With its symmetrical design and even firing order, the inline-six engine delivers a level of balance and smoothness that’s hard to match. However, being longer than most V8s, packaging constraints have limited the inline-six’s appeal in recent decades. That’s starting to change as automakers, in a quest for economies of scale, revisit the layout by developing modular designs shared with inline-fours and, in some cases, even inline-threes. The straight-6 is on an epic comeback tour.
You can find a variety of brands are now reintroducing them, and to help you find a vehicle with one, we’ve rounded up five of the most affordable on sale today.
2026 Mazda CX-90
Priced From $39,300
Engine
Turbocharged 3.3-liter I6
Transmission
8-speed automatic
Power
280 hp
Torque
332 lb-ft
Mazda has long built competent vehicles that err slightly on the dynamic side, but the automaker has never quite managed to command premium prices and the higher margins that come with them. In an effort to tap into the near-premium segment, Mazda developed a large rear-wheel-drive platform and an aluminum turbocharged inline-six dubbed the Skyactiv-G, i.e., the sort of hardware normally found in premium vehicles. In the United States, it debuted in the three-row CX-90 midsize SUV for the 2024 model year.
A two-row version, badged the CX-70, has since joined it, starting slightly higher at $42,750 versus the CX-90’s $39,300 MSRP. At those base prices, the inline-six makes a relatively tame 280 horsepower. An available high-output version raises that figure to 340 hp but requires premium fuel. Other markets also get the compact CX-60 SUV and the midsize CX-80, the latter offering third-row seats just like the CX-90 but measuring slightly shorter and narrower. These global SUVs also feature Mazda’s inline-six engine, including a diesel version.
The combination of the large rear-wheel-drive platform and inline-six engine gives the CX-90 an almost BMW X5-like experience from behind the wheel. Despite this, sales have struggled. After a strong first year, CX-90 sales have declined, partly due to early reliability issues and less rear-seat space than some rivals. Through July, Mazda sold 26,102 CX-90s, down 25 percent from the same period a year earlier. Mazda says updates are coming, although it hasn’t revealed what they will include.
2026 Ram 1500 Tradesman
Priced From $43,720
Engine
Twin-turbo 3.0-liter I6
Transmission
8-speed automatic
Power
420 hp
Torque
469 lb-ft
Ram dropped the V8 engine from its 1500 pickup lineup during a mid-cycle refresh for the 2025 model year, replacing it with a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six. Buyer backlash ultimately persuaded Ram to bring back the V8 for the 2026 model year, but the inline-six is still available. The engine is the Hurricane inline-six from parent company Stellantis, and in standard-output form, it delivers a stout 420 horsepower in the 1500.
The engine features aluminum construction and turbos that can deliver up to 26 psi of boost. However, this isn’t a peaky engine, as it produces 90% of its torque from as low as 2,350 rpm, giving Hurricane-equipped vehicles strong pulling power across the rev range. Stellantis has since launched the more advanced Hurricane 4 inline-four. It features pre-chamber ignition, enabling a 12:1 compression ratio to boost performance and efficiency.
Hurricane six-cylinder engine in a studioStellantis
The most affordable way to get the inline-six in the 1500 is in the Tradesman trim with rear-wheel drive, where the engine is a $1,695 option that brings the MSRP to $43,720. The standard powertrain is still the old Pentastar 3.6-liter V6, delivering 305 hp. The 420-hp Hurricane is available on lower 1500 trims, while a high-output version packing 540 hp is standard on higher 1500 trims like the Limited, RHO, and Tungsten. The 5.7-liter Hemi V8 with 395 hp is still available on many trims, while the more potent 392 and Hellcat V8s are reserved for the high-performance TRX (Hellcat only) and new-for-2027 Rumble Bee.
2026 Dodge Charger R/T
Priced From $49,995
Engine
Twin-turbo 3.0-liter I6
Transmission
8-speed automatic
Power
420 hp
Torque
468 lb-ft
Performance fans can take solace in knowing some performance cars still pack inline-six power with price tags that don’t approach six figures. One of these is the latest Dodge Charger, which offers the engine as an alternative to the electric setup in the Charger Daytona models. The inline-six is the same Hurricane twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter engine shared with the Ram 1500 detailed above, and which Dodge brands as the Sixpack.
It was made available in the Charger for the 2026 model year, in both coupe and sedan forms. The coupe is the cheaper option, starting at $49,995 in base R/T trim, while the four-door starts at $51,995. The R/T gets the standard 420-horsepower output, but a 550-hp high-output version is available in Scat Pack trim.
2026 Dodge Charger SixpackJared Rosenholtz/CarBuzz/Valnet
The Scat Pack is already plenty fast, able to deliver zero-to-60-mph acceleration in just 3.9 seconds. However, new for 2027 is the Super Bee trim, which benefits from bigger turbos, improved cooling, and retuned engine management to boost output of the inline-six to 600 hp, or enough to hit 60 mph in 3.6 seconds. There’s still no V8 available in the Charger, except for the non-street-legal Charger Hustle Stuff Drag Pak, though a Hellcat-powered Charger is rumored to be coming to showrooms.
2026 BMW M240i Coupe
Priced From $53,600
Engine
Turbocharged 3.0-liter I6
Transmission
8-speed automatic
Power
382 hp
Torque
369 lb-ft
BMW is one brand that hasn’t given up on its inline-six tradition and is, in fact, embracing it, going to huge lengths to ensure the engine can survive in a world of ever-tightening emissions standards. Today, it offers an inline-six in much of its lineup, with the most affordable being the 2 Series Coupe’s M240i trim, which starts at $53,600 and is rated at 382 horsepower.
The inline-six is a turbocharged 3.0-liter unit known internally as the B58, which has earned a reputation for reliability, even when horsepower is dialed up well beyond stock levels. Toyota even used it for its modern Supra, which also shared a platform with the BMW Z4, though both sports cars ended production earlier this year.
BMW B58 I6 Engine SeparateVia: BMW
Depending on the model, BMW sometimes pairs the B58 with a mild-hybrid system, and it even offers plug-in hybrid configurations, like the current 2026 X5 xDrive50e. BMW also has a more powerful inline-six known as the S58. This engine features twin turbos and is reserved for BMW M’s high-performance offerings, such as the M2.
2026 BMW M340i
Priced From $62,300
Engine
Turbocharged 3.0-liter I6
Transmission
8-speed automatic
Power
386 hp
Torque
398 lb-ft
Another BMW rounds out our list of the top five cheapest vehicles with an inline-six on sale in America right now. The M340i is the middle step in the 3 Series sedan lineup between the base version of the four-door and the high-performance M3. It costs $8,700 more than the M240i mentioned above, and for that, you get the same B58 engine in a more practical four-door configuration. This tune adds 4 hp and 29 lb-ft over the one in the M240i Coupe.
The inline-six is the signature engine of the 3 Series nameplate, so BMW’s benchmark sports sedan should make the list. The two have gone hand in hand for decades, with every generation of the 3 Series offering an inline-six somewhere in the lineup. That tradition will continue even as the 3 Series enters its eighth generation next year.
An Honorable Mention: 2026 Jeep Grand Wagoneer
Priced From $63,995
Engine
Twin-turbo 3.0-liter I6
Transmission
8-speed automatic
Power
420 hp
Torque
468 lb-ft
For $1,695 more than the BMW 3 Series above, you can slide behind the wheel of the Jeep Grand Wagoneer. This is a full-size American land yacht for almost the same money as a German compact sedan, and its incredible value is worth a mention here. The Grand Wagoneer, much like the Ram 1500 it shares a platform with, is one of the Stellantis vehicles that initially offered a V8 engine but then switched exclusively to six-cylinder power starting with the 2024 model year. But while the 1500 returned to offering V8s for 2026, the Grand Wagoneer remains a six-cylinder-only model, using the Hurricane twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six.
The Grand Wagoneer currently offers only a standard-output version of the engine, rated at 420 horsepower. It starts at $63,995 with the standard rear-wheel-drive system. In the Grand Wagoneer’s early years, a high-output version with 510 hp was available as an alternative to the standard 6.4-liter Hemi V8, rated at 471 hp. The power then bumped up from 510 to 540 hp for 2025, but that high-output option was dropped, along with the base Wagoneer model, after the Grand Wagoneer underwent a refresh for 2026. For bargain hunters, those early Grand Wagoneers represent excellent value on the used market.
2026 Jeep Grand WagoneerJeep
For buyers seeking more performance in the Grand Wagoneer, an extended-range electric powertrain is expected to arrive later this year, likely as a 2027 model. The powertrain will use a V6 as its range extender, just like the canceled Ram 1500 Ramcharger, and is rumored to pack around 647 hp. Don’t expect a V8, though. Stellantis will reserve the V8 option for a new Ram-branded SUV sharing a platform with the 1500 and Grand Wagoneer, and it will adopt the Ramcharger name. It’s expected to arrive next year as a 2028 model.
Sources: BMW, Dodge, Jeep, Mazda, Ram
