Ward's 10 Best Engines


Wards 10 Best Engines is an annual list of the ten "best" automobile engines available in the U.S. market, that are selected by Wards AutoWorld magazine. The list was started in 1994 for model year 1995, and has been drawn every year since then, published at the end of the preceding year.
Engines must be available in regular-production vehicles on sale in the U.S. market no later than the first quarter of the year. Eligibility has also been based on availability in a vehicle below a base price limit, which increased progressively from for the 1995 list up to for the 2020 list; this limit was eliminated for future competitions following the announcement of the 2020 winners. During a 2-month testing period, Wards editors evaluate each engine according to a number of objective and subjective criteria in everyday driving situations – there is no instrumented testing. The selection takes into account power and torque output; noise, vibration, and harshness levels; technical relevance; and basic comparative numbers. Each engine competes against all others.
For the 2020 competition, the name was changed to Wards 10 Best Engines and Propulsion Systems.

Rankings

Number of times the following makes have received the award :
MakeAwardsLast decade/Post GFC Notes
BMW4119includes Mini
Ford4022
General Motors3919includes Isuzu and Saab post-acquisition
Volkswagen Group3112includes Volkswagen, Audi and post-2009 Porsche
Stellantis2720
Honda2312
Nissan239includes Infiniti
Toyota1910
Hyundai1818Includes Kia
Daimler (Mercedes-Benz)124
Mazda112
Porsche30Pre-2009 awards counted here prior to VW Group purchase
Volvo55
Subaru 54
Lucid22
Saab20
Jaguar11