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Evening Wrap
The 5 at 5 Want that irresistible engine force? Go for torque over horsepower.
SOMETIMES HORSEPOWER GETS all the love, but if it’s pull you’re after as well as power, torque should be a top consideration when picking a car.
What is torque? Essentially, it’s the twisting force that an engine produces. The more torque a car has, the more force it will have to accelerate and to pull a load with. Ideally, you want a car with ample speed (from the horsepower) and strength (from the torque), but some engines will have more of one than the other, which is perfectly fine too.
Fancy driving a set of wheels with high torque and heaps of engine force? You can’t go wrong with these options…
Under €90k
2016 Tesla Model S 85D, €89,950
This particular Tesla is powered by the 85kWh battery and it has a dual motor and all-wheel drive. Tesla doesn’t give official torque figures but the figure quoted by most American car review websites is 658Nm (Newton metres, doncha know). Thanks to the all-electric power-train and dual motors – one for the front and the other for the rear axle – torque delivery is instant and you really do feel the Gs as you get that boost in acceleration.
Under €70k
2014 Porsche Panamera, €69,995
The Porsche Panamera is one of the finest cars for long distance, high performance motoring. This four-seat luxury cruiser has a massive maximum torque of 650Nm from 1,750-2,750rpm. Those prodigious amounts of torque means the Panamera is propelled with brute force, and overtaking is a breeze.
Under €60k
2015 Mercedes-AMG C63 S, £50,995 (€57,962)
The magnificent Mercedes-AMG blends exhilarating performance with practicality – so you’ll get to the supermarket in record time and have space for all the groceries. This high performance executive saloon has a twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 engine, and packs a massive 700Nm of torque. Plus, it does the 0-100km/h dash in just 4.1 seconds.
Under €50k
2017 Ford Mustang, €46,750
The latest Ford Mustang has been given a new lease of life and a modern makeover to boot. This 2017 fastback model is powered by the 2.3-litre Ecoboost engine which makes a healthy maximum torque output of 432Nm at 3,000rpm. This means the iconic muscle car can get to 100km/h from a standstill in just 5.8 seconds… quicker than a Porsche, FYI.
Under €20k
1974 Dodge Charger, €15,950
Another iconic muscle car with plenty of pulling power, this 1972 left-hand drive Dodge Charger SE is a two-door hardtop model. It is powered by a 5.8-litre V8 engine which makes 447Nm of torque at 3,400rpm and helps propel this icon of the motoring world from 0 to 100km/h in around 9 seconds.
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