Wards Auto Releases Its 2025 10 Best Engines & Propulsion Systems List

Wards Auto has released its list of winners for its 2025 Wards 10 Best Engines & Propulsion Systems awards. This year, only one internal combustion engine (ICE) made the list. The other nine powertrains are either hybrid or fully electric. Wards says this is the first time in the program’s 31-year history that 9 out of the 10 winners are partially or fully electric.

The editors at Wards tested 28 vehicles—10 of which were hybrids, 10 fully electric and eight ICE. All eight ICE entries use forced induction, and only one has a manual transmission (Toyota GR Corolla). Wards says it bases its scoring on horsepower, torque, NVH management, observed efficiency and new technology onboard. In 2021, the company removed price caps, which had been in place since 1995.

Here’s the list of this year’s winners of the 2025 Wards 10 Best Engines & Propulsion Systems awards:

• BMW M5 – 4.4L turbocharged V-8 PHEV
• 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)
• Honda Civic Hybrid –2.0L I-4 HEV (2024 returning winner)
• Hyundai Ioniq 9 – electric propulsion system
• Lexus LX – 700h 3.4L turbocharged V-6 HEV
• Lucid Gravity – electric propulsion system
• Mercedes-AMG E53 – 3.0L turbocharged I-6 PHEV
• Nissan Leaf – electric propulsion system

For more information on the vehicles that Wards Auto evaluated, along with a list of all the nominees, visit “Electrification in Full Force on Wards 10 Best Engines & Propulsion Systems Winners’ List” on the Wards Auto site.