In a car I don’t think it makes much difference. I’ve ridden motorcycles for years and a quick turn of the throttle has saved my butt many times!
anticipation and gut feelings are extremely important
Awhile back, I was stopped at a light, waiting to make a left turn
When I got the green arrow, I didn’t immediately drive off, because I sensed that the guy coming from the opposite direction wasn’t slowing down, and would barrel through his red light
The guy behind me honked impatiently
But a split second later, that guy coming in the opposite direction plowed right through his red light. He didn’t turn his head or anything. I believe he wasn’t even aware he went through a red, or maybe he just didn’t care, because laws and rules don’t apply to him
I was pretty grateful that I waited, versus proceeding, and I would have gotten t-boned
Sure, it would have been 100% the other guy’s fault, but that doesn’t make you feel better when your car’s damaged/totaled, and maybe you got hurt
Sometimes the smartest move is the one you don’t make
Almost all modern cars are quicker than safety requires. And number of cylinders isn’t even a good way of predicting performance. Many very small cars are very quick with a four, quicker than big cars with six or eight cylinders.
@Bing.
Guess I look at things differently. Every time I merge into traffic quickly and get into the flow and up to the traveling speed of those in traffic, I feel I have decrease my chances of a collision. Where rear end collisions are far and away the most prevalent of all types, accelerating this way helps. Yes, we can wait forever till a stretch you can handle will get your slower car out there, but I guarantee. Everyone after a while gets impatient and everyone underestimates that distance a times. It is also one of the reasons I feel safer driving today’s more responsive automatics then a manual. The opposite used to be true but it isn’t anymore.
I think the distinction that’s been made is that even today’s 4 cyl cars are not exactly lacking in acceleration. I have never been want of more acceleration from my 4cyl Camry. It is plenty peppy to effectively merge onto the expressways around here (Boston) that are notoriously unforgiving. If I had a Tata, I might be concerned…
Some people may PREFER more power but it’s not necessary IMHO. Carrying around all this excess weight and gas consumption in the event that you MIGHT need it a couple times in your life is allowing fear to rule your decision making…
I’m with TT on this. It’s been years since I’ve driven a new car that doesn’t have sufficient acceleration to safely merge, stay with the flow of traffic, and even pass under safe and legal conditions. My car is a 4-banger and it’s probably peppier than many sixes.
And, to the OP, you’re going to have a baby with you now. Take your time, focus on your driving, leave plenty of room around you, think ahead, and the chances of your having to accelerate out of a problem are wee tiny.
The acceleration is all about power to weight ratio. Many cars, including my SUVs and my truck, have more then sufficient acceleration for any condition, because they are designed to be loaded. If you take a 4 banger Camry, like my wife’s 4 cylinder Venza which is equivalent (2.7 L vs 2.5 L) and sail around with a couple people, no problem. But, load one down with 4 people and luggage, and it’s a totally different story. My Venza starts to imitate a dog at that point and it’s not particularly agile either. IMHO, most manufacturers have rightfully pepped up their motors to give them at least, passable performance when loaded but few modern fours can keep up safely with a modern six when loaded from the same car maker.
I rented a (ugly) Yaris this past week. It easily out accelerated my 6 cylinder truck up to 40 mph with one person aboard with its 1.5L motor. The difference is, throw a few people in the Yaris and it becomes lethargic and tough to handle on those cookie cutter tires. The truck, with 400 lbs of gear and towing a 17 foot fishing boat and motor can now merge safely where the loaded Yaris becomes an anchor.
So, it’s really about your requirements. If a car maker is going to put comfy five passenger seating and gear room in a car, they should put the motor to back it up. In some cases, that means it might have to be the bigger one.
In 50 years of driving, I have never had a semi come up on me that I had to accelerate away from. I have been rearended on occasion, but no amount of horsepower would have helped with another car stopped in front of me.
If you need that extra power in order to merge on a freeway, then you need to learn to drive. I hate it when I get stuck behind some idiot who goes down the onramp at 25 mph because he or she can’t handle the curves, and then blast off to 70 right at the end. But even then, I still manage to get the four banger onto the freeway safely.
I read an article in which a fiesta that was stuck in traffic notice that a big truck coming up from behind wasn’t going to stop. With no where to go, the driver cranked the wheel to the lock. The truck pushed the little car to the side and spun it around. It and the car next to it were all bang up but intact. Meanwhile, the truck went on its way and crushed a BMW with a much higher power to weight ratio than the fiesta
I would like the OP to return and tell us why they asked this question and if it was advice from someone. If it was advice what other silly things are they saying?
Perhaps the OP thinks they can get away from the bad guys giving pursuit, if they have a powerful engine under the hood
Gotta be ready for anything, I suppose
@db4690 Sounds like a Knight Rider episode. Always good for a smile.
Modern cars, with whatever engines, have higher performance than they ever did in the past. I remember when the Maxima came out ca. 1980. It had a 160 hp six and was being praised for its incredible power. Now many ordinary economy cars with fours could smoke those old Maxima. No, we really don’t need a car that hits 60 in 7 seconds to be safe (as many boring cars do.) Ten seconds was more typical 20 years ago and was adequate, except possibly at higher elevations where engines make less power. CAFE requirements will likely drop performance some, though maybe not too much if hybrids sell more.
Another thing I would point out here is that transmissions in newer cars have abundant and closely-spaced gear ratios, and this can be a huge help in making effective use of the engine’s power. I live in Pittsburgh, and the topography here will quickly shed light on how some cars accelerate uphill better than others.
In a lot of vehicles, getting the larger engine will only lose about 1~3 MPGs overall, and you could make that up with carefully managed foot work on the gas pedal.
As for acceleration goes, I took 2 Pontiac G8s out for test drives awhile back. The V6 felt quicker off the line than the Corvette V8 in the other one.