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 US$50,000 for the 1995 list up to US$65,000 for the 2020 list; this limit was eliminated for future competitions following the announcement of the 2020 winners.^[1] 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 (NVH) 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.^[2]