Five-cylinder engines occupy a strange sweet spot in automotive history, sitting between the balance of a straight-six and the compact packaging of a four-cylinder. They have powered everything from ...

Having lived with a four-cylinder Mercedes 240D and a five-cylinder 300D, I can tell you that the extra cylinder makes a huge difference getting up to highway speed at the end of an on-ramp.

Though it's rare and might be considered an oddity by some enthusiasts, the inline-five has proved its worth on numerous occasions, particularly under the hood of these iconic performance cars. Follow ...