This is the only new car you can get with a 5 -cylinder engine – Jalopnik

What if you wanted to get more power than possible from a four -cylinder engine, but with an engine that was not as heavy and thirsty for fuel as a six -cylinder mill? The obvious solution for Mercedes-Benz was the 3.0-liter five-cylinder diesel engine introduced with the 300D sedan of 1974. And because the i5 was based on the four-cylinder engines of Mercedes-Benz, the construction of the new power plant would be relatively simple and cost effective. It would also remain impressively sustainable, with models that are anecdotally known for crossing the threshold of 500,000 miles.

However, the automaker that is most associated with five -cylinder engines is probably another German company, in this case Audi. The brand with four rings came in 1976 in five-cylinder engines when it had a 2.1-liter example that was able to make 136 hp. The Audi 100 was the first car with gas with a five -cylinder engine, opted for its compact packaging that would help to achieve a better balance between weight distribution.

And so it is appropriate that the last new car that you can get today with a five -cylinder engine is an Audi (although in 2027 the new VW Golf R will get the same mill). The job-friendly Audi RS 3 Compact Sport Sedan takes the pavement with a 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine with turbo vehicle that takes drivers of zero-to-60 in a sturdy 3.6 seconds with thanks to the 396 hp and 369 pound-foot torque that is led by its Rache-Drive-Drive system.

The RS3 received a transforming injection of pleasure last year, and according to our own Daniel Golson, who drove the car in both scenarios, the 2025 RS3 “is a real pleasure to drive whether you are on track or a tight mountain pass.” Golson gave the honor to functions such as the improved multi-clutus of the RS3, coupling freestyle rear differential, which received torque vectoring for 2025, along with improved adaptive dampers and the available Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tires. Moreover, the various digital updates did not seem to be distracted from the driving experience.

Speaking of the torque vectoring, Golson reported: “It is subtly enough that I don’t really feel the system working; the car is simply by nature playful and more responsive.” Regarding today’s subject, the RS3’s Turbo with five -cylinder power plant, it has transferred unchanged this year. So it remains “one of the most entertaining and characterful engines on sale.”

Inside, the revised RS3 still shows a bit too much plastic for the taste of some people, and the new steering wheel with flat bottom and a flat top can get used to it. However, the cockpit remains a pleasant place to spend time. Deluxe Details include a new-for-2026 standard head-up display as a supplement to standard functions such as a panoramic sunroof, heated Nappa leather seats, a Bang & Olufsen-sound system and an RS-specific virtual cockpit drill program display. Fast, fun and comfortable, the RS3 keeps the five -cylinder flame burning clear.

In addition to Audi and Mercedes-Benz-Die already in 2006 with five-cylinder passenger cars, a number of other car manufacturers offered their happiness with five-cylinder engines. The JDM Acura power from 1989, for example, stood out of the crowd with a 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine that was different from typical five-cylinder arrangements because it was mounted both longitudinal and tilted at an angle of 35 degrees. Now the power was perhaps one of the cars that you forgot existed, because it was only for sale in the US from 1992 to 1994, but by that time the Volvo 850 was in production.

The 850 in fact went on sale in 1991 and the 2.3-liter five-cylinder engine led to a major change in Volvo’s approach to drive lines. The automaker is said to have been promised for most of its line-up in the following years, not in the line-up, not led until 2014. The same power plant was put in the Ford Focus document for a while, Ford owned Volvo from 1999 to 2010 motivated the Hot-Hatch Focus RS500.

Ford was also not the only domestic car company that offered a five-cylinder engine: GM actually removed a cylinder from an existing i6 truck engine to make an i5 for the pickups from 2004 to 2012 such as the Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon and Hummer H3-Pick-ups. It was the only inline five -cylinder ever produced in mass in the United States.