2024 outboard engine buyer’s guide: What new motor do I need for my boat?

Things have changed over the years, though, with modern outboard engines able to give years of steady, reliable service. It makes sense, then, to regularly update your powerplant to ensure it is working at its best as the people who make them roll out running improvements on performance, emissions and fuel efficiency.

Data shows that over time, outboard engines have become increasingly more fuel-efficient and cleaner. Since 2000, the US-based National Marine Manufacturers Association claims outboard engine emissions have been reduced by 90 per cent.

Part of this cleaner image is due to a shift away from two-stroke technology by mainstream outboard engine makers, with only one manufacturer – BRP, the former maker of Evinrude outboard engines – persisting with the oil-injected engines.

Meanwhile, advances such as variable valve technology and direct fuel injection, both adopted from the automotive world, have helped to reduce fuel use by up to 40 per cent compared with 2000.

Outboard engine technology now appears to be at a turning point, with alternative fuels starting to gain traction as boating’s reliance on the shrinking global supply of fossil fuels forces manufacturers to seek alternatives.

The most visible at the moment is battery-fuelled technology, with Mercury the first global outboard engine maker to also start producing electric outboard motors under the Avator name.

Diesel outboard technology is also on the rise via companies such as Oxe and Cox, with the latter even teasing it will consider adding a diesel-electric hybrid system later in 2023 that can even fully power the boat via electrons rather than hydrocarbons.

But outboard engines are now much more than just a means of pushing a boat through the water. Joystick control systems and even low levels of autonomy are changing the way that skippers connect with their boats, making life on the water much easier and far more intuitive.

This ranges to everything from systems that can hold a boat at station at the press of a button, to engines that can automatically trim themselves to run at an optimum speed, and even increase revs while turning to maintain a constant speed.

These innovations are slowly trickling down from high-performance engines into the mid-performance engine range.

This year is likely to see other big leaps in innovation as outboard engine makers and marine electronics groups try and outdo each other with products that are more in tune with their owners’ needs than ever before.

Supply problems in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic are now history, with the number of outboard engines available in Australia – particularly at the higher end of the performance range – almost back to normal supply.

One of the most anticipated new arrivals in Australia next year is expected to be Honda's new flagship V8, the BF350, which should arrive here sometime in the second quarter of 2024.

If ever there was a time to consider buying a new engine for your boat, this could be it.