10 Best (Attainable) Engines

Ward's Auto has released this year's list of Ward's 10 Best Engines. 32 engines were nominated. To make the list, the engine needed to be available for most of the year in a vehicle with a sticker less than $52,500, and be explicitly selected by one of their editors. I tend to think it's a little bit biased, and I don't like that they're not too clear on how engines get nominated (the Lancer Evo engine, for example, did NOT get nominated for some strange reason). Despite those reservations, I still think the list is worth paying attention to... the engines that make it are almost certainly noteworthy.

Here's the list, along with the vehicle it was tested with. A lot of these engines come in other cars as well (although they are usually tweaked for that particular car), and I put some of those in for the ones I know about.

• Audi AG 4.2L DOHC V-8 (S4)
  
• BMW AG 3.2L DOHC I-6 (M3)
  
• DaimlerChrysler AG 5.7L Hemi Magnum OHV V-8 (Dodge Ram)
  
• DaimlerChrysler AG 5.9L Cummins 600 OHV I-6 turbodiesel (Dodge Ram Heavy Duty)
  
• Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. Subaru 2.5L DOHC turbocharged H-4 (Subaru WRX STi) [also WRX, Legacy GT]
  
• General Motors Corp. Vortec 4.2L DOHC I-6 (GMC Envoy)
  
• Honda Motor Co. Ltd. 3L DOHC V-6 (Accord Coupe) [also Accord Sedan]
  
• Mazda Motor Corp. 1.3L Renesis rotary (RX-8)
  
• Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. 3.5L DOHC V-6 (Infiniti G35) [also Nissan Maxima, Altima SE, 350Z]
  
• Toyota Motor Corp. 1.5L DOHC I-4 Hybrid (Prius)