Vroom vroom go fast. That’s all. 
I occasionally indulge in a little “horsepower therapy” when I have the opportunity.
I don’t know about that. There are a lot of little Toyotas and Hondas out there that are underpowered by todays standards, and have enormous mileage racked up. When you hear about a Civic with 300,000 miles or something like that, that must be one from the 80’s or 90’s.
If you have something you want to tow but don’t want a truck.
IANA mechanic; but as I understand it:
- Horsepower numbers and torque numbers often reach their highest levels if one is really stomping on the accelerator.
- Typical in town driving, and even steady acceleration won’t ‘engage’ a turbocharger. At least, that’s my understanding as to the why is there a turbo-lag. Takes enough rpm’s to build up pressure.
That is, the horsepower derived from the turbo won’t be noticeable if you want to drive it like a 100 hp vehicle.
I often drive a 2005 turbo charged Subaru Legacy. 250 hp, 250 ft.lbs torque (rounded). It is “fun” getting to the speed limit quickly. Interstate on ramps are a breeze.
I was driving a friend, who was ranting about this very subject, once in my '95 Honda del Sol (approx 135 hp, 4-banger). She said to me, “Why does a car’s speedometer go to 120 when you never, ever drive that fast?”
I started to explain that it’s about horsepower and it’s not about always driving to the maximum performance your car is capable of, but sometimes you need some extra power to get out of a tight spot.
We were on a freeway and another car was slaloming in and out of traffic and cut us off. I had to mash down on the gas to get us out of a potentially dangerous situation. In my old Chevy, we probably would have gotten hit and possibly killed – it did not have enough pick up to be responsive enough to get us out of the way as fast as we needed to be out of the way. In my light, maneuverable Honda, my foot mashed down and we were outta the way right that second.
My friend got real quiet. I turned my head for a second and said, “And THAT’s why we need more power.” She got the point.
Answer: because they sell it to other people too (and in other countries with other speed limits, more to the point).
A more powerful car with lots of torque is generally just more livable in regular driving, too. Driving an underpowered car means the engine is always working hard, which means high revs, noise, thrashing, etc. If you’re driving a standard, lots of torque means it’s easier to start moving smoothly, and fewer shifts are required (you can drive in a taller gear without ‘lugging’ the engine). Also, you may find that a larger engine gets better mileage than the smaller one, if the smaller one is always having to stay at high revs to make the power you need.
The last underpowered vehicle I had was very annoying in that every time I wanted to accelerate even a little, it would downshift and everything would get twice as loud. It was just ‘peaky’ to drive. Always shifting around trying to find the right gear.
And of course, nothing is more scary than moving out into the oncoming lane to pass someone, with the gas pedal floored, and your speedometer barely inching forward. I’d solve that by starting to pass by falling back, then accelerating and building up a head of steam on the guy in front of me, then cutting out and going around him while already closing quickly. This is not the safest way to pass, but it beat the hell out of hanging out in the oncoming traffic lane for two minutes while the beater crawled past the other guy.
This doesn’t mean you have to have 300HP or anything. But if I had a large sedan that weighed anywhere close to 4000 lbs, I wouldn’t want any less than 250, and if I were driving a smaller sedan that weighed 3300-3500 lbs, I’d want at least 200 HP. The car will just be more livable. A modern direct-injection V6 will get excellent gas mileage while still making good horsepower. GM’s new 3.6L V6 creates around 300 HP and can return close to 30 mpg on the highway in a 3500 lb car.
It’s fun.
If you want more practical applications, you’ve got merging into traffic, passing, pulling out onto busy roads, and sometimes it’s more important to accelerate than brake to avoid a collision.
Satisfy my curiosity. What kind of car are we talking about here?
That was answered up in post #14. The car in question is the Volvo C30, but other cars are also unavailable in the US with smaller engines options. The Mini One was not offered to US consumers in part because its small engine couldn’t power an air conditioner.
Air conditioning is either standard or an option on the Mini One, as it is on other small hatchbacks. That said, when I had a 1.4 litre VW Polo years ago you could definitely feel that it was less powerful when you switched the AC on. So I think that back then the smaller engines were indeed barely up to it.
Err? Really the 1.6 Mini one was available here in the tropics where an air-com unit is a must. Unless I’m innerant and it should come with something smaller?
After a couple minutes of reading up on the car, it seems like you’re just looking for a different car. The C30 is a sports coupe hatchback, and on open straight roads of the US, 130 horses isn’t sporty. The 4-door S40 is a passenger version of that line. And because parking space and gas mileage are less important issues in the US market, there’s little reason to sell an underpowered hatchback when people can buy a 4-door version with similar specs.
Well, the C30 is cheaper than the S40, and more compact (which I do care about). I don’t think it’s designed exclusively as a sports coupe, as it’s available with a 99-horsepower engine in the UK.
Anyway… Thanks everyone for your thoughts, but I have to say none of the arguments were compelling to me. If I’m in a situation where I need a powerful car to pass a slower vehicle, I’d just stay behind until it is safe. And considering the longevity of various small-engine cars (lots of Civics, for example), I’m not convinced by the argument that smaller engines are overstressed.
So this evening I ended up choosing the car that had been my top choice to begin with - the Honda Fit. It’s not as elegant or refined as the Volvo, but it’s the right size for me, has plenty of power, and the fuel economy is good enough that I don’t feel guilty driving it.
Well, this is why they make different kinds of cars. If you really only want to get from here to there, and extremely high mileage is very important to you, then you won’t need or even want a lot of power. But if you like to have a bit more fun while driving then 99 horsepower probably won’t cut it.
My frustration is that I can’t get the car that suits me, which I think is that 99-horsepower C30. (Well OK, maybe the 123-horsepower.)
This is my thought as well. I recently bought a 300HP V8 fairly small car. I could claim any of the “safety” reasons above, but in reality it is when I push the pedal down and turn to see the grin on my 12 year old son’s face grow to an enormous size and then realize I have the same look on my face is what makes it work for me. My wife on the other hand thinks our Mini-Van gets us there just as well and just doesn’t “get it”. The convertible top also doesn’t buy us any points in the practical or economical scale, but it sure does on the fun scale.
It’s just fun. You get used to any level of power after awhile. I’ve got a 2007 Mustang GT. It came with 300hp, I’m not sure how much it has now. It’s also got a light driveshaft and lower rear end gears. I’ve also got something with 100hp, but it’s a 400 pound motorcycle. It’s really fun to pass people using that.
I was just discussing this with my brother inlaw tonight. He was looking for a replacement for his V6 van and decided on a more economical V8 in a Crown Victoria. It gives him a roomy car with 2000 lb towing capacity and close to the same milieage as the Volvo C30.
It gives him a car slightly more advanced than a horse and buggy. Is that what he wants?