A 4-cylinder engine is a machine designed to burn fuel to generate motion, and it uses four combustion chambers with round or oval cavities housing pistons. Fuel combusts, expanding the air in the chamber and forcing the pistons into motion within the cylinders. This motion transmits down the drivetrain to the wheels and the car moves.
In most 4-cylinder engines, the pistons form a straight line, vertical configuration, also known as an inline-4. A flat-4, or horizontally opposed 4-cylinder engine, is another but less common configuration. This type of engine is also called a “boxer” engine. Cars with V4 engines where the two banks of pistons resemble a V-shape exist but are rare.
Cars with 4-cylinder engines are typically some of the most fuel-efficient vehicles on the market. So, if you’re looking to buy a car with a 4-cylinder engine, you can filter search results by engine size when you shop cars for sale on Kelley Blue Book.
