Is 0-60 speed the main indicator of how sluggish a car is?

Scroll to see replies

Its not a large car. I asked what would you do in my situation, which I posted 2 posts ago (post number 15) basically my family said they would help with the costs/insurance etc of this car so it will be tons cheaper for me having this car than choosing another, which i will get no help with costs with. :colondollar:

I currently own a 10 year old Nissan micra which is very sluggish. This is what I currently have :

The ford focus in question is large. How do you ask for advice, get given it, then start arguing? I answered your question already.

Reply 21

civilstudent

Original post by Anthony.BF

The ford focus in question is large. How do you ask for advice, get given it, then start arguing? I answered your question already.

Its not a ford focus, I was asking for advice for my situation. You said that you wouldnt waste the best part of £10 000 on this rubbish car but in MY situation I wouldnt be paying that much as my family said they would be willing to help with costs. Whereas if I get a better car I wouldnt recieve any help.

sorry if Im arguing, though theres not much to argue about.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 22

tomo2323

anything above 10secs 0-60 is pretty slow. My Focus', Mondeos have all been sub 10sec. I now drive a Subaru Impreza WRX with a 5.7sec 0-60..... makes you never want to drive a slow car again!

Reply 23

Anthony.BF

Original post by civilstudent

Fiesta, not Focus. Sorry.

Why would they not help you if you get a better car? You could get a better used car for half the price and they're not willing to help?

Reply 24

civilstudent

Original post by Anthony.BF

Fiesta, not Focus. Sorry.

Why would they not help you if you get a better car? You could get a better used car for half the price and they're not willing to help?

Thts what I explained it in my earlier post lol :tongue:

(post 15) but basically yea my family bought this car as they thought it was a bargain but they only told me when they had bought it. They said that I could have it if i contributed to some of the deposit and some of the monthly costs which was very good of them so I jumped at the chance. They had ordered a blue one and I convinced them to change it to white as i really liked this colour (even though they didnt). I didnt read up much on the specs but now that I have I realise that its probably as underpowered as my current car.

They got annoyed at the fact that I wanted a different colour so they certainly wont be pleased when I tell them I dont want it and I look for a better car. Although they will help with the costs I'l still be paying towards it yet if I get another car I'l be on my own. Like i said i should be grateful but at the same time i need a car thats going to be decent on motorways really.

I guess theres only me that can decide but yea Im trying to convince myself that a brand new car has got to be better than my old current one.

Reply 25

FubbyTucker

It will be a step up in comfort but in nothing else. You'll quickly come to regret this car when the new car smell fades.

Reply 26

Friend0007

Ok here is advise from me, a professional, dont worry i wont charge you.

First of all, let me just answer your question. For you who will be doing town/city and motorway driving, 0-60 time is probably the best indicator of performance. Age of a car is no way correlated to performance, new cars come in all sorts of varieties, small, big, fast, slow etc. I would not recomend a ford fiesta 1.2 if being tailgated is an issue, I havent looked up the specs but it will be very underpowered, especially with all the car manufacturers doing all this eco friendly stuff like cylinder deactivation or even removal in some cases.

If you want to 'keep up' with the general traffic as I think you want to, I would recommend a 1.7 diesel of the vauxhall/ford. Diesels have generally good 0-60 times due to the power available at lower revs. They also offer excellent fuel economy compared to petrols, so it would be my personal recomendation to you. With that sort of 1.7 diesel you should be getting around 10-12 seconds from 0-60, thats enough to keep you from slowing others down.

If your needs were to extend to track racing or drag racing then 0-60 data is insufficient for your needs. There are too many factors to give an easy answer, the right answer is probably there is no right answer. You can compare two cars, the first will have a greater 0-60 time, and the second will have a greater 60-100 time, so which is faster? Some people are saying bhp/torque are indicators, nonsense. The torque/bhp varies across different revs, it is not fixed and importantly one must consider weight as it is a very very important factor.

You can look at a bmw 335d, it is a diesel and has a 0-60 time of about 5.25ish seconds, debatable, some say more some say less. This is equal to or faster than some proper rear wheel mid/front engine super cars. Does that mean it is 'faster' than a super car? Well from 0-60 on a straight maybe yes, but on a racing track when you take the weight (diesels are very heavy engines), braking, cornering, grip, tires etc the sports car comes on top. Bottom line bhp/torque and 0-60 are not the final word as people here are proposing.

Back to your question and to summarise, modern cars can be very sluggish, or very very super fast, depends on what you go for. Yes 0-60 is the right thing to look at for your needs. And you are looking for 0-60 time absolutely no greater than 12 seconds to not get tailgated.

Reply 27

The Socktor

Original post by civilstudent

I tend to get tail gated when setting off.

If they crash into you because of it then legally they are responsible.

Reply 28

Camoxide

Original post by civilstudent

I currently own a 10 year old Nissan micra which is very sluggish. This is what I currently have :

I have that car :P (just bought a new car though)

Why is yours slower though? Mine would do 0-60 in 16 seconds (official rating and tested it on flat ground). Basically if you think the Micra feels sluggish then the Ford is aswell.
It has a slightly bigger engine but the car is a lot heavier. If you're don't like how slow the Micra is then it's not going to be any better in the Ford.
However it should feel a lot better at higher speeds. If I started doing 80 in my Micra then the car would start shaking a lot which wont happen in the Ford.

The Micra is fast enough for city speeds. The engine can cope fine up to 40mph. If you want to accelerate as fast as possible rev until it's near the limiter before changing gear. (obviously only do this for slip roads and stuff).

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 29

InconspicuousGuy

Even my old little 1.4 rover 25 did 0-60 in 11.8 seconds :smile:

This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

Reply 30

CurlyBen

Original post by t-swiper

I would suggest you look at the torque, which is what is used to measure how fast a car picks up speed. Personally I think a car with about 120 is fine. I would recommend you get the 1.4

Posted from TSR Mobile

Original post by Daniel_R

No it doesn't, bhp is what you use. Torque is a measurement of cars pulling power

Sent from my GT-I9300

Original post by officelinebacker

But a car with higher torque will tend to pull better at lower revs, and so would make it slightly quicker off the line than a car with the same power but lower torque.

Original post by Daniel_R

Higher torque usually means more bhp though unless were talking about diesels

Sent from my GT-I9300

To be blunt, torque doesn't really matter when looking at a car. What matters in this context is the power curve and the gearbox. Torque is simply power divided by rotational speed (or power is torque x rotational speed).

Best bet is to try and get a couple of test drives. 0-60 times will give you an indication of performance, but don't tell you anything about, for example, in gear acceleration.

Reply 31

Beau168

Just my two pence,

I own a toyota landcruiser and a VW Golf

From 0-60 on the golf it can be done in about 9 ish seconds (1.9tdi)
On my landcruiser it's about 12 seconds.

Now from 60 to 80 ish the landcruiser will pull the fastest due to the torque of the engine, where as the golf will get there but will struggle.

You need a good mix of bhp and torque to get good speed. With good torque you'll find you dont need to rev the heck out the engine to get it moving.

Reply 32

Flibble22

That's a pretty horrendous 0-60 time! To give a little perspective, most 125cc motorbikes could keep up with it if ragged.

Reply 33

TinFish

Original post by civilstudent

Ok it might be an obvious question but im thinking of getting an new ford fiesta (2013) its a 1.2 litre engine but i just realised its 0-60 speed is only 16.9. Its not that i want a fast sports car or anything but i wanted one which is not sluggish as in my current car (10 year old nissan micra) I tend to get tail gated when setting off. Even this car has a spec of 16.9 for 0-60 though.

Just wondered does anyone know about this in depth? Are modern cars supposed to be less sluggish? I just dont want to be tail gated when setting off.

It sounds so slow to the point where its gonna be more dangerous for anything outside of city driving. You need more power. 0-60 in anything over 12 seconds is ridiculous really.

Reply 34

JC.

Original post by Flibble22

That's a pretty horrendous 0-60 time! To give a little perspective, most 125cc motorbikes could keep up with it if ragged.

0-60 time of 16.9 secconds is abysmal. Infact, never mind worrying about 10 year old micras, I reccon my old 40+ year old Morris Marina could have that in a drag race! :wink:

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 35

lbsf1

Stop making me feel bad, my car does 0-60 in 14.7 seconds :wink:

Reply 36

civilstudent

Original post by TinFish

It sounds so slow to the point where its gonna be more dangerous for anything outside of city driving. You need more power. 0-60 in anything over 12 seconds is ridiculous really.

Im looking at a 12 second one now but still undecided. Out of interest if slow is dangerous then how come insurance is less for lower powered cars.. are there more crashes on motorways with slow cars?

Reply 37

civilstudent

Original post by JC.

In reality, the average joe isn't capable of achieving the 0-60 times quoted by manufactures on the road.
This is because they are conducted in a lab on a rolling road. In reality, you can probably add on half a seccond even if you are on a prepared surface, get your gear changes spot on AND have a cracking launch.

0-60 time of 16.9 secconds is abysmal. Infact, never mind worrying about 10 year old micras, I reccon my old 40+ year old Morris Marina could have that in a drag race! :wink:

Morris Marina I went looking at one of them at classic car show :tongue:

Id love to see one do 70 on a motorway!

Reply 38

username234673

Original post by Flibble22

That's a pretty horrendous 0-60 time! To give a little perspective, most 125cc motorbikes could keep up with it if ragged.

My 125 takes 19 seconds to get to 60. :sad:

It was a perfect drag match for a 899cc Seicento actually! :lol:

Reply 39

Nice.Guy

Original post by civilstudent

0-60 in 12 seconds is plenty!

Mine takes about 14 and a half I think and although it is on the slow side, and struggles a bit on the motorway, I don't think it's that bad... I easily keep up with traffic in city driving, just when it comes to national speed limit zones I know I should move over to the left lane asap :tongue: