VW Jetta TDI, 2.0L 140-hp turbodiesel, 3rd consecutive award winner
The auto industry is embracing the age of electrification, and so too is the Ward’s 10 Best Engines list.
Both the Nissan Leaf electric vehicle and Chevrolet Volt extended-range EV earn their way onto the 2011 list, as selected by Ward’s editors after evaluating 38 vehicles with new or significantly improved engines for the ’11 model year.
But fuel efficiency and environmental friendliness are not the most important criteria for eligibility this year, as seen by recognition of the new 5.0L V-8 in the Ford Mustang GT, 5.0L V-8 in the Hyundai Genesis and the 3.0L supercharged V-6 in the Audi S4…
This year’s winners and the applications tested:
3.0L TFSI Supercharged DOHC V-6 (Audi S4)
3.0L N55 Turbocharged DOHC I-6 (BMW 335i)
1.6L Turbocharged DOHC I-4 (Mini Cooper S)
3.6L Pentastar DOHC V-6 (Dodge Avenger)
5.0L DOHC V-8 (Ford Mustang GT)
1.4L DOHC I-4/111kW Drive Motor (Chevrolet Volt)
5.0L Tau DOHC V-8 (Hyundai Genesis)
80kW AC Synchronous Electric Motor (Nissan Leaf)
2.0L DOHC I-4 Turbodiesel (Volkswagen Jetta TDI)
3.0L Turbocharged DOHC I-6 (Volvo S60)“The one thing they have in common is they all are stand-out performers in their own way and sell the value proposition of the vehicles they power,” Winter says.
RTFA. The editors delve into each award and why. Just a paragraph or two; but, gives you a taste of the breadth of modern prize-winning design coming from auto engineers around the world.
Detailed analysis of each is in the upcoming issue of Ward’s Autoworld magazine and will be online, next week.
# 6 Tippis said, “You want the Mazda RX8… unless that was the one you hopped into all those years ago (relatively speaking — it was released in ’03 iirc).:
Oh, Mr Tippis. I am talking waaay longer than ’03. I’m going back 30, 35 years.
My work van has a 2.7L 5-cylinder diesel and gets 27 mpg, it’s a 2005 Dodge Sprinter (Mercedes Benz) and the towing capacity is 5000 pounds. Chrysler stupidly decided to replace it with a gasoline V6 in the newer models and they now get 23 mpg.
I’m surprised the Fiat MultiAir didn’t make the list.
What the hell happened to Honda?
They need to take some viagra, I know they have the focus to make great quick cars.
#5 #6 #9 I’ve owned several RX7′s. The 1.3 liter has only a few moving parts, can run 200k + miles without any major problems and is so light one person can carry it.
My 93 had close to 300hp new. They burn oil because they need to lubricate the seals usually, about a quart every 1500miles. The race teams premix. And they run best on low octane gas.
The early engines found in the RX3 to first gen RX7 had problems with apex seals. Second gen 7 to 8′s don’t have this problem.
One of the recent US car magazines have a list like this. Their list is much better rationalized. If you’re interested in cars, that’s the list to look at.
No kidding, my 03 Trailblazer just cost me $1400.00. There wasn’t a single internal issue. It was an o2 sensor,camshaft position sensor,coil, on plug of course, so I have five more to go. Then the killer, the clutch fan, why the hell is the clutch fan ecu controlled. Try $600.00 with labor!
So why not the 170hp 2.0 Tdi VW Diesel. Or their equally over the top 160hp 1.4 litre Turbo Supercharged petrol engine.
Or Fiat’s 180hp 2.0 turbo diesel unit. Used by GM in it’s euro cars.
Or Fiat’s 875cc two cylinder turbo unit that pops out 85hp… and it’s expected to raise even more power later next year.
Love the old time stuff w/o the electronics, I can work on it. I also love my C5 Corvette with LS/V8 which gets 31.5mpg hwy.
Modern vehicles way too heavy. Just read where the 2001 Dodge Charger R/T is 4200 plus lbs. Imagine what it would do at say 3300 lbs, which should be easily doable.