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Engine formats: all options are imperfect
The 4-cylinder option clearly best meets most people's mix of needs, taking into account all the idiosyncratic technical, economic and consumer factors.
Most cars have 4-cylinder engines. If that is the best design solution, why do some cars have 3, 5, 6, 8 or 12-cylinder engines? If any of those are technically superior, why aren’t they more common?
None of these options - including the predominant 4-cylinder in-line or transverse engine - is the best answer. Designers have yet to configure a 'perfect' solution that best ticks all the boxes of cost, weight, shape, space, rigidity, balance, capacity, power, performance, economy, durability, etc. etc.
