Dodge Only Brand to Win Two Awards in Ward's Top Ten
Nissan's 3.5-L V6 engine, dubbed VQ by the Japanese automaker, is once again a "Ward's Ten Best Engines" winner. This has become a regular occurrence, being the tenth consecutive year it has been chosen, which makes it the only engine featured on the list every year since the award's inception.
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| Nissan's 3.5-L V6 engine, found in the G35 and many other vehicles in the Japanese automaker's lineup, is once again a "Ward's Ten Best Engines". (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
Sedan, sports car, minivan, pickup truck or SUV, the VQ shows up most often as a specific model's top engine choice, with the exception being Infiniti's FX35 where it's featured in an entry model to the V8 powered FX45.
Together with the FX35 SUV, the list of models includes the I35 and G35 sedans and G35 Coupe for Infiniti, and Nissan Altima and Maxima sedans, 350Z and 350Z Roadster sports cars, Quest minivan, Xterra, Murano and Pathfinder sport utilities, and Frontier pickup truck.
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| Toyota's 106 (estimated) horsepower 1.5-L DOHC I-4 gas-electric Hybrid also made the list. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
The engine, as tested for the award in the Infiniti G35, features 260-hp available at 6,000 rpm and 260 lb-ft of torque at a maximum of 4,800 rpm. Its output ratings vary depending on application, with a total of 280-hp at 6,200 rpm and 270 lb-ft of torque at 4,800 rpm available in the G35 Coupe. In top tuning, as applied to the 350Z, it produces 287-hp.
Other engines to make this year's list (in no specific order) include Audi's 340-hp 4.2-L 40-valve DOHC V8 with 302 lb-ft of torque as tested in the S4; BMW's 333-hp 3.2-L 24-valve I-6 with 274 lb-ft of torque as tested in the M3; DaimlerChrysler's 345-hp 5.7-L HEMI Magnum OHV V8 with 375 lb-ft of torque as tested in the Dodge Ram; DaimlerChrysler's 305-hp 5.9-L Cummins 600 OHV I-6 turbodiesel with 555 lb-ft of torque as tested in the Dodge Ram Heavy Duty; GM's 275-hp Vortec 4.2-L DOHC I-6 with 275 lb-ft of torque as tested in the GMC Envoy; Honda's 240-hp 3.0-L V6 with 212 lb-ft of torque as tested in the Accord Coupe; Mazda's 238-hp 1.3-L Renesis rotary with 159 lb-ft of torque as tested in the RX-8 6-speed; Subaru's 300-hp 2.5-L 16-valve DOHC turbocharged H-4 with 300 lb-ft of torque as tested in the Impreza WRX STi; and Toyota's 106 (estimated) horsepower 1.5-L DOHC I-4 gas-electric Hybrid as tested in the Prius.
Altogether six Ward's Communications editors and writers voted, judging a variety of engines priced less than USD$52,500.