Highest-Displacement 4-Cylinder Engines In Production Today
Inline four-cylinder engines are inherently unbalanced, but skillful design and properly balanced and counterweighted crankshafts combine with soft engine mountings to make modern four-pot models of refinement and civility. Provided the reciprocating masses are fairly low and the stroke not too long, they can be very smooth. But large-capacity four-cylinders are traditionally coarse and prone to vibration, because the heavier unbalanced rotating assembly then becomes quite obvious.
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Because the pistons move in pairs in opposite directions, these engines’ primary balance is perfect, but their second-order balance isn’t caused by the acceleration and deceleration of the pistons during the top half of the crankshaft’s rotation, exceeding the values compared to when the pistons are in the bottom half of rotation. Even with balancer shafts to quell these imbalances, there’s a limit to how big you can make a four-pot. Let’s look at the largest-capacity ones currently available in regular cars and trucks.
To make this a sensible list, we selected only gas engines available in regular passenger cars, SUVs, and trucks, not diesel engines, which are often of large displacement for their cylinder count, such as the 2.8L Duramax four-cylinder in some GM products. In fact, many diesel engines in regular pickup trucks used worldwide have four cylinders and can be over 3.0L in capacity, so we don’t include any of them. All the engines on this list are available on the American market in new vehicles today.
10 Mitsubishi 4B12 2.4L
Engine Capacity: 2,360 cc
|
Engine Configuration |
2.4L NA hybrid I4 |
|---|---|
|
Horsepower |
131 hp gas 248 hp PHEV |
|
Torque |
144 lb-ft |
|
Noteworthy Applications |
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV |
Way back in 2002, Chrysler, Mitsubishi, and Hyundai founded the Global Engine Alliance joint venture, from which was born a family of 1.8L-2.4L chain-drive inline four-cylinder engines separately developed and used by the separate brands. The last Tigershark 2.4L Jeep variant disappeared with the 2023 Cherokee’s discontinuation, but evolutions of the rest survive here and there, most popularly as a turbocharged 2.0L. The only big one – the naturally aspirated 2.4L – left is the one in the 2025 Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrid currently on sale in the US, where it’s used in low-output Atkinson Cycle format, though regular versions with direct injection developed as much as 200 hp in some Hyundais.
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9 Subaru FA24 2.4L
Engine Capacity: 2,387 cc
|
Engine Configuration |
2.4L NA/turbocharged I4 |
|---|---|
|
Horsepower |
228-260 hp |
|
Torque |
184-277 lb-ft |
|
Noteworthy Applications |
Subaru Outback, BRZ, Toyota GR86. |
Subaru makes its 2.4L boxer four-cylinder in high-revving naturally aspirated format for the Subaru BRZ/Toyota GR86 sports cars and with a turbocharger for bigger crossovers such as the Outback. The big capacity is hardly noticeable, even with the high revs of the naturally aspirated version, as a boxer engine is so much better balanced than an inline four-cylinder. As you’ll see, some of the bigger engines on this list are also boxers.
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8 Toyota Dynamic Force T24A 2.4L
Engine Capacity: 2,393 cc
|
Engine Configuration |
2.4L turbocharged I4 |
|---|---|
|
Horsepower |
228-278 hp |
|
Torque |
243-339 lb-ft |
|
Noteworthy Applications |
Toyota Highlander, Tacoma, Crown, Lexus NX, TX. |
The family of long-stroke Dynamic Force engines from Toyota now include many configurations, from the regular naturally aspirated 2.5L and turbocharged 2.4L four-cylinders on this list to the turbo-I3 in the GR Corolla and the 3.4L twin-turbo V6 in many Lexus models. The 2.4L mentioned here is turbocharged and usually used in conjunction with a hybrid system in cars like the Highlander, Tacoma, and Crown, and many Lexus models. A feature of the Dynamic Force engines is that they have dual (port and direct) fuel injection.
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7 Toyota Dynamic Force A25 2.5L
Engine Capacity: 2,487 cc
|
Engine Configuration |
2.5L NA I4 |
|---|---|
|
Horsepower |
174-207 hp |
|
Torque |
162-186 lb-ft |
|
Noteworthy Applications |
Toyota Camry, RAV4, RAV4 PHEV, Crown HEV, Lexus ES, NX. |
The biggest Dynamic Force four-cylinder is the 2.5L, and Toyota has kept the bore small to aid combustion efficiency, so it has a very long stroke, and is known for being coarse and not very refined, as is fairly typical of a big-four engine. With natural aspiration, it puts out just over 200 hp in the typical gas Camry, but it’s also commonly used as part of HEV and PHEV arrangements, some with over 300 hp. The lower-output Atkinson Cycle versions develop less than 180 hp and are exclusively used in conjunction with hybrid drive.
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6 Mazda SkyActive-G 2.5L
Engine Capacity: 2,488 cc
|
Engine Configuration |
2.5L NA/turbocharged I4 |
|---|---|
|
Horsepower |
191-250 hp |
|
Torque |
188-320 lb-ft |
|
Noteworthy Applications |
Mazda 3, CX-30, CX-50. |
When Mazda developed its direct-injected SkyActiv-G engine, it retained the bore and stroke geometry of the old L 2.5L engine for the 2.5L SkyActive-G, but it’s quite a refined engine, considering the long stroke typical of modern designs. Mazda’s biggest four is used in almost all its cars, from the hatchback and sedan Mazda 3s to the CX-30 and CX-50 crossovers, in either naturally aspirated or turbocharged form.
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5 Ford Duratec 2.5L
Engine Capacity: 2,488 cc
|
Engine Configuration |
2.5L NA HEV I4 |
|---|---|
|
Horsepower |
163 hp gas 192-266 hp HEV |
|
Torque |
155 lb-ft |
|
Noteworthy Applications |
Ford Escape HEV/PHEV, Maverick PHEV, Lincoln Corsair PHEV |
We’ve mentioned before how most Ford four-pots over the last 20 years or so are descendents of the Mazda L engine, but most of them are the turbocharged versions of the 2.0L and 2.3L. This is the only surviving naturally aspirated Duratec 2.5L – the largest capacity this engine family came in. Today, it’s only used in the Ford Escape and Lincoln Corsair hybrid models, with natural aspiration and running the Atkinson Cycle.
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4 Nissan PR25DD 2.5L
Engine Capacity: 2,488 cc
|
Engine Configuration |
2.5L NA I4 |
|---|---|
|
Horsepower |
181-188 hp |
|
Torque |
180-181 lb-ft |
|
Noteworthy Applications |
Nissan Altima, Mitsubishi Outlander |
Yes, Nissan still makes a naturally aspirated big-four engine, but most of the cars the PR25DD naturally aspirated unit were used in are now dead, with only two remaining in the US – the aging Nissan Altima sedan and Nissan’s alliance partner Mitsubishi’s Outlander.
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3 Porsche MA2.22 2.5L
Engine Capacity: 2,497 cc
|
Engine Configuration |
2.5L turbocharged H4 |
|---|---|
|
Horsepower |
350 hp |
|
Torque |
309 lb-ft |
|
Noteworthy Applications |
Porsche Cayman/Boxster S |
One of the biggest four-pots on sale is a boxer engine made by Porsche. It’s the 718 Cayman/Boxster 2.5L fitted to the Cayman and Boxster S models. With a high rev limit of 7,500 rpm and plenty of boost, it generates 140 hp per liter and can get the quickest version of the car in which it’s installed to 60 mph in four seconds.
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2 Subaru FB25 2.5L
Engine Capacity: 2,498 cc
|
Engine Configuration |
2.5L turbocharged H4 |
|---|---|
|
Horsepower |
180-182 hp |
|
Torque |
176-178 lb-ft |
|
Noteworthy Applications |
Subaru Crosstrek, Outback, Forester. |
The second-biggest four-cylinder on sale is a boxer – Subaru’s FB25, which does duty in many Subarus currently on sale. It’s a modern direct-injected engine with good fuel economy, and the cams are chain-driven.
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1 GM L3B 2.7L
Engine Capacity: 2,727 cc
|
Engine Configuration |
2.7L turbocharged I4 |
|---|---|
|
Horsepower |
237-325 hp |
|
Torque |
259-430 lb-ft |
|
Noteworthy Applications |
Chevrolet Colorado/Silverado 1500, Traverse, GMC Canyon/Sierra 1500, Acadia, Cadillac CT4 |
For the past six years or so, GM’s L3B four-cylinder has been on sale, and though it’s rather coarse and unrefined in some of the sedans it’s used – such as the Cadillac CT4 – it’s acceptably refined in the SUVs and trucks that make use of it. It was developed to be a more efficient alternative to a six-cylinder engine, and with plenty of reserve in terms of durability and tunability. Dual contra-rotating balancer shafts help it run more evenly.
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