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All the auto manufacturers and auto magazines have pretty much convinced the buying public that 0-60 is how you judge a cars quickness. Auto makers know this, so they gear cars to have tall 1st gears gears or make it quick to 60 and its about over from there since they are trying to get 30+ mpg also. Car A can get to 60 is 6.9 seconds and Car B in 6.3 seconds, yet they both get to 70mph at the same time and Car A will be considered slow even though it might be quicker than Car B from 70mph up and quicker around town due to gearing.
Every review is about HP and no regards for torque. A 2013 Fusion will get take hits for 237HP , but wont mention 270lb of torque on the low end that is better than all the high HP cars it competes against. The general public does not spend 80-90% of their driving above 5000rpm, where most non turbo cars are making their bulk power and tourque.
I have a 2012 Impala LTZ and that is a great example of fast to 60, but unless your flooring it, it sure doesnt feel like 300hp because the torque peak is 5300rpm. My old G6 GXP with 50 less HP was a tad slower to 60 than my Impala but would beat it in anything else acceleration wise.
I doubt most of the buying public has any clue what the real 0-60 or general performance capabilities of their car really is. I doubt HP or performance is all that important to most at all since most cars with multiple engine choices seem to sell far fewer versions of the higher power model.
HP and magazine racing is mostly for a small subset of enthusiasts, or people who think that stuff is important.
I like cars and performance, and cannot tell you what the track times are of the car I own, or the others I considered. I do know I drove the new Fusion turbo, and compared to the top engine offerings from other companies it feels like a dog in mid range punch and passing power. Very disappointing for a turbo which should plant you in the seat.
You know what I car about, 0-60 and is about it. I need a car to get to freeway speeds, and I know how fast the cars I have get there, so I can compare that to the cars I'm shopping.
I have no need to know 0-100 as Like most people I'm not a track guy, but I do often have to get up to freeway in a hurry after the jerk in front of me decides to come to a complete stop on the freeway on ramp.
All the auto manufacturers and auto magazines have pretty much convinced the buying public that 0-60 is how you judge a cars quickness. Auto makers know this, so they gear cars to have tall 1st gears gears or make it quick to 60 and its about over from there since they are trying to get 30+ mpg also. Car A can get to 60 is 6.9 seconds and Car B in 6.3 seconds, yet they both get to 70mph at the same time and Car A will be considered slow even though it might be quicker than Car B from 70mph up and quicker around town due to gearing.
Every review is about HP and no regards for torque. A 2013 Fusion will get take hits for 237HP , but wont mention 270lb of torque on the low end that is better than all the high HP cars it competes against. The general public does not spend 80-90% of their driving above 5000rpm, where most non turbo cars are making their bulk power and tourque.
I have a 2012 Impala LTZ and that is a great example of fast to 60, but unless your flooring it, it sure doesnt feel like 300hp because the torque peak is 5300rpm. My old G6 GXP with 50 less HP was a tad slower to 60 than my Impala but would beat it in anything else acceleration wise.
So what is really more important, 0-60 or the lb of torque as far as real acceleration?
So what is really more important, 0-60 or the lb of torque as far as real acceleration?
The low to mid range torque will get you moving off the line and feel faster but I quickly learned that although my stock turbo car had plenty of low end torque (peaks 300wtq at 2800rpm) it runs out of steam above 5400rpm. I upgraded the turbocharger to a larger one because I'm willing to give up some low end torque for phenomenal mid to high end power.
HP is derived from torque so if you can keep a healthy torque curve relatively flat throughout usable parts of the RPM range, you will make a good amount of horsepower up top.
Location: Formerly Pleasanton Ca, now in Marietta Ga
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I have read plenty of reviews where they address how much torque a car has.
0-60 is important since we often can't exceed that speed. Imagine a car mfg advertising how fast it is 0-120mph. The lawsuits would be amazing.
Pretty much when I look at a review I look at all the speeds.
I have friends that love to boast how fast their GTR's are, but when you compare them to other cars things really start to even up at 120 and higher. Still the reality is on the street 120 isn't often reached.
You might think of it like this. Say you have 450 hp but only 370 ft lbs of torque. Now you have a 4000 lb car and even though you have alot of hp the car wont move off the line very good as it takes torque (the twisting motion) to get that heavy car moving. If the car only weight 2500 lbs then you dont need as much torque and it will be faster. Usually torque and hp go up together in numbers together but not all the time. And on a basic V/8 the HP might peak about 5800 rpm but the torque will peak about 3000 rpm so that another reason torque helps launch a car as the HP is not real high at low rpm's. And many dont realize that even if you have more HP then someone you may not have as much of a HP curve meaning you might make 300 or more HP from 3500 rpm and peak at 375 at 5700 rpm's and you buddy might make 410 HP but may only make 275 at 3500 rpm and not carry as much HP thru the RPM curve. Meaning even at 4500 rpm you could have 340 HP and he may only have 325 at that rpm but at high (peak) rpm he could pass you but he could still have a slower car then you even though his peak HP is more then yours.
A good example is the 1970 Buick GSX with the 455 eng and the 1970 Chevelle with the 454. The Chevelle has a 454 with 450 HP and about 500 ft lbs of torque and weigh 3800 lbs.
The Buick has a 455 with 360 HP but it has 510 ft lbs of torque and weighs 3900 lbs. Many times the Buick GSX would beat the 454 Chevelle even though its rated 90 HP less ! Torque is what does it and the Buick GSX was the highest rated torque in 1970 and is considered one of the fastest muscle cars there was in stock condition. HP in the lighter car works better then in the heavy car. Its just an example but its true the Buick could and did beat the Chevelle many times. And I remeber when I was a kid and I thought how can that be it only has 360 HP ??? Ron
For the occasion that I jump on the Merritt Parkway in CT and have to launch from a dead stop into traffic, yes 0-60 comes in handy. But for 99% of my driving I care more about say 10/20 to 70. I'm not stoplight racing but I am coming up on a highway entrance ramps from turning onto them already in motion or going through an intersection and then onto the ramp so there is a head start so to speak.
On that point, passing is more important as well. How quickly can my car take me from 30-50, or 60-80, even 70-80 to get around that tractor trailer or the slow guy on the 4 lane main road. I'll say that 200hp does not sound like a lot for me car but having it bundled with a 6 speed row your own and a turbo 4 motor makes a lot of difference when you want to downshift and zip around and out of the way of traffic.
It does not matter how fast any car gets from 0-60 because probably only 10% of drivers are interested in performance.
Most drivers are more interested in reliability, good mileage, comfort, convenience.
I'm in the 10% but will not get into who is quicker 0-60. My car is quick enough and that's all that matters but it does get 26 MPG on the highway.
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