The VQ is a V6 piston engine produced by Nissan with displacements varying from 2.0 L to 4.0 L. It is an aluminum block

Cylinder block

A cylinder block is an integrated structure comprising the cylinder of a reciprocating engine and often some or all of their associated surrounding structures...

 DOHC 4-valve design with aluminum heads

Cylinder head

In an internal combustion engine, the cylinder head sits above the cylinders on top of the cylinder block. It closes in the top of the cylinder, forming the combustion chamber. This joint is sealed by a head gasket...

. It is fitted with Nissan's EGI/ECCS sequential multi-point fuel injection (MPFI) system. Later versions feature various implementations of variable valve timing

Variable valve timing

In internal combustion engines, variable valve timing , also known as Variable valve actuation , is a generalized term used to describe any mechanism or method that can alter the shape or timing of a valve lift event within an internal combustion engine...

 and replace MPFI with direct fuel injection

Gasoline direct injection

In internal combustion engines, gasoline direct injection , also known as petrol direct injection or direct petrol injection, is a variant of fuel injection employed in modern two-stroke and four-stroke gasoline engines...

 (marketed as NEO-Di). The VQ series engine was honored by Ward's 10 Best Engines

Ward's 10 Best Engines

Ward's 10 Best Engines is an annual list of the ten "best" automobile engines available in the U.S. market, that are selected by Ward's AutoWorld magazine. The list was started in 1994, and has been drawn every year since then....

 list almost every year from the list's inception.