Test drive new Navara with 174bhp

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
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Mon 24 Oct 2005 19:55
Test drive new Navara with 174bhp - Dave N
Took one of these out today, as thinking of getting rid of the Shuttle that I use for work, and the Landcruiser.

According to the bumf, the 2.5l engine has 174bhp and 296lb/ft torque at 2000rpm. Essentially, the same as my 4.2 12v LC.

So how come it was like driving a small engined car? The engine revs went up and down as it accelerated through the gears, it felt like it had no torque, and needed revs all the time just to keep up a reasonable rate. At one time just accelerating modestly, it was doing 3500 rpm. A little bit of throttle sent the revs soaring.

On the 4.2, revs rarely go above 2000 unless really pushing it. And when you put your foot down a bit, the revs slowly rise and you move off on what seems like a wave of torque.

So what gives? Surely a horse power is a horse power, and a lb/ft is a lb/ft? So why does the Navara feel like a little buzzy engine that's having to work for a living, and the LC like a big powerful tourqey engine that hardly breaks sweat keeping up with traffic?

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