WardsAuto judges laud both its fuel efficiency and performance – especially its surprising torque at low rpms – and its availability in affordable vehicles.
“If one were sentenced to eternal damnation,” one WardsAuto editor concluded, “there’s no finer way to get there than in the Hellcat, running into the abyss at wide-open throttle while the...
Subaru’s hardy flat-fours once were criticized as buzzy, unrefined and not very fuel-efficient, but the latest 268-hp 2.0L turbocharged, direct-injected iteration earns high praise.
Technology includes turbocharging, direct injection, dual Vanos variable camshaft control on intake and outlet sides and Valvetronic fully variable valve control.
One key contributor to its unusual quietness is its rigid compacted graphite iron (CGI) block and bedplate. CGI typically reduces combustion noise 0.5 to 1.5 dBA vs. conventional gray iron.
The classic image of a V-8 is big and thirsty. Engineers set out to dispel that notion by making the small-block Gen V engines extremely efficient. Along the way, some dynamometers also got toasted.
Surprisingly, it was planned as a small-volume engine for high-performance compact S4s and S5s. Now it is Audi's only V-6 available in midrange A6s and A7s, the flagship A8 sedan and Q5, SQ5 and Q7 CUVs.