Engines must be available in regular-production vehicles on sale in the U.S. market no later than the first quarter of the year.
Eligibility has also been based on availability in a vehicle below a base price limit, which increased progressively from US$50,000 for the 1995 list up to US$65,000 for the 2020 list; this limit was eliminated for future competitions following the announcement of the 2020 winners.
[1] During a 2-month testing period, Wards editors evaluate each engine according to a number of objective and subjective criteria in everyday driving situations – there is no instrumented testing.
The selection takes into account power and torque output; noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) levels; technical relevance; and basic comparative numbers.
For the 2020 competition, the name was changed to Wards 10 Best Engines and Propulsion Systems.