MINI’s Three-Cylinder Turbo Named to Ward’s 10 Best Engines List
Every year, the experts over at WardsAuto World compile a list of the 10 Best Engines available on the current market. This year, there was a pool of 38 nominees, each of which the editors put through their paces during October and November on their regular commutes around Metro Detroit, narrowing the list down to the eventual top 10. The MINI Cooper’s 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder was one of the smallest engines listed, yet it impressed editors with its mixture of both power and efficiency.
MINI’s Three-Cylinder Turbo Named to Ward’s 10 Best Engines List
MINI’s three-cylinder turbo engine manages to put out an impressive 134 horsepower while returning an estimated 33 mpg combined. During testing, WardsAuto World editors logged at least 30 mpg in mixed daily driving. The three-cylinder engine replaced a slightly larger four-cylinder one in the previous model—a 1.6-liter that was developed jointly by BMW and PSA Peugeot Citroen. Both power and efficiency have seen a marked improvement with the introduction of the three-cylinder turbo. Torque has gone up by 42%, and fuel efficiency has improved by 8%.
The MINI Cooper Hardtop Four-Door
The only other three-cylinder engine that made the Ward’s 10 Best Engines List belonged to the Ford Fiesta. 2015 marks the first year in the list’s 21-year history that two three-cylinder engines have been named by the prestigious publication.
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