Quote:
Originally Posted by bimmer456
The new Camrys aren't as bad as the older ones. The exhaust note on the XSE with quad exhaust is pretty good as it is a naturally aspirated 3.5 V6 with over 300 horsepower. Somehow the Honda Accord with a 4 cylinder and less horsepower (and just slightly more torque as to be negligible) manages to be faster from 0-60, however.
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It's called torque under the curve, and it wins every time. Modern turbos make full torque around 1500-1700 with a flat "curve" across the RPM range and making maximum torque at that RPM means in practical driving it'll be much "faster" than a 330hp V6 that has to rev out to 6K to be making full torque.
I remember the world of low-compression V6s when getting 150hp was a big deal, then came the high compression stuff with advanced valve timing and all of a sudden we jumped up to 270hp and beyond, but those days were pretty short lived, as everyone started to go to turbos instead and cars still got faster due to the torque. Even without the modern twin scroll short-header turbos, you'll get a massive rush of torque coming on at a lower RPM with a turbo engine (and it'll fall off significantly near the rev limit). Being able to get that flat curve from the modern stuff, the old limitations are gone and the only issues are not a result of the turbo, things like throttle mapping and automatic transmission gear choices, being mistakenly called "turbo lag".