This year’s list of winners reflects an industry that is trying to do it all with heart-pounding fire breathers, capable pickups that don’t need V-8s, family cars that don’t need V-6s and a battery-electric CUV that is fun to drive.
With a radically new mid-engine placement, the LT2 also may finally silence critics calling the camshaft-in-block an elder statesman.
Despite all the luxury BEV newcomers in 2019, the mass-market Kona still has one of the longest-range lithium-ion battery packs in the industry.
The workhorse Pentastar engine was a Wards 10 Best pick for 2019. Judges deemed it so well done and technologically clever with its 48V mild hybrid system, that it’s a returning winner for 2020.
As tested in the ’20 GMC Sierra 1500 Crew Cab SLT, General Motors’ all-new Duramax light-duty turbodiesel wins points for its fuel economy and smoothness debunking diesels’ growly image.
A technological marvel, the 2.0L Variable Compression Turbo 4-cyl. in the Nissan Altima wows our judges with silky power and stunning fuel economy for a non-hybrid midsize sedan.
Powerful, quiet, inherently smooth and with a touch of electrification thrown in, the GLE450’s new turbocharged 3.0L inline 6-cyl. makes a strong first impression.
If electrification is going to truly take hold, it must be affordable, efficient and fun to drive. The Honda Accord Hybrid checks all three boxes.
