[aaflyer79]

Cruising along the motorway at a steady 77, and idly wondering what % of cars that pass me have more horsepower or torque than my 335d? Or are (on paper) quicker to 62?

I’ll go for 5%.

Care to contribute your thoughts or %?

AA

[saltyamigo]

Less than that I would of guessed, 2-3% maybe.

[MarkG_M5Comp]

Torque I agree, very few.

Horsepower wise, it surprises me how many new cars are actually rather powerful

Either way, it will sill be quite low - in the single digits. No idea what!

[Tengocity]

At 77mph I'd say less than 2%.

If you sit at 95mph then it would probably go up a bit.

[JD6]

I would have thought that percentage quicker to 62 than 4.8 seconds would be well below 1%. The vast majority (probably over 90%) of cars out there are above 7 seconds

[bwrlane]

Originally Posted by JD6

I would have thought that percentage quicker to 62 than 4.8 seconds would be well below 1%. The vast majority (probably over 90%) of cars out there are above 7 seconds

Quite right and I do ask myself, what is going on here. My relationship with decent cars has taken a circuitous route.

In 2004 I was able to afford myself an Audi A4 avant 3.0 Quattro. It had 212bhp and did 0-62 in 7.1 seconds. It felt pretty fast in most circumstances.

I had a brief interlude in the automotive world where due to straightened economics and family pressures, for the intervening years I settled for a Toyota mpv.

Fast forward to 2013 when I got my f31 330d. It has only 40 more bhp more than the Audi but pace-wise on paper and in reality, it belongs to a different league.

A 7+ 0-62 car is now considered moderate, certainly not fast, whereas a decade ago it was fast. No way does an extra 40 bhp account for that much difference in pace. I am quite sure that BMW engines are under-rated and there's plenty of evidence to support that.

The percentage of cars that are more powerful, is probably even lower in reality than it is on paper.

[moff]

Bhp is always the most important to me. I get torque but prefer absolute power. 0-60 also totally irrelevant unless you traffic light Grand Prix all the time.

The sweet spot for me was 451bhp in my previous C63. I never wanted for more, it had great acceleration at almost any speed all the way to the limiter.

Most cars these days are surprisingly quick and it's often down to driver. Case in point being the Mini One (1.2 turbo) that I gave back yesterday after my car was in the BMW body shop for 3 days.

It was quicker than I thought it was going to be and very easy to drive at 10/10. It did 90-95mph on a motorway and when worked hard with the great manual gearbox certainly didn't hang around.... but I'll save this for another thread.

[225]

All these small turbo engines are making cars quicker with them all having loads of torque now.
My wife's Fabia 1.2 turbo only has 110bhp but a decent bit of torque and surprises a lot of people. Yes we are being relative here in terms of performance but compared to the days when cars like that all had n.a. 1.2 engines etc they are a lot quicker.

On the flip side the 1.6tdi touran I have this week is awful and reminds me of how happy I am I driv e a petrol again. Slow and very noisy

[NanasBack]

100% of the 340i's / 440i's

[1966-TR4]

Off the motorways, the torque is what will either open the gaps behind you or give you opportunities to overtake after everyone slows for bends that I wouldn't have considered in my previous cars.

[JD6]

Originally Posted by moff

Bhp is always the most important to me. I get torque but prefer absolute power. 0-60 also totally irrelevant unless you traffic light Grand Prix all the time.

I don't do the traffic light grand prix, but the real and frequent use of 0-60 is joining a busy A road at a T-junction without either waiting unduly, or being inconsiderate and causing other cars to have to brake. I use full power, or close to it in this way many times a week. xDrive also means you can be on the power more quickly (before straightening up) even when the road is damp.

I guess the value of this depends a lot on where you live, but in rural areas it's pretty common to have a T-junction onto a road where traffic is doing 60-70.

[F30Andy]

Whats the phrase I am looking for here......

Thats it...

Its all "Swings and Roundabouts" to me.

I am blessed (and spoilt) in the sense that I am fortunate enough to regularly play in 550BHP+ hardware.

What ruined my perception of speed was spending weekends playing with Lambo's and Ferrari's.
Once you have thrashed cars like that to within an inch of their lives cars like M5's, RS6's, E63's, GTR's, heck even first generation V10 R8's just don't feel as fast as they should or as they claim they are on paper.

Don't get me wrong, I still appreciate and feel speed, but it just doesn't and probably will never feel the same again.

I sat on a ride at Thorpe Park a few years back which did 0 - 60 in like 1.5 seconds.
That was the last time away from Italian exotica that I genuinely thought to myself "fuck that was fast."

[Watsey]

Depending on their weight and aerodynamics, almost all of the cars passing as you do 77mph might be producing more power and torque than your 435

[JD6]

Originally Posted by F30Andy

What ruined my perception of speed was spending weekends playing with Lambo's and Ferrari's.
Once you have thrashed cars like that to within an inch of their lives cars like M5's, RS6's, E63's, GTR's, heck even first generation V10 R8's just don't feel as fast as they should or as they claim they are on paper.

I did two track days many years ago where we worked our way up from Formula Fords up to Formula 1 cars. I can remember the feeling of getting back into my M5 at the time and it felt like I had left the handbrake on.

[73henny]

I'd think that very few cars would have more power or torque. Maybe different depending on where you are in the country too.

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by bwrlane

Quite right and I do ask myself, what is going on here. My relationship with decent cars has taken a circuitous route.

In 2004 I was able to afford myself an Audi A4 avant 3.0 Quattro. It had 212bhp and did 0-62 in 7.1 seconds. It felt pretty fast in most circumstances.

I had a brief interlude in the automotive world where due to straightened economics and family pressures, for the intervening years I settled for a Toyota mpv.

Fast forward to 2013 when I got my f31 330d. It has only 40 more bhp more than the Audi but pace-wise on paper and in reality, it belongs to a different league.

A 7+ 0-62 car is now considered moderate, certainly not fast, whereas a decade ago it was fast. No way does an extra 40 bhp account for that much difference in pace. I am quite sure that BMW engines are under-rated and there's plenty of evidence to support that.

The percentage of cars that are more powerful, is probably even lower in reality than it is on paper.

Modern gearboxes have really made a difference, especially to diesels, and also the actual gearing used too, in some situations.

[RustyBitz]

My outgoing seat Ibiza 1.2 with DSG is a rocket, I love surprising drivers especially the A180-C200 drivers

[moff]

Originally Posted by JD6

I don't do the traffic light grand prix, but the real and frequent use of 0-60 is joining a busy A road at a T-junction without either waiting unduly, or being inconsiderate and causing other cars to have to brake. I use full power, or close to it in this way many times a week. xDrive also means you can be on the power more quickly (before straightening up) even when the road is damp.

I guess the value of this depends a lot on where you live, but in rural areas it's pretty common to have a T-junction onto a road where traffic is doing 60-70.

I live rural and never really felt the need for xDrive or 4WD unless really adverse weather. I just prefer the fun and challenge of RWD, loved it in my 457hp C63 too.

But, ultimately as we're seeing with new M and AMG cars power is getting so high (600bhp+) that 4WD begins to make more sense, but hopefully a decent setup that doesn't impact on the driving experience as many setups do today.