2019 Wards 10 Best Engines awards announced

One of the 2019 10 Best Engines winners: Cutaway of Chevrolet Silverado 6.2L small-block V-8 with DFM (Courtesy WardsAuto)

WardsAuto has announced the 2019 recipients of its 10 Best Engines awards. For the first time ever, three pickup-truck engines appear on the list, while four electrified powertrains make the cut for the second consecutive year as well. Completing the line up in this 25th year of the competition is a muscle-car V-8, a German luxury turbocharged inline 6-cyl. and a groundbreaking turbocharged 4-cyl. with variable compression ratio.

WardsAuto editors chose the winners after spending October and November evaluating 34 engines and electric propulsion systems. “I never thought I’d live to see the day when a fuel-cell car and a battery EV would make the list the same year as two burly V-8s and a sophisticated 4-cyl. engine with variable compression,” stated WardsAuto editor Drew Winter.

Other notable trends for the year included Ford winning two trophies for the second year in a row and Hyundai winning two awards in the same year for the first time ever. A hydrogen-powered fuel-cell vehicle also made the cut for the third time, and two V-8s earned trophies in the same year for the first time since 2015.

“Automakers and their powertrain engineers are being pushed in different directions: Governments around the world want low emissions and electrification, while customers want vehicles that meet their every need without compromise. We believe this year’s list represents the industry’s ability to deftly satisfy both demands,” added Winter.

This year’s winners (in alphabetical order by brand):

• 3.0L (B58) DOHC Turbocharged I-6 (BMW X5)
• 6.2L OHV V-8 with DFM (Chevrolet Silverado)
• 5.0L DOHC V-8 (Ford Mustang GT/Bullitt)
• 3.0L DOHC TurboDiesel V-6 (Ford F-150)
• 2.0L DOHC Atkinson i-VTEC 4-Cyl./HEV (Honda Accord Hybrid)
• 120-kW Fuel Cell/Electric Propulsion System (Hyundai Nexo)
• 150-kW Propulsion System (Hyundai Kona EV)
• 2.0L DOHC VC-Turbo 4-Cyl. (Infiniti QX50)
• 2.0L DOHC Atkinson 4-Cyl./HEV (Lexus UX 250h)
• 3.6L DOHC Pentastar eTorque V-6 (Ram 1500)

A change of name

Following the news of the winning engines, it was also announced that WardsAuto is to rename its Wards 10 Best Engines competition to Wards 10 Best Engines & Propulsion Systems, to reflect the increasing diversity in automotive powertrains. Today, electrified powertrains account for about 40% of the annual awards.

“We’ve been thinking about a name change for many years because we need to better reflect the growing variety of engines and propulsion systems in the automotive market,” stated Tom Murphy, Managing Editor at WardsAuto.

“We’ve been recognising electrified powertrains since the Toyota Prius made our list in 2001. We look forward to a future filled with engines and propulsion systems that thrill us with outstanding performance and groundbreaking technology,” added Murphy.

www.wardsauto.com