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Nissan Leaf's 80 kiloWatt electric motor is heart of the first all-electric powertrain named to the respected Ward's 10 Best Engines list.
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It doesn't spell the end of the internal combustion engine era, but for the first time since its inception 17 years ago, the noted annual Ward's 10 Best Engines list isn't all ICE.


The all-electric Nissan Volt powertrain and the engine-generator assisted Chevrolet Volt electric-drive system both won places on Ward's list this year - not so much, we expect, for the actual "engines" that drive them as for the technological turning point they represent.


Electric motors are pretty basic compared to internal combustion powerplants, but the power control systems that link battery packs to motors and motors to wheels and make electric-drive vehicles work are incredibly complex.


Ward's choices for 2011 look at overall performance, fuel economy and emissions and recognize the role electric drive is going to play in the modern automobile industry.


The magazine in the past has also honored the Toyota Prius gas-electric hybrid system.
 
The other eight engines on Ward's list for 2011 are ICEs and include an oil-burner - the 2.0-liter VW Jetta TDI's turbodiesel - and two V8s.  Five of the winners make use of turbo-chargers to squeeze out the power of a bigger block while retaining the fuel efficiency of a smaller engine.


Here's the new top 10, by automaker, per Ward's:


3.0-liter supercharged V6, Audi A4.
3.0-liter turbocharged inline 6, BMW 335i.
1.4-liter inline 4 engine-generator with 11 kilowatt electric drive motor, Chevrolet Volt
3.6-liter Pentastar V6, Dodge Avenger.
5.0-liter V8, Ford Mustang GT.
5.0-liter V8, Hyundai Genesis.
1.6-liter turbocharged inline 4, Mini Cooper S.
80 kilowatt electric motor, Nissan Leaf.
2.0-liter inline 4 turbo-diesel, Volkswagen Jetta TDI.
3.0-liter turbocharged inline 6, Volvo S60.

Tags: Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Diesel, Dodge, Ford, Hyundai, MINI, Opel, Plug-ins and Electric, Volkswagen, Volvo, Ward's 10 Best Engines, Ward's Ten Best Engines

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Ward's Names Volt, Leaf Powertrains to its Annual "Best Engines" List was originally published by Green Car Advisor. Read the full story by clicking here.