Ford’s 3-year International Engine of the Year winning streak cut short by BMW

For 3 years in a row, Ford’s 1.0-Liter EcoBoost engine found in the current Fiesta has reigned supreme in the International Engine of the Year awards. But not in 2015, because BMW’s i8 engine beat them by 8 points.

Already on its 17th year, the coveted award is hotly-contested by different manufacturers from all over the world. Made up of the world’s most respected motoring journalists and from 31 different countries, the International Engine of the Year Awards’ jury is tasked with judging each shortlisted engine using their subjective driving impressions and technical knowledge, taking into account characteristics such as fuel economy, smoothness, performance, noise, and driveability.

The award has become a very important promotional and marketing tool, boasting the manufacturer’s engineering prowess.

Beating Ford, BMW bagged this year’s top award with their 1.5-liter 3-cylinder electric-gasoline hybrid from the i8. The mill churns out 232 hp to the rear axle and a 132 hp e-motor driving the front axle, enabling the i8 to hit 60 km/h in just 4.5 seconds. Despite these performance numbers, the engine is amazingly efficient at a rate of 47 to 48 km/l.

Ford’s mill though still comes in 2nd place, with the 1.0-liter EcoBoost powering the locally available Fiesta 1.0L EcoBoost. The turbocharged unit has 125 hp and 170 Nm of torque, which is significantly more than the 1.5-liter Fiesta. The engine is also very frugal at around 22km/l.

Other notable top 10 placers for the award are Ferrari’s 4.5-liter V8 found in the 458 Italia, the Mercedes-Benz AMG 2.0-litre Turbo which you’ll find in the both the A45 AMG and the CLA45 AMG, and BMW’s 3.0-liter twin turbo 6-cylinder powering both the M3 and M4.

Ranked according to their final scores, these are the Top 9 winners of the 2015 International Engine of the Year Awards: 

1st BMW 1.5-liter 3-cylinder hybrid

2nd Ford 1.0-liter 3-cylinder EcoBoost

3rd PSA Peugeot Citroen 1.2-liter 3-cylinder turbo

4th Ferrari 4.5-liter V8

5th Mercedes-Benz AMG 2.0-liter turbo

6th Tesla full-electric powertrain

7th BMW M 3.0-liter twin turbo 6-cylinder

8th McLaren 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8

9th Audi 2.5-liter 5-cylinder turbo