New 4-Cylinder N20 Motor Wins a Spot on Ward's 10 Best Engine List!

by Mark Jurista on December 9, 2011, 4:35 pm

BMW 4-cylinder 2.0-liter TwinPower Turbo N20 Motor

BMW announced today that the F30 328i's N20 2.0L TwinPower Turbo 4-cylinder motor has joined the repeat winner 3.0-liter TwinPower Turbo inline-6 (N55) -- making both motors in the next generation 3 series top 10 motors.

Quote:

"TwinPower Turbo technology is a perfect example of the BMW EfficientDynamics philosophy," said Ludwig Willisch – President and CEO of BMW of North America, LLC. "With the ground-breaking combination of a twin-scroll turbo, high-precision direct injection and Valvetronic, both the TwinPower Turbo 4-cylinder and the TwinPower Turbo inline-6 offer the performance of much larger engines without the penalty of more fuel consumption."

The N20 is an evolutionary step forward for BMW and will get an estimated fuel economy of 24 MPG city / 36 MPG highway while increasing it's 0-60 a full second from the outgoing 328i E90 model.

Look for more TwinPower technology to break into the BMW line-up over the next year including the 6-cylinder N55 getting put into the 640i Coupe and Convertible.

It sounds like the TwinPower turbos are here to stay. Here is to hoping the F30 328i drives like a real BMW with that N20 alongside a 6-speed manual!

Leave a Comment

18 responses to New 4-Cylinder N20 Motor Wins a Spot on Ward's 10 Best Engine List!

justinnum1 commented:
December 9, 2011, 4:41 pm

No surprise here. This thing has a ton of torque.

Ringmaster1 commented:
December 17, 2011, 1:37 am

What a joke putting a brand new motor on some "best" list. What if this engine turns out to be loaded with issues after 6 months on the street.

Michael Schott commented:
December 17, 2011, 6:31 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ringmaster1

What a joke putting a brand new motor on some "best" list. What if this engine turns out to be loaded with issues after 6 months on the street.

It's not really "brand new". It's been in the X1, Z4 and 528i already.

johnc_22 commented:
December 17, 2011, 9:44 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ringmaster1

What a joke putting a brand new motor on some "best" list. What if this engine turns out to be loaded with issues after 6 months on the street.

Never stopped them from putting the N54 on the same list.

justinnum1 commented:
December 17, 2011, 11:35 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ringmaster1

What a joke putting a brand new motor on some "best" list. What if this engine turns out to be loaded with issues after 6 months on the street.

JoeFromPA commented:
December 17, 2011, 5:29 pm

Did they just say it's expected to pull a 36mpg highway rating on the f30????

I gotta say, if it gets 36mpg highway and delivers a ~5.7-5.8 0-60 and mid to low 14 second quarter mile, that engine belongs on the list.

westwest888 commented:
December 19, 2011, 1:55 am

14 second 1/4 gets you on the best engine list? Looks like a good engine. For a motorcycle.

justinnum1 commented:
December 19, 2011, 7:15 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by westwest888

14 second 1/4 gets you on the best engine list? Looks like a good engine. For a motorcycle.

get lost troll

tagheuer commented:
December 21, 2011, 3:14 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnc_22

Never stopped them from putting the N54 on the same list.

yeah, this is my problem with Wards.

The N54 suffered from a number of fundamental flaws, yet its on the list.

See, this list has nothing to do with reliability, durability or longevity.

So as long as we are clear on those points...

It DOES seem Wards is in bed with BMW, like Toyota is allegedly in bed with Consumer Reports....

Saintor commented:
December 22, 2011, 7:31 pm

Ward is typically full of it.

I am one of the rare here who played with the N20 and no, it doesn't belong on a 10 best..

EddyTeddy commented:
December 27, 2011, 10:36 am

Bmw is never going to be what it was before. And that brings great sorrow to me. A 328i with a 4 cylinder? What happened to the small 6 cylinder engines? Now I'm going to cry myself to sleep

justinnum1 commented:
December 27, 2011, 12:05 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by EddyTeddy

Bmw is never going to be what it was before. And that brings great sorrow to me. A 328i with a 4 cylinder? What happened to the small 6 cylinder engines? Now I'm going to cry myself to sleep

Lets see. small underpowerd 6 cylinder, or more powerful, efficient, lighter turbo 4...hmmmm

Saintor commented:
December 27, 2011, 12:14 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by justinnum1

Lets see. small underpowerd 6 cylinder, or more powerful, efficient, lighter turbo 4...hmmmm

Demagogy.

hpowders commented:
December 27, 2011, 1:23 pm

Well, the twin turbo also won Ward's when it came out and look at all the problems there have been. As for the new turbo 4, I will believe it when I see it.

justinnum1 commented:
December 27, 2011, 2:03 pm

Never had a probelm with both my 07 and 08 N54 335...other than basic ****(speaker, maintenance...) i get another 3er

N20 will be fine, i drove, it has a lot more power than the N52. The N52 will be one of the smoothest engines ever, but what you are losing in refinement, you more than make up for in performance and efficiency IMO. All i can say is hold judgement till you drive one. Still great to know we all drive the benchmark