[TW]Fox;30156282 said:
You are not even referring to the correct car anyway (nobody has mentioned a 530i). Pop out and drive both and if you still feel the same way we can have an informed discussion on why we feel differently about it.
Peak power is only part of what dictates a cars performance. There are many other factors including the transmission, gearing, torque curve etc.
That said though the 530i is an interesting case in point. Slower than a 528i yet more powerful and exactly the same weight.
I have driven both the vRS Octavia and the 530d. A heavier car with all that low down torque will no doubt feel quicker on the road, but that doesn't actually make it quicker in reality.
I'm lucky enough to spend my weekends racing and testing and racing a wide variety of cars. What's always surprising is when you look at telemetry how that perception often isnt borne out in cold hard figures.
For example a recent comparison between a 65 mustang (400bhp, 1200kg) and a 69 escort twin cam (170bhp, 800kg) both in touring car spec, not only is the escort significantly quicker in terms of lap time, but when you check acceleration on the telemetry there is surprisingly little in it. Which feels quicker? The mustang massively so.
Thats not to say that the Octavia is better than the 530d (it isn't). The bmw may also be quicker I'm certain circumstances (0-60, in gear acceleration) but overall is it 'considerably quicker'? Almost certainly not. That's the extent of the point I was trying to make.