More efficiency, less noise, lower fuel consumption, more power and easy maintenance.
These are the promises and challenges launched by Mercury Marine at the 2018 Miami International Boat Show. « These outboards set a new benchmark in the marine industry,” said Mercury Marine Chairman John Pfeifer, “they are the quietest, lightest, smoothest, quickest and most fuel-efficient engines we have produced in this range.”
The line introduced by Mercury Marine Chairman is the all-new V-6 FourStroke outboard family which features 175hp, 200hp and 225hp FourStroke outboards and a V-6 200hp SeaPro commercial outboard.
The new Mercury FourStroke and SeaPro outboards are built on Mercury’s new 3.4-liter V-6 platform . « This new platform will position Mercury to advance product leadership in the 175-225hp outboard category, and deliver across the board on consumer needs » said John Pfeifer last night.
The special guest of the presentation ceremony was the 200hp model of the line. According to figures from Mercury, this outboard weights 215 kg, the lightest weight in its class by more than 10 pounds.
Moreover, it boasts Mercury’s best acceleration and 20 percent more torque than the closest four-cylinder competitor at cruise.
Excellent performances are also guaranteed in terms of fuel consumption since the new outboard is calibrated to maximize fuel economy at cruise, yielding an advantage of up to a 15 percent compared to the closest four-cylinder competitor. This is made possible by the « Advanced Range Optimization » (ARO) system which optimizes fuel consuption in all conditions,by reducing the amount of fuel to the advantage of air without compromising performances.
On the technical level, Mercury engineers have introduced other innovations, including a top cowl service door that provides easy oil check and fill (if needed) without removing the cowl, making routine maintenance easier than ever before.
The new outboards are also provided with a new battery management system which protects against consumers draining batteries while operating multiple electronic devices.
Furthermore, the Adaptive Speed Control maintains RPM regardless of load or condition changes, improving the driving experience.
Finally, the all-new Mercury family boasts great NVH quality thanks to an innovative, well-balanced design.
More specifically, multi-chamber air-intakes quiet induction noise while fuel injector covers and specific cowl features reduce high-frequency noise.
Finally, in addition to Mercury’s legendary black colour, the new family is offered in three shades of white and different panel colours which allow for personalization.
The Miami International Boat Show was also the occasion for the brand to introduce the new Joystick Piloting System which provides 360-degree vessel control and easy handling at low speed and during mooring maneuvers. Boasting a more ergonomic design, the joystick also includes some special features which make it increasingly more user-friendly.
The new system enables the user to monitor his boat’s route and direction and even change it from 1 up to 10 degrees while a led changing colour ring shows the operating mode of the joystick.
A very important technical innovation is offered by the electronic power steering system which, replacing the electric power one, provides the pilot with more accurate, user-friendly information concerning boat speed, steering angle, rotation speed and acceleration. Reverse thrust, too, has been improved in order to deliver a better control especially in terms of power calibration.
