Review: Evinrude E-TEC 300hp G2 Outboard Motor

We got to rate and review this magnificent setup at this year’s Australia’s Greatest Boats 2017 fishing boats comparison.

Evinrude E-TEC 300hp G2

The team at Evinrude outboards told us to expect 15 per cent better fuel efficiency compared to a modern four-stroke but they didn’t tell us to hold on.

They should have because a pair of twin 300hp E-TEC outboards were hair-raisingly fast – we smashed past 40kt effortlessly, right up to 52kt at wide-open throttle. That’s 96km/h for you young people. Scarily, we reckon that elusive 4kmph needed to break the ton is there, just waiting until the motors are fully broken in and the fuel tanks are a bit lighter.

On fuel efficiency, Evinrude didn’t lie either. We had a similar hull to the Sea Fox 288 Commander in the shape of the winning Mako 284CC, and that was running a pair of 300hp Mercury Verado outboard motors. The 300hp E-TEC engines were a mammoth 31 per cent better on fuel at optimal cruise and yet were pushing the Sea Fox 288 Commander along faster too – a hard to believe 10kt faster.

Here is the raw data from our testing for optimal cruise:

Crazy. And if you add on another 500rpm, your speed jumps to 37.5 knots but you’ll still cover 0.44 nautical miles per litre.

Oh and speed – the Mercury Verado-powered Mako 284 CC only managed 46kt flat out. Plenty yes, but it won’t win the race against the E-TEC marine engines.

How did they do it? Constant refinement of a proven design – the direct-injection two-stroke. Yes it’s noisy at idle and damned loud at full noise, plus you get a bit of the old two-stroke smell, but the speed and savings are there.

They are big, though, and heavy. At 244kg before you fill the oil reservoir, it is a lot of weight over the transom. Much of it is down to technology though, like the awesome Dynamic Power Steering. It works with a worm gear on the engine bracket to lessen the load in steering. Adjustable in three levels of feedback, it’s one of the best technologies around. Of course it has digital throttle, being as new as it is, but it’s also has iTrim, a self-trimming system that monitors engine load and angle to find the optimal trim. It leaves a little on the table, probably for safety, but with a few extra touches of the trim button, we drew out that impressive 52kt on these twin 300hp E-TEC G2 outboards.

Evinrude E-TEC 300hp G2 specs

TYPE Twin Evinrude E-TEC 300hp G2 outboard motors

TYPE Direct injection two-stroke V6 outboard motors

RATED HP 300 each

DISPLACEMENT 3441cc

WEIGHT 244kg

LEG LENGTH 25in

GEAR RATIO 1.85:1

PROPELLER Stainless steel RX4