2019 outboard engine guide: Which is the best new motor for your boat?

It doesn’t mean two-stroke engines are dead – there’s a new generation of the old-school powerplants that dump the carburettor and use cutting edge fuel injection technology to reduce their emissions below the new required levels.

For now, retailers have been able to sell the carburettor-based outboard engines they brought into the country ahead of the 2018 cut-off, but from July 1 this year, any unsold two-stroke outboards that do not meet the new non-road spark ignition emissions standards will either have to be sent back overseas, or scrapped.

Ever-tightening emissions regulations are great for the environment, as modern outboard engines for sale today are far cleaner running and less polluting than their predecessors. But they also have the upside of being much better engines in general.

Four-strokes and the latest direct fuel-injected two-stroke outboards are also more reliable, quieter, smoother, and much more economical than the smoky, head-tossing units of yesteryear.

Here’s our rundown of what the big outboard engine brands have to offer in 2019 and beyond…

Almost a year after they were revealed overseas, Honda Marine’s range of revamped V6 engines have arrived in Australia.

The range, which includes the flagship 3.6-litre BF200, BF225 and BF250 V6 outboard engines, features new looks, easier maintenance and more rigging options.

However, those wanting drive-by-wire and push button-start versions of the engines will have a bit of a longer wait before they slap down their money, with the first units featuring this technology slated to arrive at the end of 2019.

What’s the attraction of the Honda V6s? Plenty, because the fuel-miserly outboard engine range taps the smarts developed for the engines used in the Japanese brand’s car division to bring variable valve lift technology to the water.

The BF225 and BF250 outboard engines use Honda’s Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control (VTEC) to optimise the outboard engine’s timing, adjusting the cams to provide more power at high revs, and better fuel economy at low revs.

There’s also a more precise fuel injection system for all three engines, known as Programmed Fuel Injection, which is a boosted low-speed torque system that makes a more potent fuel/air mix at low revs to help with manoeuvres such as hole shots, as well as lean burn control for low-rev fuel economy.

The updated V6s also are better at controlling corrosion, and maintenance times have reduced from an hour to about five minutes by rethinking how service points are accessed.

The Honda four-stroke outboard engine range starts with a 2.3hp single-cylinder 57cc four-stroke portable outboard and tops out with the BF250, a 3.6-litre narrow bank V6. A long-rumoured 400-450hp monster V8 appears to be just that, nothing more than a rumour.

The popular BF70 is no more, although the popular 1.0-litre three-cylinder BF60 is still part of the range. Other new introductions to the Honda range include the 800cc three-cylinder BF40 and the same-weight-but-higher-tune BF50, the 1.5-litre four-cylinder BF75 and higher-tune BF80 (the engines also weigh the same), and the 1kg heavier 1.5-litre, four-cylinder BF90/BF100 pair.

Honda’s engine range has trimmed back from more than 30 variants to just 23 in the current range. We’ll keep an eye on the upcoming Miami Boat Show to see if a new V8 or performance-focused SHO is added to the line-up.

Japan's largest volume outboard manufacturer has also developed an extensive range of four-stroke outboards. These sophisticated engines were introduced to complement Yamaha's renowned traditional two-stroke outboard range, but the new, reduced-emissions four-stroke models are now far more popular.

The Yamaha four-stroke range kicks off with a 2.5hp portable outboard and tops out with a massively powerful, very new apex predator, the 425hp V8 XT Offshore 5.6-litre V8 launched late in 2018.

In between you'll find more than 30 different models, including the popular F60 and F70 lightweight mid-range models and the recently released F25 and F90.

Yamaha launched the versatile F90 in 2017 to fill a gap in its four-stroke mid-range. This lightweight 1.8-litre in-line four-cylinder outboard is ideal for powering trailerboats ranging in size from 4.2m to 5.2m.

The in-line four-cylinder and US launched V6 VMAX SHO range are yet to appear in Australian retail outlets.

Suzuki is another of the Japanese brands that has grown substantially over the last decade. Since it was re-introduced to Australia in 2003 by the Haines Group, Suzuki Marine has enjoyed strong success with a superb range of four-stroke outboard engines stretching from 2.5hp and running through to the DF350A introduced in late 2017.

Suzuki's DF350A 4.4-litre V6 four-stroke outboards were the first on the market equipped with contra-rotating propellers for improved directional stability and better low-speed manoeuvrability in single-engine installations.

Another recent addition to the Suzuki range was the DF325A, designed specifically to run on cheaper 91 octane fuel and deliver substantial hip-pocket savings at the bowser.

Late last year Suzuki Marine updated the DF175A – its most powerful four-cylinder outboard engine – and DF150A. These new 2.9-litre in-line four-cylinder four-stroke engines use a higher compression ratio to help them deliver more low-end torque.

Suzuki has also tweaked the four-cylinder engine’s offset driveshaft to move it forward, reducing its vibrations and improving the balance. The new units are expected on sale in Australia from January 2019.

Evinrude, an offshoot of Canada-based BRP Inc, is the only outboard maker in Australia to receive environmental certification for its entire two-stroke E-Tec engine range.

It has done this by adding the same direct injection technology – the ability to precisely control the amount of fuel entering the cylinder – that is commonly used on four-stroke engines. It means the brand’s two-stroke units can continue to sell after the carburetter-crushing emissions standard deadline rolls in on July 1, 2019.

The poster child of Evinrude’s range is the G2, a narrow-banked V6-based two-stroke outboard engine that ranges in performance from a 150hp 2.7-litre to a 300hp 3.4-litre. Evinrude’s mid-range G1 comes in two designs, a 1.7-litre V4 that boasts either 115hp or 130hp, and a in-line three-cylinder which covers 25hp to 90hp.

Rounding out the range are two propellorless Jet models, a 60hp 1.3-litre three-cylinder and a 105hp narrow bank V6 -- these can get into shallow places that prop-driven outborad engines will shy away from. There are also four lightweight Portable engines ranging from 3.5hp to 15hp.

Mercury Marine will enter 2019 facing the same problem Down Under that it had in the previous year; demand for its engines is likely to severely outstrip the supply.

The Brunswick Corp-owned outboard engine maker last year launched its new range of lightweight 175hp, 200hp and 225hp FourStroke outboard engines globally, but the new products have only trickled into Australia as pent-up North American demand for the units takes priority. Mercury Marine Australia took the unprecedented step of flying new V6 outboard engines here rather than miss out on sales.

We’ve now even heard of shortages of Mercury’s V8 range, with some being air-freighted here rather than shipped.

Mercury also has offered a range of supercharged 2.6-litre V6 and atmo 4.6-litre V8 engines under its Verado sub-brand ranging in performance from 200hp right up to the explosive, race-honed 400R. If the 400R is a bit much, you could drop down to the 115hp or 150hp four-cylinder Pro XS range, optimised for high-speed running.

Other outboard engines in the range start with a 2.5hp FourStroke, and includes a 15hp four-stroke “kicker” motor.

Simialr to Eveinrude, Mercury also sells a range of jet-drive outboard engines that can operate in shallow waters where prop-driven boats fear to venture. It also sells the SeaPro commercial-grade outboard engine range.

Mercury is believed to be working on a new V8 outboard engine that will fill in the top end of the brand’s performance gap, potentially replacing the supercharged Verado V6s. The range is believed to include a circa 500hp turbocharged bent eight, which could arrive about the same time the Miami boat show rolls around. Watch this space.

Tohatsu has a fairly low profile in Australia. However, it currently offers a range of electronically fuel-injected two-stroke, and modern four-stroke engines across its line-up.
Four-stroke Tohatsu engines are available from 2.5hp to 250hp — although the models above 60hp are currently made for Tohatsu by Honda.

Its newest engine, introduced last year, is the 43kg MFS20E FI, what the company claims is the lightest 20hp four-stroke on the market. It follows on from the introduction of the four-stroke MFS50AW, a white version of the MFS50A, which weighs just 97kg.

Tohatsu also currently has its TLDI fuel-injected two-stroke range; outboard engines producing 50hp, 90hp or 115hp. However, these low-emission two-strokes are expected to slowly fall from Tohatsu’s Australian showroom as preferences swing towards the Japanese outboard engine maker’s four-stroke range.

Tohatsu is believed to be looking to expand its range of four-stroke outboard engines either late this year or early in 2020.

This cheap and cheerful Chinese brand is still something of a minnow on the Australian market, even after making inroads here over the last decade or so by offering a range of low-priced carby two-strokes. However, it also offers a range of low-emission four-stroke models ranging up to 60hp, and sold in a number of overseas markets.

The brand makes a range of electric outboard engines, jet-drives and even ones that will run on kerosene – although these are not yet offered in Australia.

Parsun most famously was a supplier for short-lived Queensland-based folding boat start-up Quickboats.

Sometime in the middle of this year, the first customer-ordered Cox CXO300 diesel-fuelled outboard engine will arrive in Australia. Billed as the world’s most powerful oil-burning unit, the British-built engine will feature a turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 engine producing 252kW and 650Nm.

Another diesel engine maker, Sweden-based Oxe, also plans to invade the oil-burning space, and is currently running sea trials of its horizontally mounted, General Motors-sourced 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel producing 200hp and 415Nm. It’s shooting for fuel economy over outright performance, saying the Oxe unit will use 42 per cent less fuel than a two-stroke equivalent.

Japanese diesel engine maker Yanmar builds the 50hp Neander Dtorque 111 turbo-diesel outboard, which is sold through Melbourne-based Power Equipment.

Power Equipment also stocks Torqueedo, an electric motor brand that produces everything from lightweight units for kayaks to 80hp Deep Blue outboard engines.

Four-stroke versus fuel-injected two-stroke outboard engines

Meantime, debate rages over the respective merits of four-stroke and DFI two-stroke outboards.

Exponents of four-stroke technology maintain that four-stroke outboards are inherently more reliable and more durable than two-strokes, regardless of whether you are talking about traditional two-strokes or modern, DFI models.

Feedback from commercial fishermen, rescue groups, etc, (who run up thousands of engine running hours each year) would seem to confirm this position, but then two-stroke advocates will vehemently disagree.

In recreational boating applications, one could argue the overall durability and longevity of an outboard is more likely to be influenced by the way the engine is treated and maintained than if it is a two-stroke or a four-stroke.

Recreational boaters usually clock up less than 100-150 hours per year and, on that basis, and with regularly servicing and maintenance, you can expect a decade or more of reliable engine performance regardless of whether your engine is a two-stroke or a four-stroke.

Treat it badly, miss your scheduled services, forget to clean and flush the engine regularly, and you can expect the operating life of your engine to be significantly reduced — regardless of engine type.

In the debate between two-stroke and four-stroke outboards, reliability is just one issue; there are several others to consider, such as acceleration…

There is no questioning the raw power and punch of the direct-injection two-stroke outboards from Evinrude E-Tec.

If you are looking for the torquey, punchy performance you might be used to with older-style two-strokes, then you might be disappointed with the performance of some four-stroke outboards.

With the exception of the latest electronic fuel injected or super-charged models, four-strokes do not have the sheer out-of-the-hole punch of a DFI two-stroke.

Like the older two-strokes, DFI outboards provide a big kick down low in the rev range, and respond with more urgency when you stab the throttle, which is ideal for water skiing and other high performance applications.

Larger DFI two-stroke outboards, as a rule, are still lighter in weight than comparable four-strokes, although the gap between them is closing rapidly.

Evinrude's G2 series of direct fuel injected E-Tec two-stroke outboards are available between 150-300hp. These compact, futuristic looking low-emission engines provide class-leading hole-shot and mid-range performance coupled with economy.

For fishing applications, choosing between a DFI two-stroke and a four-stroke outboard engine is a difficult task.

If your style of fishing involves long hours of low-speed trolling and mid-range cruising, then a four-stroke engine could serve you best. This is because four-stroke engines have a much more progressive power and torque curve.

With the DFI two-strokes, the power tends to come on with a rush, but with four-strokes, the delivery of power is more even through the entire rev range. For offshore cruising, this smoother delivery of power enables smaller, finer adjustments to speed and rpm when traveling in adverse conditions.

Conversely, however, the instant power from a DFI two-stroke will certainly come in handy in rough weather when you need immediate throttle response to run between waves and/or power up the back of a wave when coming in through a bar, etc.

In other areas, four-stroke and DFI engines tend to be pretty even. Overall fuel economy and emissions are pretty similar, while with regard to noise and vibration, most experts would agree that four-strokes are marginally smoother and quieter, but this is still subject to some debate!

Similarly, advocates of DFI engines will argue that DFI outboard-powered boats will achieve a slightly higher top speed than an identical boat with four-stroke outboard power.

Two-stroke exponents will also point out that four-strokes are also more expensive to maintain.

Four-strokes don't require a constant oil supply like a DFI two-stroke, but they do require regular oil and filter changes and have more moving parts to service and adjust. For this very reason, service intervals tend to be closer together and costlier with a four-stroke. Then again, the oil for two-stroke engines isn't cheap.

Older carburetteured two-stroke engines will always use more fuel than a modern-day fuel-injected two-stroke, or four-stroke outboard.

What is readily apparent from extensive testing of both four-stroke and DFI two-stroke outboards is that these low emissions engines are vastly superior to the "traditional" two-stroke outboard in most areas.

Four-stroke and DFI outboards are much more economical, smoother, cleaner, quieter… and generally much easier to live with.

In light of this, we suspect few people will lament the loss of traditional two-stroke outboards when they are ultimately banned from retail sale later this year.

But for those on a tight budget, the old two-strokes will be around for a while longer, among the thousands upon thousands of second-hand rigs listed for sale on our sites. Resale value of second-hand carby two strokes may drop, however, so expect some bargains if you want to power a second-hand tinny and create a cheap but reliable fishing rig.