Best, or just sweetest 4 cylinder engines?

[Electrics not for me]

As a long time devotee of 5, 6, 8 and upwards cylinder-ed cars i often wonder if there are any smooth, powerful 4 bangers around? The A45 AMG is obviously epic from a performance point of view, 420 bhp and supercar 0-60 times are stunning efforts but i find them raw, loud and uncompromising.
What 4 cylinder cars have been made that are quick but smooth and quiet?

[Electrics not for me]

Sorry, I meant car engines, but if we're talking bikes then any number of 4 cylinder engines are great as they are so small and have tiny cylinder size. I'm currently running a low-miles Gen 2 Hyabusa from 2010 and it's a lovely engine in that thing. I love the effortless 100+ mph cruising ability and silly 0-100 if needed.
But car wise, my old S2000 must be at or near the top. A later car, it was such a clean revving motor.

[Electrics not for me]

biggbn said:

Honda four pots? The old Fiat Twin Cam was a lovely old unit. And I have a massive sof spot for the VAG 1.9 tdi. Most influential engine of the 20th century?

Well yes, that 1.9 diesel made it's way into many a car and was tuned mercilessly and often mapped to oblivion. Taxis to boy racers used them in big numbers.
I'd probably say the most influential engine could also be argued to be the pushrod American V8?

[Electrics not for me]

Driveeasy said:

Honda MC22 with 20,000 rpm redline. A friend owned one years ago and it was the best thing I’ve ever heard.

I had a CBR250RR myself and the real surprise was that it would pull form 35 mph in top gear.

[Electrics not for me]

healeyneil said:

How about the ecotec fitted in the new Mustangs? Not a V8 obviously, but that power and torque from a four banger shouldn’t be sniffed at

It's a de-tuned Focus RS engine. I believe.

[Electrics not for me]

If we're including motorcycles, the 250cc fours from the 1990s were amazingly smooth, like my old CBR250RR and FZR250RR, both Japanese imports. Both had shorter strokes than 49cc mopeds and revved to 19,000 rpm.

[Electrics not for me]

AeroMan said:

Electrics not for me said:

As a long time devotee of 5, 6, 8 and upwards cylinder-ed cars i often wonder if there are any smooth, powerful 4 bangers around? The A45 AMG is obviously epic from a performance point of view, 420 bhp and supercar 0-60 times are stunning efforts but i find them raw, loud and uncompromising.
What 4 cylinder cars have been made that are quick but smooth and quiet?

As a V8 devotee and having downsized from a C63 to an AMG GLA 45 as a daily driver, I must respectfully disagree with your verdict on the AMG engine Electrics. I find it epic for a 4-cylinder, if it is too loud for you turn the exhaust down to the Comfort setting, whilst leaving the engine on the Sport + setting - a modern 4-cylinder with both character and performance….

Can't recall mentioning the engine electrics. But i will say that turbocharged 4 cylinder cars like Type R and A45 AMG and even Lancer Evos have that same boring drone that doesn't come near an inline 6, V8 or V12 for sound. There's a Golf R near us which annoys the village but it's not just how loud, it's how it sounds loud. Really boring and monotonous. If i go out in the S2000, now that is a 4 pot i'd say comes closest to sounding nice. Especially above 8,000 rpm.
BTW of course an A45 AMG is an amazing car performance-wise. 2 litres and supercar 0-60 from just 10 years ago, some now even.

[Electrics not for me]

Rover 1.8, as fitted to Caterhams 20 years ago was decent. Admittedly reliability issues plagued them but i thought that 250 bhp from 1.8 with no charging was amazing.