DT 5.0 Best 5-Cylinder Cars Under $20k

I've always felt like the 5-cylinder was the red headed stepchild of the inline internal combustion engine family. Four-bangers are everywhere; inline sixes are "teh sex" and normally reserved for silky German machinery (unless we're talking pre-V6 America, in which case they were completely pedestrian). But the 5-pot never got much attention. Maybe that's why I find myself drawn to them - who doesn't root for the underdog, especially on DT? Let's check out the world of 72° crank pin offsets. This post is part of DT's 5th Birthday Celebration.

5k: 3B Powered: 1991 Audi 90

The Audi 80/90 was the predecessor to the A4 and grew up sharing a platform with the Volkswagen's Fox & Passat.  They don't quite have the following of something like the Audi Quattro Coupe, they are starting to come into their own as a cool vintage 90s Euro styled cruiser available with a 5-spd trans and all-wheel-drive.  Today's example comes with a bigger engine from Audi's early S-line cars and should be fast when it isn't in the shop.  Find this 1991 Audi 90 offered for $6,400 buy-it-now or make-offer here on eBay with 2 days to go, located in Niles, IL.

10k: Swedish Lead Sled: 2006 Volvo S60R 6-Speed

Tipper Brian P sent us a link for a salvage-title, high-mile 2004 Volvo V70R 6-spd Wagon, but the listing was canceled by the seller (off ebay sale?) before we had a chance to feature it.  With the taste of a 300 horsepower, all-wheel-drive, 6-speed manual Volvo still fresh in my mind, I headed off to ebay to find another hit.  Find this 2006 Volvo S60R 6-Speed offered for $12,975 or best offer on ebay with 14 days to go, located in Opa-Locka, FL.

5k: Diplomats Only: 2002 Lancia Thesis 2.0 Turbo

The Lancia Thesis is a hideous controversially styled sedan penned by a disciple of the man who mangled BMW's design direction for generations. According to a clearly self authored Wikipedia article, Chris Bangle hired American designer Michael Robinson into the Fiat design group and later Robinson became the head of Lancia (part of Fiat at the time) design.  During his tenure at Lancia, Robinson designed the Thesis and equally egregiously uniquely styled Lancia Ypsilon.  Find this 2002 Lancia Thesis 2.0 Turbo offered for $4,500 in Chevy Chase, MD via craigslist.