Is There An Average Horsepower For A Car?

Last Updated on January 25, 2023 by Leepu Da Maxim

Well, cars don’t have any specific average horsepower. The horsepower of a car mostly depends on the engine size and type. In the USA, most cars have 120 horsepower in the engine. Larger vehicles such as sport-utility vehicles offer 200 horsepower. Smaller, more compact vehicles may only offer 70 horsepower.

Averages Horsepower Of The Most Used Cars

Vehicles	Horsepower
Typically car	120 HP
Sport utility vehicle	200 HP
Compact cars	70 HP
Honda CR-V	184 – 190 HP
Honda Civic	158 – 180 HP
Toyota Corolla	132 HP
Toyota Camry 4-cylinder	178 HP
Toyota Camry with a V6 engine	301 HP

Current Vehicles And The Amount Of Horsepower

It is necessary to consider that the amount of horsepower is not always the same in all countries of the world. This happens because different countries do not usually market with the same type of car. Some makes and models of vehicles and cars are not available throughout the world.

We must remember that horsepower indicates the speed of power that a car or any vehicle has. One horsepower is equivalent to 33,000 pounds-feet per minute. From there we calculate the amount of horsepower that each vehicle has. 

So, this allows the amount of horsepower on average in a country to vary too much. Here, we can take into consideration the average horsepower of the cars that are mostly sold in the United States.

1. 184 to 190 horsepower, Honda CR-V 

2. 158 to 180 horsepower, Honda Civic

3. 132 horsepower, Toyota Corolla

4. 178 horsepower four-cylinder, Toyota Camry

5. 301 horsepower with an optional V6 engine, Toyota Camry

In general, we can consider that most mid-size vehicles are the most chosen cars in this country. So this allows the average horsepower to be somewhere between 170 and 190. It is also important to consider that those compact sport utility vehicles offer less power.

Some of these vehicles such as the Subaru Forester only provide between 120 and 130 horsepower. Additionally, pickup trucks tend to have similar designs and structures, so they provide similar power. For a pickup truck, we can find an amount of 275 to 300 horsepower. 

Depending on the engine selected by each user this power could increase a certain considerable amount. Furthermore, these amounts do not take into consideration luxury or high-performance cars. Of course, these types of vehicles may have higher horsepower due to their special design.

In general, these types of vehicles are not taken into account since the vast majority of people only count on mid-range cars. However, there is a special type of calculation that is used to calculate the horsepower of any vehicle.

The Calculation To Know The Amount Of Horsepower

Having this calculation can be very useful when a person wants to know specifically the amount of horsepower of a vehicle. However, it is not a single calculation since there are different ways to determine and know this data.

A person can determine the torque power of an engine or the speed of any vehicle. With this data, people can choose from a variety of calculations to be able to know the final result.

The tool used to know the number of revolutions per minute of an engine or to calculate the speed is the tachometer. Another useful tool to know the torque power of the same vehicle is the dynamometer. These tools are very easy to obtain since they are very common for any type of car.

One of the best-known formulas to calculate the amount of horsepower is the following.

1. Torque x speed / 5252 = horsepower

This formula allows us to quickly establish the amount of horsepower that a vehicle can offer. We can also consider that knowing the size of the engine is another way to consider and know the power of the car. The most important data to know the power of a car is considering the number of cylinders included.

Horsepower Among Other Important Factors

Knowing the amount of horsepower of a car is one of the most obvious first to know the power we can get. As the amount of horsepower is higher you can also get better and more efficient acceleration. So considering the overall performance of any car the amount of horsepower is the essential data.

When it comes to high-performance vehicles or high-end cars, the amount of horsepower is one of the aspects that most interests automotive marketing. However, it is not the only important data to fully understand the functionality of a car. Therefore, the rest of the aspects of the vehicle should not be ignored, as this is a serious mistake.

A vehicle that has a great amount of horsepower is not necessarily always fast. Another fundamental aspect to combine along with the amount of horsepower is the weight of the vehicle. Some compact cars with low horsepower can provide more speed than other cars.

In the latter example, a large sedan will have a higher weight and will probably travel slower than some smaller compact vehicles with lower HP. So, people who choose a car solely based on horsepower do not always get the speed they want.

Torque horsepower is another fundamental aspect and another way to analyze the power of a vehicle. Specifically, in this case, it is about the pushing power that a car can offer. Of course, a Ferrari has a greater amount of horsepower than a pickup truck.

However, the pickup truck usually has a higher torque power than a Ferrari. So, if both vehicles are tied together with a rope and accelerate in opposite directions we will get a particular result. Here, the pickup truck will drag the Ferrari supercar because the power thrust is greater.

We can also find on many occasions that the torque power and the amount of horsepower complement each other in many special vehicles. When we are talking about a passenger car it is usually more important the amount of horsepower. When we are talking about a vehicle used for the transport of heavy loads, the torque power is the most important data.

References:

https://www.autolist.com/guides/average-car-horsepower#:~:text=Typically%2C%20you%20can%20expect%20the,engine%20that%20exceeds%20300%20horsepower.

https://thenewswheel.com/what-is-above-average-horsepower-for-a-car-truck-or-suv/