Just shopping around for new cars, toying with a fun 2nd car and a diesel estate, the diesels seem to have pants 0-60 but great torque, anyone care to enlighten me as to how the torque will feel on road? ie overtaking in 3rd gear? The way I read it the 130bhp A4 will pull very similiar to the WRX???

car torque

Mercedes C200k 170
audi tt 225 207
Audi Avant 1.9 TDI 140bhp 210
subaru wrx 215
Audi Avant 2.5 TDI 155bhp 229
Mercedes C220 CDI 232
Saab Vector 3.0 V6 TID 258
subaru sti 343

You have mixed Nm and lbft in places - eg the STi.

Gearing and rev limit make a big difference - diesels have much longer gearing, so the acceleration at say 50 mph in 3rd gear is less than expected from the apparently generous torque figure.

cheers John, so no way of knowing what they will like on the road from just figures then! I feel a number of testdrives coming on :D

Greg

Have a look at How stuff works.comhere. Explains what it's all about.

Steve :D