis R-Spec, Equus

Jaguar
5.0-liter V-8. Applications: XF, XJ, XK
5.0-liter supercharged V-8. Applications: XF, XFR, XJ, XJ Supersport, XK, XKR

Kia
1.6-liter inline-4. Applications: Rio, Soul
2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4. Applications: Optima, Sportage
2.4-liter inline-4. Applications: Optima, Sportage, Sorento

Lamborghini
5.2-liter V-10. Applications: Gallardo

Land Rover
2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4. Applications: Range Rover Evoque
5.0-liter V-8. Applications: LR4, Range Rover
5.0-liter supercharged V-8. Applications: Range Rover Sport

Lexus
2.5-liter V-6. Applications: IS250
3.5-liter V-6. Applications: IS350, GS350, GS450H
4.6-liter V-8. Applications: LS460
5.0-liter V-8. Applications: IS-F, LS600h

Mazda
2.3-liter turbocharged inline-4. Applications: Mazdaspeed3, CX-7

Mercedes
1.8-liter turbocharged inline-4. Applications: C250, SLK250,
3.0-liter turbo-diesel V-6. Applications: E350 BlueTec, S350 BlueTec, GL350 BlueTec, ML350 BlueTec, R350 BlueTec, Sprinter
3.5-liter V-6. Applications: C350, E350, SLK350, ML350, R350
4.6-liter turbocharged V-8. Applications: CL550, CLS550, E550, S550
5.5-liter turbocharged V-8. Applications: CL63 AMG, CLS63 AMG, E63 AMG, S63 AMG, SLK55 AMG

Mini
1.6-liter turbocharged inline-4. Applications: Cooper S, Cooper JCW, Clubman Cooper S, Clubman Cooper JCW, Coupe Cooper S, Coupe Cooper JCW, Countryman Cooper S

Nissan
1.6-liter turbocharged inline-4. Applications: Juke

Porsche
3.0-liter supercharged V-6. Applications: Panamera Hybrid, Cayenne Hybrid
2.9-liter flat-6. Applications: Boxter, Cayman
3.4-liter flat-6. Applications: Boxter, Cayman
3.6-liter flat-6. Applications: 911
3.6-liter V-6. Applications: Panamera, Cayenne
3.8-liter flat-6. Applications: 911
3.8-liter turbocharged flat-6. Applications: 911
4.8-liter V-8. Applications: Panamera, Cayenne
4.8-liter turbocharged V-8. Applications: Panamera, Cayenne

Rolls Royce
6.7-liter V-12. Applications: Ghost, Phantom

Saab
2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4. Applications: 9-3, 9-5

Volkswagen
2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4. Applications: Golf GTI, Golf R, Jetta GLI, Beetle, EOS, CC, Tiguan
2.0-liter turbo-diesel inline-4. Applications: Golf TDI, Jetta TDI, Jetta TDI Sportwagon, Beetle TDI (upcoming, 2012), Passat TDI
3.0-liter turbo-diesel V-6. Applications: Taureg TDI
3.0-liter supercharged V-6. Applications: Touareg Hybrid
3.6-liter V-6. Applications: CC, Passat, Taureg

Today, Porsche unveiled their new mid-engine offerings. Still positioned below the iconic 911, the updated Boxster and Cayman models, now feature a facelift and the addition of direct injection engies and dual-clutch gearbox transmissions. These two technologies combined result in faster acceleration and better fuel economy.

A lot of car consumers buy cars with technologies known for a brand name rather than knowing what or how it actually benefits them as an owner – VTEC and DOHC are some of the more well known engine technologies that are “marketed” rather than explained.

One of the newest engine technologies should be marketed a lot heavier than it is. It’s because it provides the impossible: providing more engine power but at the same time improving fuel economy. Direct Fuel Injection is a technology borrowed from Diesels and applied to normal gasoline engines. Bascially, Direct Fuel Injection uses special injectors to spray pressurized gasoline directly into the combustion chamber of the engine. DFI engines can tightly control this fuel spray in order to maximize the usage of the fuel – for better performance or economy, or both!

Direct Fuel Injection is branded differently by each car manufacturer. Audi/VW popularized thier “FSI” variant through their racing efforts at Le Mans and now have the most models of cars that use direct injection. Other North American cars that use this fantastic new technology are listed below (Europe has more models that use DFI):

Audi/VW Fuel Straight Injection (FSI)
Audi A3 2.0TFSI
Audi A4 2.0TFSI
Audi RS4 V8 FSI
Audi R8 V8 FSI
VW GLI
VW GTI
VW Passat 2.0T
VW Passat VR6
VW Touareg 2 V8 FSI R

BMW High Precision Injection (HPI)
BMW 135i
BMW 335i
BMW 535i
Mini Cooper S

Ford EcoBoost
Lincoln MKS

GM Spark Ignition Direct Injection
Solstice GXP
Saturn Sky Red Line
Cadillac CTS V6
Cadillac STS V6
Chevy HHR SS
Chevrolet Cobalt SS

Mazda Direct Injection Spark Ignition (DISI)
Mazdaspeed 3
Mazdaspeed 6
CX-7

Porsche Direct Fuel Injection
Cayenne
Carrera (Carrera S, 4, 4S, Targa 4 and Targa 4S)

Updated August 1, 2008