Best performance stat when choosing a car?

[thinfourth2]

The internet bore said:

My cars better then your car as it does something quicker then your car does

So when you are buying a car which performance figure do you look at first when deciding what you want

[WeirdNeville]

How good it is to drive and whether I can afford it.

I don't buy cars on "numbers" apart from the price!

[jmorgan]

I voted none of the above but I would have gone for red ones as everyone knows they are quicker.

[ewenm]

Power to weight and absolute weight are key indicators for me.

[k15tox]

its all about torque.


or thats what most people seem to think these days......

[thinfourth2]

ewenm said:

Power to weight and absolute weight are key indicators for me.

Mmmm

MPG binned

Power to wieght added

[mrmr96]

I voted 0-60 as it's a common benchmark (i.e. an available stat on most cars) which takes into:
1 account power to weight ratio
2 traction
3 quickness of shifting
For me these are the key performance statistics.

I think 1/4 mile time may be more useful than 0-60 as that would give a greater bias towards top end power (and aero!) rather than just off the line grip. However 1/4 mile time isn't available for most cars.

Similarly power or power to weight ratio are good, but they don't deal with grip or shifting.

Top speed is an indicator of power and aero, and not really relevant to how I drive my cars.

PS - I think those people who voted "none of the above, what's it like to drive" have a good point - one wouldn't buy a car on the basis of 0-60 (or any other stat) in isolation. But I took the question to mean "when talking about statistics, which do you find the most useful indicator of performance", hence voting 0-60 as I did.

[Caulkhead]

30 to 70mph through the gears for me is the best indicator of usable performance but I wouldn't base a car choice solely on it.

[kambites]

"None of the above" - don't really care about straight line speed.

[AF1]

30-130

[Morba]

Do I like how it feels when driving.


That is the most important thing to me in terms of performance.

[braddo]

Power to weight (what I voted for) and 0-60 are useful to get a rough idea of cars' comparative pace but the stats would never be the deciding factor in my car choice.

Depending on what I want the car for, the criteria would vary considerably (e.g. family car, weekend car, old car).

[Liquid Knight]

How much fluid does the washer bottle hold is most important surely?

[braddo]

Liquid Knight said:

How much fluid does the washer bottle hold is most important surely?

Merc 190E - 8 litres.

[Rawwr]

59% voted for 'Is it good to drive'? What a load of balls that is, if the recent threads on the GT-86 are anything to go by, where around 90% of people wanted power and big wheels.

[ewenm]

Liquid Knight said:

How much fluid does the washer bottle hold is most important surely?

Well, the ratio of that to number of cup holders is more relevant in the real world than the absolute fluid volume.

[mrmr96]

braddo said:

Merc 190E - 8 litres.

Seriously?! F-----g hell!!

[thinfourth2]

braddo said:

Liquid Knight said:

How much fluid does the washer bottle hold is most important surely?

Merc 190E - 8 litres.

i belive that my nissian micra is 90% washer bottle as i bought it in July and it only ran out of washer fluid last week. And thats living on a farm where it gets covered in st on a daily basis

[Liquid Knight]

braddo said:

Liquid Knight said:

How much fluid does the washer bottle hold is most important surely?

Merc 190E - 8 litres.

Comes in handy when (not if) the fuel pump fails. I've filled a washer bottle with petrol before and used the pipe from the jets to feed the engine enough to get me home before. That was a 190E 1.8

If I were in a position where I could afford the choice weather or not I liked the car would be more important to me than the stat's. Pub amo' is all well and good but there's no point in having a car the does 0-60 in under four seconds or a quarter mile in eleven when you're going to the shops.

[3000GT ANT]

i tend to use 2, the 0-60 as a guide to what cars suit me and then i drive them to see which feels best. For example i wanted a hot hatch so went for the Astra VXR test drive first, then on to the ST. I chose the ST as it felt a better drive plus with my wife driving, the ST would suit her random selection of gear change syndrome hehe.