WardsAuto have unveiled their 10 Best engines of the year for the 2016 model year. And for the very first time, three electric powertrains will be awarded a place on the list. Can you take a wild guess? They’re probably the ones you are thinking of. Or not.

From 31 nominees, 10 powertrains stand out from the crowd based on the regular, everyday driving experience they provide. The selection criteria included horsepower, torque, specs, noise attenuation, fuel economy and new technology.  The 31 candidates were gathered from last year’s 10 winners plus a pool of 21 new and/or improved powertrains under the $61,000 mark. In other words, no Tesla, folks.

The Americans stole the show with 4 wins: Chevrolet Camaro and Cadillac ATS’s 3.6L V6, Ford Shelby GT350 Mustang’s 5.2L V8, Ram 1500’s 3.0L turbodiesel V6 and, the first electrically powered model from the list, the Chevrolet Volt. The Japanese brands follow closely with three winners: the Nissan Maxima’s 3.5L V6, Subaru’s 2.0L turbo-four Boxer engine and of course, the 1.8L four-cylinder + 53-kW Motor found in the Toyota Prius hybrid. The Europeans are represented by the BMW 340i’s 3.0L turbo inline-six and the Volvo XC90’s 2.0L turbocharged and supercharged four-cylinder.

The most surprising of all cars listed in the top 10 comes from Korea and is the third and last model equipped with an electrically assisted powertrain. Perhaps surprising to some, the Hyundai Sonata plug-in hybrid completes the list.

This year’s 10 winners will savour the glory for a full year and then face off against the technologies introduced over the course of 2016 for next year’s awards.

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