Earlier this week, Wards Auto released its list of the 10 Best Engines and Powertrain Systems of the past year. And as expected, electrification is becoming more and more important in this annual list.
The Wards Auto list is limited to all-new or seriously revised engines. The 2021 winners are also eligible for the list. Wards Auto adds that only three of them accepted the invitation.
Wards Auto’s Top 10 list is in its twenty-eighth year, the list that takes into account power, noise and vibration management, fuel efficiency, and new integrated technology.
The site mentions that 29 new models were tested and of these, 17 were equipped with electrified engines, including 11 pure electrics, four plug-in hybrids, and two hybrids.
As for the more “traditional” internal combustion engines (i.e. without any electrification), the list included seven 4-cylinders, two 6-cylinders, two V8s, and one 3-cylinder engine. What’s more, only two of these gasoline engines were normally aspirated, compared to eight turbocharged and two supercharged.
From the 2021 list, only the Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe powertrain is back on the list in 2022, a rare occurrence in the list’s history.
In fact, here is the list of winning powertrains for 2022:
Acura Integra A-SPEC 1.5-liter turbo 4-cylinder.
Ford F-150 Lightning Electric motors
GMC Hummer EV Electric motors
Hyundai IONIQ 5 Electric motors
Lucid Air Electric motors
Mercedes-Benz AMG EQS Electric motors
Nissan Rogue 3-cylinder turbo 1.5-liter
Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe 2.0-litre turbocharged engine with plug-in hybrid system
Jeep Grand Wagoneer 3.0-litre inline 6-cylinder
Toyota Tundra i-FORCE MAX 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 with hybrid system
