An actual horse doesn’t produce 1 horsepower. It produces about 14.5 horsepower. Confusing, eh? The standard unit for power would be Watts (W) or kilowatts (kW). “Horsepower” just sounds a lot more exciting to say. It’s also something younger car enthusiasts like to boast about to their friends when it comes to their dream supercar. Torque is something else.
False advertisement. There are no horses under the hood.
The recent Honda City RS advertisement highlights the rather high torque figure of the little city saloon. It might make you wonder what’s all the fuss about torque anyway? Does it really matter? Will it enhance my car ownership experience? The simple answer is yes, but let’s have a deeper look into the subject matter or torque.
A: Torque is TWISTING FORCE. That’s it. If you recall the lessons from your high school physics class, it’s just force multiplied by the moment arm length, which is basically twisting force.
You apply torque when you open a peanut butter jar. Compared to the hands of a 10-year-old child, your adult hands are able to generate more torque. The tighter the peanut jar lid, the more torque you will have to apply to open it.
In a car, more torque means the engine is able to generate more twisting force to turn the wheels, making it more capable in higher load conditions like hill climbs, acceleration, and heavy loaded vehicles.
As mentioned earlier, the SI unit for power is Watts. Which is work done per unit time. Which is Joules per second. Which is Newton meter joules per second, which is..*yawn*. Simply put, it’s POWER. And more POWER equals more SPEED. Want to go faster? Get more horsepower. That’s it.
Q: What is the difference between torque and horsepower?
In nerd language, torque is measured in N.m, and power is measured in Nms-1. “N.m” and “Nm” mean different things. You can’t just divide torque by time and get power. It doesn’t work that way. Although in layman's term, the abbreviation has become somewhat interchangeable.
"Nm" is force multiplied by distance moved which is also equal to Joules.
"N.m" is force multiplied by the length of the moment arm (We'll go into detail on these things in a different entry)
Leave crashing into walls to the professionals.
For the cooler kids, power is about how fast you canhit a wall while torque is how far you can take that wall with you. But don’t go around hitting walls with your new Honda City RS.
Q: How much torque does the Honda City RS have?
253 Nm from the electric motor alone.
Q: What does the 1.5 L engine do then?
A: The 1.5 L engine (a new DOHC unit, replacing the previous SOHC unint) produces 98 PS of power (5,600-6,400rpm) and 127 Nm of torque (4,500-5,000rpm). At lower speeds, the engine only generates electricity for the battery and electric motor. At higher speeds, the clutch pack is engaged, allowing the engine to directly drive the wheels.
The electric motor is only able to provide 253 Nm of torque between 0 to 3,000 rpm and that's decent enought ot get the car up to speed. Remember that this is a motor and 3,000 rpm is enough and is not comparable to a combustion engine's rpm.
Compared to regular naturally aspirated cars, yes. But since the torque from the City RS is from the electric motor, a fair comparison of torque figures for the City RS would be with full EV cars. And EV cars are well-known for high torque figures with instant delivery. The City RS is really not that far off from a BEV.
Q: Is having more torque good?
A: Yes. Quicker acceleration makes overtaking manoeuvres a lot safer for you and other road users.
Q: Are there non-hybrid cars with as much torque as the Honda City RS?
A: To extract more power from an engine, turbochargers always come in handy. The 1.5 Turbo Honda Accord kicks out about 260 Nm of torque.
Diesel engines give some decent torque figures too. BMW’s 1.5 L B37 turbo diesel can produce 270 Nm of torque between 1,750 to 2,250 rpm.
Q: So, having a hybrid system is like having a turbocharger?
A: Nope. Electric motors in hybrid systems are able to provide instantaneous torque. Turbochargers are not that instantaneous. The Honda City RS is not your normal hybrid, and we’ll talk about that in another article.
Q: So, I’ll be able to tapau other cars with my City RS?
A: Most of the time, yes. Although not a full electric vehicle, the Honda City RS will give you some sense of how an electric car accelerates. It might sound obnoxious to pure EV owners, but with the BEV like acceleration, the Honda City RS is basically a super-budget Tesla Model 3.
Summary
Higher torque lets you climb hills better, carry more load, and accelerate better. High figures alone are not enough. The torque delivery needs to be instantaneous to give you the best experience. In some cases, higher torque is good for safety. In terms of torque vs horsepower, torque lets you overcome load, while power is important when it comes to speed. To answer the title question, yes, torque does matter.
Previously an engineer in an automotive manufacturing company and a highway concessionaire. A part-time research student on biofuels and diesel engines. Obsessed with vehicle electrification and the future of transportation.
