Nissan wins 14th straight Ward’s 10-Best Engines award

They’ve done it again. Nissan’s familiar VQ series engine has been included in the latest ‘10 Best Engines’ list by Ward’s, making it the 14th straight year a VQ series engine has earned that distinction. This also makes it the only engine to be included in the list every year since the award began back in 1995.

The new engine is the VQ37VHR, which is actually used in the Infiniti G37 Coupe. New features of the V6 engine is VVEL (Variable Valve Event and Lift) technology, which sees final output rate in at 330hp (246kW) and 366Nm (270lb-ft) of torque. Although based on a similar design to previous VQ engines, the latest powerplant contains approximately 35% new and unique parts from the Infiniti G35 sedan’s VQ35HR unit.

The VVEL system combines hydraulic-controlled variable valve timing and electronically controlled variable valve lift on the intake side to help improve performance, response and efficiency.

To qualify for the award, engines must be available in a regular-production, U.S.-specification models and be on sale no later than the first quarter of 2008. The catch is that the cars must be priced no more than $54,000 - a price cap indexed to the average cost of a new vehicle.