underpowered cars

[number001]

The following cars are underpowered as per my test drive:

Mazda 1.6 V or S
Ford Focus 1.6L Trend

[umzzzzz]

hmmm...any opinions on PH12's?

[aceshark]

I could swear every DELICA I meet on the road seems slow...

at halos lahat ng nakita kong delicaDO sa nlex ay nasa shoulder at nag-oover heat.

[wren]

Mazda Protege5...had the looks and handling, but left me wanting sa power department.

[niky]

Ah... the Protege5... underpowered for the US, maybe, but here it'd be considered sprightly. As long as it gets to 60 in ten seconds or less (as the Protege5 does), it's devastatingly quick by Philippine standards.

And the BMW 320i is just as slow.

Heck, the old Civic Si (170hp, equivalent to the Civic SiR) and the Mazda MP3 (equivalent to the Ford Lynx RS) are considered slow by many US drivers on my other boards... but they're more than quick enough for any practical purpose... hell, I've diced with 300hp cars in traffic (note... playing with is not the same as beating... but I've beaten some 200 hp+ cars... ...)and any time I use more than 1/4th throttle, I get angry glares from my passengers.

For me, the measure of power is mostly useless in commuting... if the car can accelerate faster than is comfortable for the passengers, then it's more than strong enough. I'd judge that 0-60 mph in 12-14 seconds is the most you can do without discomforting passengers unduly (which is why some high powered intelligent trannied executive cars start off in second gear unless you floor it), and you don't need to get to 60 from 0 in less than 10 seconds to merge on the freeway... considering you're not starting from 0 in the first place... hehe.

The Focus 1.6 may feel underpowered compared to other 1.6's, but it's just right, actually, for everyday use. Plus, it gets decent fuel mileage... in manual. God knows why Ford/Mazda continues to insist on using the AT version for the basic Mazda3... now that's underpowered... or, more accurately, under-trannied.