Ward’s 10 Best Engines Reviewed (Mostly)

Posted by: Matthew Vella on December 7, 2006

Ward’s just announced its winners for the 10 Best Engines of 2007. Obviously this list is less broadly informative to new car buyers than, say, something penned by Consumer Reports or Car and Driver. But, it does provide interesting insight into what’s hot under the hood. And, the models nominee engines are bolted inside of also tend to be significant overall.

Three new engines join this year’s ranks and Mazda’s nifty-but-aging rotary, exclusively available in the RX-8, gets dropped. The ethnographic badge breakdown is 4 to German, 3 to American, and 3 to Asian powertrains – not bad. Better yet, BusinessWeek has reviewed most of the vehicles that feature these motors.

Here’re this year’s winners and their concomitant review:

Audi: 2 liter turbo DOHC inline-4 – Audi A3
BMW: 3 liter DOHC inline-6 – Z4 3.0si (no review)
BMW: 3 liter turbo DOHC inline-6 – 335i
DaimlerChrysler: 3 liter DOHC V6 turbodiesel – Mercedes E320 Bluetec (no review)
DaimlerChrysler: Hemi 5.7 liter OHV V8 – Dodge Charger R/T
Ford: Duratec 35 3.5 liter DOHC V6 – Ford Edge
Ford: 4.6 liter SOHC V8 – Mustang GT
Mazda: 2.3 liter DUSU turbo DOHC inline-4 – Mazdaspeed
Nissan: 3.5 liter DOHC V6 – Infiniti G35 (no review)
Toyota: 3.5 liter DOHC V6 – Lexus IS 350