This Year's 10 Best Pack Big Punch

It wasn't all that long ago any engineering effort made to wring 100 hp/L out of a mass-market automobile engine might have been considered tilting at windmills.

Now it's practically the price of admission.

An analysis of the power outputs of the 38 engines and vehicles that made the list of nominees for this year's round of Ward's 10 Best Engines testing indicates horsepower and torque are on the rise, and to improve the chances of your engine making the final cut, you'd better tattoo the specifications list with something close to 100 hp/L.

Then underline it and circle it in red.

The Ward's nominees list averages 251.1 hp overall, good for an impressive 86.6 hp/L. But the 10 winners pack an even bigger punch at 263.4 hp overall and a whopping 94.1 hp/L. (Note: Average horsepower figures include the all-electric Nissan Leaf, while hp/L figures do not.)

Of the nine winners on the Best 10 list that carry an internal-combustion engine onboard, five boast 100 hp/L ratings or better, including the champ Mini Cooper S at 113 hp/L.

This year's winners boast a big step up in power from the 2010 Best Engines list, which averaged 88.1 hp/L, only slightly ahead of the 87.5 rating in 2006. Ten years ago, the winners averaged just 74.5 hp/L.

Turbochargers, superchargers and direct injection are the primary drivers to specific outputs past the 100 hp/L bogey, but the Chevrolet Volt's 106/hp/L rating shows electricity may have a key role to play in the future, as well.

Overall torque ratings also have risen sharply. Our 38 nominees averaged 255.8 lb.-ft. (346.8 Nm), only slightly behind the 259.8 lb.-ft. (352.2 Nm) of last year's 10 Best. But this year's winners pump out an average 286.9 lb.-ft. (389.0 Nm), leaving the 2001 awardees — averaging 237.3 lb.-ft. (321.7 Nm) — in the dust.

In addition to pure power, Ward's judges still favor more cylinders than fewer. Both our 38 nominees and our final 10 winners averaged 5.2 cylinders each. But if you knock the Leaf out of the equation, the remaining IC engines on the 10 Best list average 5.8 cylinders. That's well above 5.0 last year and close to the 5.8 average for the 2001 winners' list in an era of carefree gasoline prices.

Here are a couple of other interesting factoids resulting from our numbers crunching:

And before you attack us for our power-before-fuel-economy stance, consider this: Bolstered by the Leaf and Volt, the 10 Best average 36.7/42.2 mpg (6.4-5.6 L/100 km) city/highway. That's well ahead of last year's 25.9/32.6 mpg (9.1-7.2 L/100 km) rating and an historic high.

Best Engines Power Outputs

Note: Figures are averages for the 10 Best Engines for each year. 2011N shows averages for 37 nominee engines.