The latest Wards 10 Best Engines & Propulsion Systems winners’ roster is notable for having the fewest number of non-electrified winners ever: one.
Yes, for the first time in the 31-year history of our powertrain awards, 90% of our 2025 winners are either partially or fully electrified.
“As the auto industry moves away from near-term timelines for all-electric propulsion, U.S. consumers are more than ever embracing electrification, namely in the form of hybridization,” says Christie Schweinsberg, manager-Wards 10 Best awards programs and Wards 10 Best Engines & Propulsion Systems’ judge. “The hybrid winners on our 2025 list strike a perfect balance of power, fuel economy and value. They are also some of the most technically complex powertrains we’ve ever tested, once again showcasing the talent of automotive engineers to deliver alluring specifications, oftentimes with limited budgets.”
Continuing the trend from last year, hybrid powertrains are the most prevalent among our honorees, with five hybrid or plug-in hybrid powertrains on our 2025 winners’ list vs. four all-electric propulsion systems.
Wards editors evaluated 28 nominees this year, including 20 electrified vehicles. Of those 20, there were 10 battery-electric vehicles and 10 models with hybrid powertrains. Among the hybrids were six standard hybrids, one mild hybrid and three plug-in hybrids. Nearly all our nominated hybrids employ 4-cyl. support, but two models have V-6s and one – the winning BMW M5 PHEV – deploys a V-8.
Wards editors tested eight models with internal-combustion engines sans hybridization, although one model, the Genesis GV80, employs an electric supercharger. Among the ICEs tested, there were two V-8s, three 6-cyls. and three 4-cyls. Eight of the ICEs used forced induction and only one, the Toyota GR Corolla, had a manual gearbox. Displacement of our ICE nominees ranged from the 1.6L 3-cyl. in the GR Corolla – although putting out a very respectable 300 hp, good for a whopping 185.4 hp/L – to the trophy-winning twin-turbocharged 5.5L V-8 in the Corvette ZR1 making a mighty 1,064 hp.
Many of the 10 BEVs tested boast extreme levels of power, the kind of output previously associated with V-8s. Half of those 10 BEVs have propulsion systems producing 600 hp or more: the Cadillac Escalade IQ, Dodge Charger Daytona Scat Pack, Jeep Wagoneer S, Lucid Gravity and Rivian R1T Quad Max. The 670-hp Charger Daytona and 828-hp Gravity are two of our 2025 winners.
The Wards 10 Best Engines’ list has recognized 31 years’ worth of propulsion systems, with scoring based on horsepower, torque, NVH management, observed efficiency and new technology onboard. A price cap for nominees that had been in place since 1995 was removed in 2021; value remains part of the criteria, however. Only powertrains that are return winners from the previous year, all-new or significantly improved are eligible for testing.
For the 2025 program, each brand selling in the U.S. light-vehicle market was eligible to submit at least one nominee, with those having annual U.S. volume of 350,000 sales or more able to submit up to two nominees.
For the 2025 program, six of our nominees were returning winners, with two – the hybrid powertrains in the Ford F-150 and Honda Civic – making the 2025 list after winning in 2024. For Honda, it takes its third consecutive Wards 10 Best Engines & Propulsion Systems’ trophy for its 2-motor hybrid system, after 2024 and 2023 wins for the system in the Civic and Accord sedans, respectively. Wards 10 Best judges this year tested the system in the Civic Sport Touring hatchback.
And, as per tradition, we do not rank our 10 winners; all are on equal footing on the list.
Winners of the 2025 Wards 10 Best Engines & Propulsion Systems awards, listed alphabetically below by the vehicles in which they were tested, will be profiled in stories posting to WardsAuto beginning Oct. 9. An invitation-only award ceremony honoring this year’s trophy-takers will be held Oct. 23 in Dearborn, MI.
2025 Wards 10 Best Engines & Propulsion Systems’ Nominees (winners in bold)
Acura ADX – 1.5L Turbocharged 4-cyl.
Audi Q5 – 2.0L Turbocharged 4-cyl.
BMW M5 – 4.4L Turbocharged V-8 PHEV
BMW X3 – 2.0L Turbocharged I-4 w/ mild hybrid system
Buick Enclave – 2.5L Turbocharged 4-cyl.
Cadillac Escalade IQ – Electric Propulsion System
Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 – 5.5L twin-turbo V-8
Dodge Charger Daytona – Electric Propulsion System
Ford F-150 – 3.5L Turbocharged V-6 HEV (2024 returning winner)
Genesis GV80 Coupe – 3.5L Turbocharged V-6 w/ electric supercharger
Honda Civic Hybrid –2.0L I-4 HEV (2024 returning winner)
Hyundai Ioniq 5 N – Electric Propulsion System (2024 returning winner)
Hyundai Ioniq 9 – Electric Propulsion System
Kia EV9 GT Line – Electric Propulsion System (2024 returning winner)
Jeep Wagoneer S – Electric Propulsion System
Lexus LX – 700h 3.4L Turbocharged V-6 HEV
Lucid Gravity – Electric Propulsion System
Mazda CX-50 – 2.5L 4-cyl. HEV
Mercedes-Benz GLC 350e – 2.0L Turbocharged 4-cyl. PHEV
Mercedes-AMG E53 – 3.0L Turbocharged I-6 PHEV
Nissan Armada NISMO – 3.5L Turbocharged V-6
Nissan Leaf – Electric Propulsion System
Ram RHO – 3.0L Turbocharged I-6 high output (2024 returning winner)
Rivian R1T Quad Max – Electric Propulsion System
Subaru Forester – 2.5L Boxer 4-cyl. HEV
Toyota GR Corolla – 1.6L Turbocharged I-3 (2024 returning winner)
Toyota 4Runner – 2.4L Turbocharged 4-cyl. HEV
Volvo EX90 – Electric Propulsion System
SOURCE: Wards Auto
