BMW N20 and N55 turbocharged and direct injected motors make 2013 Ward's Best 10 Engines list

Congratulations to BMW who continues to rack up engine awards and deservedly so. The new N20 4-cylinder 2.0 liter direct injected turbo motor makes the list for the first time. The BMW N55 (replacement to the N54) single turbo 3.0 liter direct injected and turbocharged six-cylinder makes the list for the second straight year. The Ward's competition differs from the International Engine of the Year award in that only 10 engines are chosen and the price is capped at $55,000 for the cars the engine must appear in.

This makes for a competition that is less exciting than the International Engine of the Year awards but still prestigious targeting a different segment looking more at value, efficiency, vibration, emissions, and technical relevance. Direct injected motors dominated the competition. Congratulations to BMW on two awards out of the ten available.

This year’s winners and the applications tested:

• 3.0L TFSI Supercharged DOHC V-6 (Audi A6)
• 2.0L N20 Turbocharged DOHC I-4 (BMW Z4/528i)
• 3.0L N55 Turbocharged DOHC I-6 (BMW 335i coupe)
• 3.6L Pentastar DOHC V-6 (Chrysler 300S/Jeep Wrangler)
• 2.0L EcoBoost DOHC I-4 (Ford Edge)
• 5.0L DOHC V-8 (Ford Mustang Boss 302)
• 2.0L Turbocharged DOHC I-4 (Buick Regal GS)
• 1.6L DOHC I-4 (Hyundai Accent/Kia Soul)
• 2.0L Skyactiv DOHC I-4 (Mazda3)
• 3.5L DOHC V-6 HEV (Infiniti M35h)

The pentastar 6 is total garbage, I had a rental car with one. Why the ecoboost edge motor or accent motor come here is beyond me as well... The Evo motor and VW 2.0 Tfsi motor are two that should replace the previously mentioned crappy ones.

Originally Posted by Q4P

The pentastar 6 is total garbage, I had a rental car with one. Why the ecoboost edge motor or accent motor come here is beyond me as well... The Evo motor and VW 2.0 Tfsi motor are two that should replace the previously mentioned crappy ones.

Evo motor!? As in, the one in the Lancer Evolution? Yeah right, that engine is garbage. It gives you a burst of midrange power and is completely dead by 5,000RPM. When I drove the Evo X, I got bored waiting for it to rev to its redline. Technically speaking, the power does rise slowly until redline but the torque falls off so rapidly after 4,000RPM that it genuinely feels like a slow car in stock form.

The N20 is an infinitely superior 2 liter four cylinder. I traded cars with my brother today and took his F30 328i up to Hollywood and back and the only thing I can really complain about is the sound the engine makes, it just doesn't sound very sporty at all and is a little out of place in a BMW.

Originally Posted by Remonster

Evo motor!? As in, the one in the Lancer Evolution? Yeah right, that engine is garbage. It gives you a burst of midrange power and is completely dead by 5,000RPM. When I drove the Evo X, I got bored waiting for it to rev to its redline. Technically speaking, the power does rise slowly until redline but the torque falls off so rapidly after 4,000RPM that it genuinely feels like a slow car in stock form.

The N20 is an infinitely superior 2 liter four cylinder. I traded cars with my brother today and took his F30 328i up to Hollywood and back and the only thing I can really complain about is the sound the engine makes, it just doesn't sound very sporty at all and is a little out of place in a BMW.

N20 sounds like complete ass indeed... evo is a legendary motor unfortunately its true colors arent shown in stock form

Originally Posted by Q4P

N20 sounds like complete ass indeed... evo is a legendary motor unfortunately its true colors arent shown in stock form

How funny that I made my post making fun of the Evo's motor and then one hour later got in my car to go to a friends house and ended up at the lights next to an Evo VII in my 335is. He looked like he wanted to play and seemed confident because it was pouring rain, but I was shocked that I beat him even though I spun first and second and some of third. The top end of that Evo motor really is lacking but with a simple software reflash they really wake up.

Originally Posted by Remonster

How funny that I made my post making fun of the Evo's motor and then one hour later got in my car to go to a friends house and ended up at the lights next to an Evo VII in my 335is. He looked like he wanted to play and seemed confident because it was pouring rain, but I was shocked that I beat him even though I spun first and second and some of third. The top end of that Evo motor really is lacking but with a simple software reflash they really wake up.

Kinda idiotic to play around like that in the rain, but whatever. Evo's run extremely rich from the factory.

Originally Posted by RnmEvo9

Kinda idiotic to play around like that in the rain, but whatever. Evo's run extremely rich from the factory.

It's true... the 4G63T and 4B11T are some of the best 4 cylinder motors ever made... no idea why they sell them with like 291 hp stock, if the motor came with 340-350 from the factory it would be a goldmine. Unfortunately in this case; the fuel efficiency on these motors is comparable to the M5's V10...lol

Interesting list. I completely disagree on the ATS and BRZ engines. I've never driven either of them but both have not received much praise from reviewers.