The 8 Greatest Four-Cylinder Engines Of The Last 20 Years

Most four-cylinder engines aren't anything special, but a fair few went against the grain. So, we asked you guys to nominate your favourite four-pots produced in the last 20 years, and these are the results!
The 8 Greatest Four-Cylinder Engines Of The Last 20 Years

Honda F20C/F22C

Suggested by Sxizofrenis
Suggested by Sxizofrenis

240bhp from a 2.0-litre naturally-aspirated engine is an impressive enough feat from the F20C, before you consider the variable valve timing. And the 9000rpm redline. And the fact it’s pretty much bullet proof. It powered the Honda S2000 until the car’s discontinuation in 2009, with some markets receiving the larger ‘F22C’ variant (pictured).

Mitsubishi 4G63

Suggested by Stunt
Suggested by Stunt

It was around for decades and powered countless cars in myriad forms - SOHC, DOHC, carb’d, injected, N/A, turbocharged, you name it - but arguably the 4G63’s most famous application was in the Evolution line of Mitsubishi Lancers. The last Evo it appeared in was the IX, where it produced anything up to 366bhp.

VW EA888

Suggested by Freddie Skeates
Suggested by Freddie Skeates

It may be one of the more clinical engines here, but you can’t argue with the EA888’s flexibility, and its performance potential. In the VW Golf R and Audi S3 it’s good for a mighty 297bhp, and although that doesn’t sound quite as impressive as the 366bhp 4G63T in the Mitsubishi Evo IX FQ360 we just talked about, it’s important to note that you get all that power with some pretty decent fuel economy.

It’s moved the game on, and proves that you can have cars as punchy as the recently departed Evo X and current (and ludicrously thirsty) Subaru WRX STI with fewer drawbacks. And there’s more to come: should the Golf R400 survive VW Group’s post-emissions scandal cutbacks, we could be seeing a 395bhp version in production before too long.

Alfa Romeo Twin Spark

Suggested by Chris Gunn
Suggested by Chris Gunn

It may be the ‘Busso’ V6 that gets all the attention when people reminisce about Alfa Romeo engines of the past, but we shouldn’t forget about the old Twin Spark four-banger. It utilises a second, smaller spark plug for each cylinder at the edge of the combustion chamber, all in the name of improving combustion efficiency.

It’s a technology that’s never really caught on - indeed, Alfa itself gave up on it, replacing the TS line of engines with the direct-injected JTS series - but it’s a characterful unit with a distinctive zingy induction noise. Displacement ranged from 1.4 to 2.0 litres, with the latter size producing 150bhp.

Subaru EJ25

Suggested by Daniel Ace
Suggested by Daniel Ace

The EJ25 is a bit of an awkward one. It was a popular choice in the original community question we put out, but there are plenty of reasons why it shouldn’t be here. Certain versions are known to be prone to head gasket failures, and they’re not what you’d call economical - as alluded to earlier, the current EJ25-powered Subaru WRX STI is made to look shockingly thirsty next to the current crop of as-powerful hot hatches.

But this list wouldn’t be complete without a Subaru boxer engine, and we love the fact that the EJ25 still exists. It’s a glorious oddity in a world of relatively characterless inline-fours, and while it may not sound as burbly as the older unequal-length header-equipped Subaru boxers, the most recent EJ257 version makes a lovely distinctive noise.

Volvo B230FT

Suggested by Emil Wiselqvist
Suggested by Emil Wiselqvist

Part of Volvo’s ‘Redblock’ family of ‘slant-four’ engines, the B230FT has a well-deserved reputation for strength and durability thanks to a refreshingly simple design. The most powerful versions are good for 190bhp.

7. SR20DET

Suggested by Jiří
Suggested by Jiří

Like many of the engines here, SR20DET production started more than 20 years ago. And, many of its more famous applications occurred before 1995. However, since it powered the S15 Silvia - where it produced up to 247bhp - right into the Noughties, and since it’s a bonafide legend in our petrolhead circle, we could hardly not include it. It’s reliable, easy to tune, and cheap to maintain. What’s not to love?

Toyota 3S-GE

Suggested by Tristan Lopez
Suggested by Tristan Lopez

The actual suggestion was for all generations of 3S-GE, but the one I want to focus on is the fifth-generation version, also known as the ‘Blacktop’. Like all 3S-GE ‘BEAMS’ engines, this one was produced in conjunction with Yamaha, and it was the most powerful of the series, with 207bhp developed at 7600rpm. It powered just one car: the Toyota Altezza RS200.

Click here for the original community question!

Comments

Luke Kindred

Not meaning to be an arse hole, but surely it wasn’t really worth putting how the 4G63 came with up to 366 bhp in the 9? It wasn’t the most hp the 4G63 came with (405 bhp was the most in the fq400 8), so surely you should’ve put that? :)

12/24/2015 - 12:15 |
20 | 0

He was stating its last use not its most powerful. Obviously these engines are tuned well above 400 so you’re pointing out the 8 with more power is slightly irrelevant.

12/24/2015 - 12:45 |
2 | 0

Maybe it’s because the fq400 had a hks turbo.

12/25/2015 - 11:01 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

Where is the ej-20

12/24/2015 - 12:27 |
4 | 4
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Isnt The ej20 better than ej25?

12/24/2015 - 17:18 |
0 | 0
The_queenslander

4-Age??
Good list tho

12/24/2015 - 12:29 |
0 | 4

I thought the same thing, it’s older than 20 years old though

12/24/2015 - 13:04 |
0 | 0

its not 20yo ago its more, and i think the BEAMS a.k.a “BlackTop” is a good succesor of it

12/24/2015 - 13:33 |
0 | 0
SimpleG

You got a misspell at Toyota 3S-GE

12/24/2015 - 12:31 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

you forgot the b series and the k series

12/24/2015 - 12:34 |
2 | 2
ramses rizal

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

I think it meant just one engine per brand. And F20C it’s already represent Honda. There’s also H series beside B and K series.

12/24/2015 - 13:02 |
2 | 0
Lappis

Redblock or gtfo ;3

12/24/2015 - 12:39 |
24 | 2
Macke_Lacke

In reply to by Lappis

B230Fk med uppställt ladd o gröna R :D De som ger.

09/18/2016 - 13:46 |
2 | 0
Sam Squid

207bhp developed at 7600bhp, there’s a mistake here Matt

12/24/2015 - 12:41 |
144 | 2

7600bhp?! Must be the most powerful 4-cyl ever.

12/24/2015 - 12:56 |
78 | 0
JDM_DURAMAX2.8LWN_ML

No B Series?

12/24/2015 - 12:45 |
16 | 2
eightsixaddiction

Yeess!, So glad to to see the Beams S3-GE in this list haha ! :D

12/24/2015 - 12:48 |
20 | 2

didn’t toyota use the 3S-GE in their gt500 cars back in the day? (97 Castrol Tom’s supra) for example or I am. thinking of another one

12/24/2015 - 16:27 |
2 | 0

Glad all 3s engines were considered. Driven the 1st gen and 4th gen RedTop BEAMS. Both were bloody reliable engines with a beautiful sound.

12/24/2015 - 18:28 |
2 | 0
Jan Podgornik

Crappy bottom end damage 2.0 alfa twin spark is on the list but no b or k series? CT u mad?

12/24/2015 - 12:56 |
0 | 4

Topics

Sponsored Posts