For the last 20 years, publisher Ward’s Auto World has rated powertrains in their 10 Best Engines feature. Entrants are chosen from the previous year winners and all-new or improved engines in US market vehicles with a base price under $60,000.

To come up with the best of what consumers can buy, the 10 winners from 2014 and 27 new entries were evaluated over a two month period. Ward’s 2015 list features a couple of fuel cells and gasoline engines giving the list a greater level of variety than previous lists including four returning winners.

Rated highly on the 2015 list are:

• Chevrolet’s 6.2-liter V-8 found in the Stingray
• 3.0-liter V-6 turbodiesel from the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel
• Volkswagen Golf‘s 1.8-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder
• “Small But Mighty” 1.0-liter 3-cylinder powering the Ford Fiesta
• 100kW hydrogen fuel cell in the Hyundai Tucson FCV
• 6.2-liter supercharged V-8 from the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat
• BMW i3 127-kW electric motor
• 1.5-liter turbocharged 3-cylinder from the Mini Cooper
• 2.0-liter turbocharged H-4 from the Subaru WRX
• 2.0-liter 4-cylinder from the Volvo S60

The biggest surprises on the list are the alternative fuel BMW i3 and Hyundai Tuscon FCV- a major coup for so-called eco-friendly vehicle manufacturers which are seeing sales rise year over year in this category. The high engine ratings for these vehicles also means that drivers no longer have to necessarily give up performance when they give up gasoline.

image courtesy of Chevrolet