MERCURY Marine today unveiled its latest range of 175hp, 200hp, and 225hp four-stroke outboards at a media event at the Miami Boat Show in Florida.
Fishing World attended the unveiling where the US outboard giant launched the latest 175-225hp family, which will replace Merc’s 3 Litre OptiMax, 2.5-3 Litre ProXs and the L4 Verado.
This product announcement is great news for Australian fishos, adding more choice to a much-sought-after engine segment amongst offshore trailerboat users.
With a modern design and long list of impressive features, the new models are built on Mercury’s new 3.4 Litre V6 platform. The engines are light, compact and fuel efficient, and according to Mercury Marine president John Pfeiffer, set a “new benchmark” in outboard technology.
“We see ourselves as product leaders…we have one intent, that is when we’re finished developing a new product it will be a new benchmark for the entire industry in the eyes of the consumer who uses those products,” said Pfeifer.
Pfeifer said the new range is the first of several innovations Mercury will introduce throughout the year.
The 3.4L V-6 employs a large displacement, naturally aspirated powerhead and proven mid-section and drive-system designs. Additionally, the 3.4L V6 outboards are versatile, offering the option of mechanical or digital controls, hydraulic or power steering, and black or white cowls on FourStroke-branded products, as well as a variety of accent panel colours.
The new FourStroke engine not only provides large displacement at 200hp, but is also exceptionally light weight at 215kg, the lightest weight in its class.
The 3.4L V-6 FourStroke also boasts Mercury’s best acceleration and 20 per cent more torque than the closest four-cylinder competitor at cruise.
Fuel efficiency, according to Mercury, is also unmatched – the new 3.4L V-6 FourStroke is calibrated to maximise fuel economy at cruise, yielding an advantage of up to a 15 per cent compared to the closest four-cylinder competitor.
Key features of the new 3.4L V6 are:
* A top cowl service door that provides easy oil check and fill (if needed) without removing the cowl, making maintenance easier;
* Idle charge battery-management capability that protects against consumers draining batteries while operating multiple electronic devices, and best-in-class net charging output of 20 Amp at 650 RPM;
* Adaptive Speed Control that maintains RPM regardless of load or condition changes, improving the driving experience;
* Superior Fuel Economy. The new engines provide fuel savings at cruise and at WOT, taking advantage of Mercury’s proprietary “Advanced Range Optimisation” (ARO) calibration to generate greater fuel efficiency than the engine it is replacing and the closest four-cylinder competitor;
* Noise and vibration. Mercury claims to have made the new 3.4L V6 quieter with less vibration compared to previous models and competitor engines.
Fishing World is on-water testing this morning and will follow up with further updates on performance throughout today (see the gallery at the top of this page for some initial photos).
Click the video below to hear Fishing World editor Scott Thomas talk to Mercury Product Manager Brian Meyer about the features of the new outboards.
