At the common speed of about 22 knots, ûthe Mercury gets a full nautical mile to ûthe gallon more than the Evinrude Ficht û150 and Honda 130.

We just got our hands on a Mercury OptiMax 150, the second DFI (direct fuel injected) engine and the fourth outboard overall that we’ve tested on our 21' Neptune Walkaround. After we run it for five months or about 150 hours, which- ever comes first, we’ll report on its durability, just as we did with a 2000 Evinrude Ficht DFI 150 and a 2001 Honda 130 four-stroke. But first, we’ll discuss the Merc’s performance.

The ultimate goal here is to test the entire field of cleaner-operating outboards in this horsepower range so we can pick a winner based on both performance and durability. What’s left? The Yamaha 150 HPDI and the…