Ward’s 10 Best Engines – 2015 winners announced
American motoring publication WardsAuto has published the 2015 edition of its annual Ward’s 10 Best Engines award honouring the best all-new or improved powertrains introduced in the United States the past one year.
From October to November, the WardsAuto had evaluated no less than 37 engines before narrowing their choices to 10 winners. To ensure relevance with mass market readers, only engines fitted to vehicles with starting prices under US$60,000 are considered.
Besides new and improved engines introduced in the US market within the last one year, eligibility for consideration in the list is also extended to returning winners from the previous award. This year’s returning winners from 2014 include Chevrolet’s small-block push-rod V8, Ford’s 1.0-litre EcoBoost, VM Motori’s 3.0-litre turbodiesel from the Ram 1500 pick-up, and Volkswagen’s 1.8-litre EA888 four-cylinder.
Describing the variety on offer in this year’s award, WardsAuto World Editor-in-Chief Drew Winter was quoted in the award website as saying, “There’s something for every vehicle shopper and every budget. All the powertrains on this list deliver a first-rate driving experience.”
New engines in the list include two alternative energy powertrains, namely BMW’s 170hp electric motor from the i3 and Hyundai’s 134hp fuel cell mill in the Tucson FCV. At the other end of the spectrum, the latest iteration of Chrysler’s 6.2-litre Hemi V8 becomes the second V8 push-rod engine in this year’s list after the Chevy small block. Supplying 707hp to the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, the WardsAuto editors noted its remarkably frugal consumption (in the context of a big V8), with all judges achieving no worse than 15.6 l/100km.
Balancing out the two big V8’s in this year’s list are two three-cylinder engines, with BMW’s new 1.5-litre three-pot joining Ford’s highly-acclaimed 1.0-litre mill. Featured in the latest MINI Cooper, the turbocharged engine produces a rated 134hp in US tune and achieved no worse than 7.6 l/100km under hard driving by the Wards editors.
Completing the list are a trio of 2.0-litre four-cylinder engines. Joining VW’s EA888 on the list is Subaru’s boxer engine in the WRX and Volvo’s Drive-E T5 engine.
The awards will be presented at a Jan. 14 ceremony in Detroit during the North American International Auto Show.
