Ford Motor Company has earned not one but two spots on the 2012 edition of Ward’s Auto 10 Best Engines List. Both blocks may have been honored with an award but the way they go about their business couldn’t be more different. One uses numerous new-age bits of technology to power midsize SUVs to new efficient heights while one simply screams and roars with the fury of hot-rods past. The latest EcoBoost 2.0 liter turbocharged four cylinder sat right next to the 302 cubic inch thumping V8 found in the 2012 Mustang Boss 302.
It may scorch tires alongside a wave of noise previously only found in the 1960s, but the newly built 5.0 liter V8 is fairly modern. “[It’s] a 444 horsepower beast that pays homage to muscle cars of old, but uses modern overhead cam and aluminum construction,” said the editors at Ward’s. This is the second year in a row that the V8 has earned a spot on the list. A little different from the fire breather but just as innovative is Ford’s latest EcoBoost engine: the 2.0 liter. Designed to serve duty under the hood of two ultimate family haulers, the Explorer and Edge, the four cylinder has the work of a former V8 to accomplish. It does this with direct injection and turbocharger to produce 240 horsepower and an impressive 270 lb-ft of torque. In Ward’s testing, the editors managed to average 24 mpg during journalist driving.
Source: Ford
