10 Best engines of 2008

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Wards has released their list of the ten best (below a car price cap of $50,000 or so) engines. The price cap means that Godzilla (the GT-R) and the Vette dont make the list, but a lot of good ones do. Below is the list, with my commentary.

  • Audi AG: 2.0L TFSI turbocharged DOHC I-4 (A4 Avant) - no two ways around it, this is a very nice, very smooth engine. The old 1.8T was good, but this thing is super smooth.
  • BMW AG: 3.0L turbocharged DOHC I-6 (135i Coupe) - hells yeah for twin-turboified v6's, the cultural successor to the 2.7t in my s4, and it is meant to be a great engine.
  • BMW AG: 3.0L DOHC I-6 Turbodiesel (335d) - Called amazing by Clarkson, this has to be a good diesel
  • Chrysler LLC: 5.7L Hemi OHV V-8 (Dodge Ram/Challenger R/T) - w00t w00t for the only American v8 on the list - this thing is a great engine and gets good mileage as well. Too bad it will probably be dead in a year, but right now, you can pick up a Ram for about 50% off list, and maybe get a PT Cruiser thrown in for free too.
  • Ford Motor Co.: 2.5L DOHC I-4 HEV (Escape Hybrid) Meh. It's on here because it is green. The new Fusion/Milan hybrid is way better (will get 45mpg in a full sized car).
  • General Motors Corp.: 3.6L DOHC V-6 (Cadillac CTS) Oh hell yeah. One of the main reasons the CTS is now a world class car, this thing should be dropped into performance versions of the General's other sporty cars... oh... wait... there are only 2 or 3.
  • Honda Motor Co. Ltd.: 3.5L SOHC V-6 (Accord Coupe) Boring.
  • Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd.: 4.6L DOHC V-8 (Genesis) Interesting. But its only going to be in the Genesis, and probably only 20% of Genesi will be sold with this engine. That said, it is a pretty sweet modern take on big V8 for v6 lexus bucks.
  • Toyota Motor Corp.: 3.5L DOHC V-6 (Lexus IS 350) Boring as any other Toyota - even though the IS 350 is meant to be a pretty good car, it will never compete with the 3 series or A4, because it is built by Toyota.
  • Volkswagen AG: 2.0L SOHC I-4 Turbodiesel (Jetta TDI) Seriously boring.

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