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BMW/PSA Peugeot Citroën’s jointly developed turbo petrol engine has taken top honours for the third consecutive year in the 1.4-litre to 1.8-litre category, despite the arrival of the all-new Toyota Prius powertrain, which was an early favourite in this class.

Dan Vardie from Autoshow in Romania is one the judges who gave the Mini Cooper S heart top marks: “This is a great, small sporty engine, with an environmentally-friendly stop/start feature. It means the car is supple and fun to drive on winding roads, but is just as good in town.”

Meanwhile Dean Slavnich, co-chairman of the IEOTYA, added: “This engine represents one of the finest examples of engine downsizing.”

Featuring innovative stop/start technology on BMW models, jurors from all regions were once again won over by this powerful yet frugal motor. As Marc Noordeloos from Automobile in the USA explains, “This engine provides a wonderful balance of power and economy. It may lack the character of the old supercharged engine in the Mini Cooper S, but the dramatic drop in fuel consumption makes up for it.”

Made from light alloy, the 175bhp unit, which powers not only the Cooper S but also the Mini Clubman and Peugeot 207 and 308 models,  features a twin-scroll turbocharger, gasoline direct injection, twin overhead camshafts, roller-type drag arms that have been optimised for minimum friction, and hydraulic valve play-compensation elements.

All this technology means not only plenty of power – and let’s not forget the 260Nm that is maintained from 1,500rpm to 5,000rpm – but also an average fuel consumption of 6.9 litres/100km (40.9mpg) for non stop/start engines. Since its introduction in 2006, more than 150,000 units of this engine have been produced and next year the 1.6-liter turbo heart from BMW and PSA Peugeot Citroën will prove to be even more popular with the launch of the Mini Cross.