Ward's Auto releases annual 10 Best Engines list

It's the beginning of December, and that means it's time once again for Ward's Auto to release its 10 Best Engines list. The winners for 2007 - the 13th year for the awards - are as follows:

• Audi AG 2L turbocharged DOHC I-4 (Audi A3)
• BMW AG 3L DOHC I-6 (Z4 3.0si)
• BMW AG 3L turbocharged DOHC I-6 (335i)
• DaimlerChrysler AG 3L DOHC V-6 turbodiesel (Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec/Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD)
• DaimlerChrysler AG Hemi 5.7L OHV V-8 (Chrysler 300C)
• Ford Motor Co. Duratec 35 3.5L DOHC V-6 (Ford Edge/Lincoln MKX)
• Ford Motor Co. 4.6L SOHC V-8 (Mustang GT/Mustang Shelby GT)
• Mazda Motor Corp. 2.3L DISI turbocharged DOHC I-4 (Mazdaspeed3)
• Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. 3.5L DOHC V-6 (Infiniti G35)
• Toyota Motor Corp. 3.5L DOHC V-6 (Lexus IS 350)

Three of these - the pressurized Bimmer straight-six, Ford's Duratec, and the DCX turbodiesel - appear for the first time. Displaced from last year's list are GM's turbocharged Ecotec I-4 and HV V6, and Audi's V8 missed the cut as well. Nissan's VQ35 (above) makes its 13th appearance, and maintains its status as the only engine to appear on the list every year since the inception.

Anyone familiar with this author's preferences will of course know that the lack of any of GM's GenIV pushrod V8s is slightly upsetting, and once again all of the heavy-duty light-truck diesels got snubbed as well. Ford's supercharged 5.4L would, in our opinion, be a shoe-in based upon the big bruiser's industry-leading HP-per-dollar ratio. And on the other end of the practicality spectrum, where are the fuel-sipping engines? These are minor gripes, though; Ward's put together a solid list of engines that we'd certainly be happy to thrash.

A list of previous winners is available at Wikipedia.

[Source: Ward's Auto]