Would you rather have a 2.5 Four or Five Cylinder?

85,965

Asked by Mark Aug 14, 2015 at 11:37 PM about the 2010 Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited

Question type: General

Both of these engines have the same exact displacement,  so,  which runs cooler and
more efficiently?    It's a trade off between Four larger cylinders or Five smaller cylinders.
And, please comment on the issue of torque.    I understand that VW is discontinuing the
five cylinder engine,  why?  http://m.caranddriver.com/features/the-future-dims-for-the-
five-cylinder-engine-feature

5 Answers

A five cylinder would not work in a Subaru as they are inline engines. Honda had a racing 5 that was a V engine though! Odd number of cylinder engines are rough and require balancing shafts to try and smooth out the inherent vibrations. Inline 6 and V12 engines are naturally balanced. Torque is largely a matter of the stroke length of the engine, not the number of cylinders.

85,965

Full_of_Regrets- yes, this article is interesting, see this link http://m.caranddriver.com/features/the-future-dims-for-the-five- cylinder-engine-feature

85,965

Yes, I understand that the inline Five wouldn't work in the Subaru. Has to do with the layout of the AWD system.

85,965

My original question was aimed at comparing the torque similarly sized engines with different numbers of cylinders. Thanks for your answer above, so, it's the length of the stroke per cylinder and not the number of cylinders? Also, what do you know about engines that are more square, as in larger bore vs longer strokes?.

I have a 2005 Subaru outback impreza sport do you have to change anything if your pulling a 2.5 to a 3.6 or would it be easier with a wrx 2.0 turbo engine

Your Answer:

Outback

Looking for a Used Outback in your area?

CarGurus has 34,285 nationwide Outback listings starting at $1,900.

ZIP:

Own this car?

Share your experience with others.

2010 Subaru Outback

Review another car

CarGurus Experts

  • #1
    Mark Weiner
    Reputation
    33,170
  • #2
    TheSubaruGuruBoston
    Reputation
    28,270
  • #3
    Keith Cahalan
    Reputation
    3,280
View All

Know more, shop wisely

Search

Related Models For Sale

Used Subaru Forester
853 Great Deals out of 33,493 listings starting at $2,350
Used Toyota RAV4
1,742 Great Deals out of 28,062 listings starting at $1,950
Used Honda CR-V
1,804 Great Deals out of 38,064 listings starting at $2,477
Used Toyota 4Runner
948 Great Deals out of 19,733 listings starting at $1,950
Used Subaru Legacy
343 Great Deals out of 6,358 listings starting at $499
Used Toyota Tacoma
1,392 Great Deals out of 22,547 listings starting at $3,700
Used Subaru Impreza
280 Great Deals out of 7,727 listings starting at $1,995
Used Toyota Highlander
994 Great Deals out of 16,765 listings starting at $2,995
Used Toyota Camry
1,943 Great Deals out of 38,830 listings starting at $1,275
Used Honda Pilot
841 Great Deals out of 26,276 listings starting at $1,250
Used Ford F-150
5,575 Great Deals out of 112,089 listings starting at $1,995
Used Jeep Wrangler
3,056 Great Deals out of 53,549 listings starting at $3,000

Used Cars for Sale

2024 Subaru Outback For Sale
107 Great Deals out of 21,921 listings starting at $26,628
2023 Subaru Outback For Sale
90 Great Deals out of 1,480 listings starting at $25,977
2022 Subaru Outback For Sale
73 Great Deals out of 1,396 listings starting at $18,995
2021 Subaru Outback For Sale
150 Great Deals out of 1,934 listings starting at $16,985
2020 Subaru Outback For Sale
117 Great Deals out of 1,250 listings starting at $15,988

Content submitted by Users is not endorsed by CarGurus, does not express the opinions of CarGurus, and should not be considered reviewed, screened, or approved by CarGurus. Please refer to CarGurus Terms of Use. Content will be removed if CarGurus becomes aware that it violates our policies.