Ward's picks 10 best engines of 2014

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

It's OK to quote parts of items from other sites, but pasting the whole article is verboten (copyright).

I've removed the paste. But feel free to quote in the bit that interested you.

Off topic to this thread but something I asked for long ago on another site that was suffering from slapping was to create a thread that documented the article and source of handslaps attached in a prominent place.

I noted occasionally there are certain places that want to also remain anonymous for some reason that tend to do much of the slapping and keeping a running talley helped patrons of said site, put certain interests in place as it were. A million flakes is harder to move than a snowball.

This is assuming of coarse that much slapping was occuring, perhaps a moot point to fight battles lost.

Ah well.

[UltArc]

I know I am a Ford fan, and I have one of the engines I am going to talk about, but I do feel I have a valid point.

Some of these performance numbers are disappointing.
"8. Just as you wouldn’t expect a pushrod engine to make a best-of list in 2014, neither would you expect a single-overhead cam engine without direct injection -- or, gasp, a turbocharger! But as it has for many years before, Ward’s praised the 3.5-liter V6 of the 2014 Honda Accord, noting an impressive 34 mpg in highway driving and the decidedly counterculture approach to delivering those figures. The Accord V6 makes 278 horsepower and 252 lb-ft of torque."
278 Horsepower, 34 MPG highway.

"The 2.7-liter H6 offered in the Porsche Cayman makes the list, too. Ward’s editors say that it feels “a lot more powerful than its rated 275 hp and 213 lb-ft of torque.” Despite the power perceived by Ward’s editors, the Cayman returned 23 mpg during testing."
The 2.7 offers 275 hp, and showed 23 mpg, from FE.gov, it is rated 22/26/32, city, average, highway, respectively.

"1. The 3.0-liter, supercharged engine found in the Audi S4 and S5. We couldn't agree more. Audi made it on the list last year with this engine, and there’s plenty of reason for a repeat. The direct-injected 90-degree V6 cranks out 333 horsepower and 325 lb-ft of torque, and thanks to a roots-type supercharger, it seems to do so over an absurdly broad rpm range. In the S5, it still manages an Environmental Protection Agency-estimated 17 city mpg/26 highway mpg while sending you rocketing down the road. The intercooler setup couldn’t be more innovative, and the always-there oomph renders the car’s V8 predecessor completely irrelevant."
333 Horsepower, 17 city, 26 highway.

The Accord is pretty good. I am not blown away, but fair. I don't understand the Cayman or the Audi.
For the 3.7 in the Mustang, it sees 19/23/31 with 305 horsepower.
For the 3.0 SC Audi S4/S5, it sees 18/21/28 with 333 horsepower.
For the 2.7 Porsc Cayman, it sees 22/26/32 with 275 horsepower.
For the 5.8 Ford Mu GT500, it sees 15/18/24 with 662 horsepower.

I know the mileage for the GT500 isn't amazing, but browsing cars in that fuel economy range, 662 horsepower completely blows out so essentially everything else.

For the 3.7, it bests the Audi by 1 city, 2 average, and 3 highway at the sacrifice of <30 horsepower.
For the 3.7, it loses the P.C. by 3 city, 3 average, and 1 highway but bests it by 30 horsepower.
Typing out this, it seems more fair for these two, and it may be personal about the 3.7 (lol), but it feels left out. The GT500's 5.8...that just doesn't seem right to leave it out.

Regardless of my obvious emotional connection, I am happy to hear other points of view. If price were a factor, the Mustang is half of the other two, but that wasn't a factor. End rant lol

[nemo]

How can you have have best engine list without discussion of longevity and cost to repair. It would be interesting to see a list of the best engines from 2014 in 2024.

[user removed]

For decades I have followed Consumer Reports frequency of repair records to see the trends in manufacturer reliability based on owner surveys. I don't see any way to predict reliability 10 years into the future, you have to extrapolate from past trends to even come close to a reliable prediction.

While every car manufactured today that is successful in todays market is basically built by robots and computers, versus the old school unions and people, the quality has improved significantly overall.

I talked with the service manager at a GM dealership, who told me the number of warranty claims on GM vehicles had dropped by 90% from the late 70s to the mid 2000s. That is certainly a dramatic change in quality from the perspective of one who was there and had to make changes to keep the techs busy. I know Detroit quality issues from working for all of the big 3 in the trenches when quality was virtually non existant, even to the point of intentional sabotage on the assembly line when a strike was eminent.

I think the playing field has levelled dramatically in recent decades. I like Ford now while 40 years ago after first hand experiencing assembly line sabotage, I would not touch one with a ten foot pole.

Now I own 2 Fords and personally I would compare them quality wise to anything made globally, even though my Fiesta was made in Mexico, I have not had any quality issues other than the accent lights not working, which was a5 minute repair involving plugging in a loose connection, possible done at the factory or in the collision which totalled the car.

People tend to ride the wave of reliability history and hope that they will get lucky with a new purchase, but to predict an individual manufacturer's long term quality and reliability is virtually an impossible task.

regards
Mech

[mcrews]

Ultrarc, it's not an mpg list it's a best engine list. Mpg deals w engine, trany, gears tires etc. it's an engine list.
The engines you selected are performance cars (maybe not the accura)

[mcrews]

Originally Posted by nemo

How can you have have best engine list without discussion of longevity and cost to repair. It would be interesting to see a list of the best engines from 2014 in 2024.

Because it is a "best of 2014" list not a "best of 2004 thru 2014 list "

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by RobertISaar

when i see someone verbally dump upon either(i'm guilty of it from days past), i just ignore it. they both have their advantages and disadvantages and either are capable of some fairly amazing feats that weren't thought possible 20 years ago.

I don't really care if an engine has OHV or DOHC heads as long as it provides a decent platform for what it's proposed to do, altough some folks who engage into such arguments seem to ignore the advantage of the layout they're opposing. I know DOHC heads are usually advantageous regarding the flow, but it doesn't prevent me from still liking the usually higher ruggedness and simpler maintenance procedures for an OHV engine in some applications.

But I might admit that I'd rather get an LS-powered Euro than an Euro-powered 'Vette

[UltArc]

Originally Posted by mcrews

Ultrarc, it's not an mpg list it's a best engine list. Mpg deals w engine, trany, gears tires etc. it's an engine list.
The engines you selected are performance cars (maybe not the accura)

I couldn't agree more on MPG being the sum of the parts, not just one factor- but one point I may have not stressed enough in my post mentioned this. They did not post any reasoning for why these were the best engines other than performance in power and MPG.

To be fair, I was comparing my (slightly) performance car to two other (slightly) performance cars, one with more power, the other with less- and to include the Corvette on there with 460 hp, I personally felt it was more of a feat for 662 hp to be so efficient. Again, I wish they would have added more than just performance to their reasoning on why these are the top 10.

I think a good meter would be to put x amount of miles on so many engines, but that would be pricey. Over time I start hearing about bad engines, to avoid, but that usually isn't over the first year.

[nemo]

"Best" subjective at best.

Should have been titled "Our favorite engines"

[Frank Lee]

The way it's set up, it's just fodder for the horsepower race.

Let's hear it for 109,000HP grunt grunt http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C3%A4...Sulzer_RTA96-C