[Aprime]

http://www.autonet.ca/donut/content/search/testdrives/2008/06/06/5796126.html

Lower power output than the SRT-4? No automatic available? Do they even review the cars or are they just pretending?

You be the judges.

 

[Xenon]

Well it DOES have lower power output than the Caliber SRT-4. Hell, the old Neon SRT-4 makes short work of the HHR. I really don't get why you guys think its so special in the first place.

 

[Aprime]

It surpasses it in HP, but not in torque.

And torque's all that matters - if it can't pull, then what's the point?

Yeah admittedly the old Neon does, must be a weight thing though. Never really cared about Dodge's entry into rice at that time nor GM's.

 

[Subtle_Cynicism]

I don't think it was that bad of a review. I thought it was overwhelmingly positive. Their job as automotive analyst is to critque vehicles: there is no perfect vehicle.

And given how ugly (no offense guys) the HHR is, I'm surprised it was as positiev as it was. I'd still buy a MazdaSpeed 3 over it on looks alone, but it's a great little car, and it deserves the praise it got.

Just because it's not the "fastest" or "best" of the three (Caliber and MS3) doesn't mean it is bad. The Si is the "slowest" of the sports compact, yet it is incredibly fun to drive.

 

[joemac]

It surpasses it in HP, but not in torque.

And torque's all that matters - if it can't pull, then what's the point?

Having lots of torque is great, gets it going initially, but you need to sustain a large amount of torque over time to actually get somewhere in short order, thus horsepower. The calculation of horsepower is derived from torque, or in basic sense torque over time. What's most importain in most vehicles is having good torque available across the operational rpm range.. The end result is that a vehicle that gets moving quickly and covers a good distance in short order. Specific vehicle applications may vary.

 

[Aprime]

Well admittedly it wasn't negative but just the fact that they keep getting key info wrong is discouraging to say the least.

Sure you're not gonna get the same power output to the wheels if you get the auto but it's still available, regardless.

 

[TuffG929]

"Questionable" It got 4/5 stars. I think they were very fair.

 

[TaHoE]

I don't think it was that bad of a review. I thought it was overwhelmingly positive. Their job as automotive analyst is to critque vehicles: there is no perfect vehicle.

And given how ugly (no offense guys) the HHR is, I'm surprised it was as positiev as it was. I'd still buy a MazdaSpeed 3 over it on looks alone, but it's a great little car, and it deserves the praise it got.

Just because it's not the "fastest" or "best" of the three (Caliber and MS3) doesn't mean it is bad. The Si is the "slowest" of the sports compact, yet it is incredibly fun to drive.

 

[mjd1001]

Having lots of torque is great, gets it going initially, but you need to sustain a large amount of torque over time to actually get somewhere in short order, thus horsepower. The calculation of horsepower is derived from torque, or in basic sense torque over time. What's most importain in most vehicles is having good torque available across the operational rpm range.. The end result is that a vehicle that gets moving quickly and covers a good distance in short order. Specific vehicle applications may vary.

I totally agree. The person who wrote "torque is all that matters" is off the mark on here. Torque matters, but a 'peak torque' rating is simply the most torque the engine makes in an instant. Horsepower is a measure or torque over the entire RPM range, and peak horspower is the measure of Torque where it is used best (torque times RPM's). Anyone who says "torque is all that matters" when simply refering to a peak torque figure is missing most of the picture.

 

[Aprime]

Alright, so I was wrong about torque.

I'm barely getting into the technical part of cars ATM, so pardon my ignorance.