how bad is 115 horsepower?

[andylawcc]

I am thinking of the honda HX simply for it extremely Hi MPG,
here's the specs

as you can see, its 4 cylinder, 115 hp, and by no means to be a kickass riceburner...

 

[IBhacknU]

well, you're not gonna win any shoot-outs.

but if all you're looking to do is get from point A to point B, then 115 horsepower is plenty

 

[andylawcc]

can that ricecar get me to Tahoe mountains?

 

[andylawcc]

oh shyt, this rice post got me my Diamond....

 

[OS]

115 is adequate. You won't go very fast on mountains and such. But it's more than enough to take you up to atleast 110 mph on flat roads.

 

[Passions]

NO! you will actually go backwards on hills!!!!!!!! HAHAA

 

[~zonker~]

in the mountains, count on downshifting alot to keep up the rpms

 

[Ornery]

"how bad is 115 horsepower?" Not bad at all... for a lawn mower!

But honestly, why not just buy a motorcycle? Obviously, fuel savings is high on your priority list. How high is your safety on that list? How much will this car cost? Why not buy a cheaper, bigger used car and use the dollar difference for fuel?

 

[jonnyGURU]

Horsepower is such a relative term.

On THAT car, with it's near 2500# curb weight, the car is more than going to get out of it's own way.

Seriously, a VW camper Bus w/ an air cooled pancake motor only has 90hp. In third gear, it can take a hill and it's weight is 2 tons! Mind you, if a wind comes along, you're rolling down the hill sideways!

Try that in a Cadillac. Then again, if GM DID try that in a Cadillac they would probably put a transmission in it with a gear ratio that would allow the car to do 2K RPM @ 65 MPH.

 

[vi edit]

If I'm not mistaken, the base engine in a VW golf, and Nissan Sentra are both around 115 HP. I believe that the engine in a lot of the Ford Escorts are around there as well.

As Jonny said, it's all about how much of a car you have to move

 

[vi edit]

You could also find a year or two old VW Jetta or Golf w/ the TDI Diesel engine for around the same price as that car. You'll get better gas milage and probably a longer warranty if you get it VW certified.

Just a thought The Vdubs have a little more "style" than the bland civics.

 

[StageLeft]

Actually these new civic HX's get AWESOME gas mileage. I'm still thinking of buying one next year...115 horsepower is fine. Your 0-60 will be plenty adequate for regular driving if you get the standard, and those HX's get wicked gas mileage as I said

 

[Buddha Bart]

It'll get you around fine. My 93 mazda protege had 105HP, and It kept me suprisingly happy.

bart

 

[andylawcc]

argee. VW's jetta look much more sturdy..

my japanese friend got a Jetta and he loves it, the funniest part was,
he told me, in his Japanese accent, "Man, someone hit me once with his civic from the back, I was ok, his whole car crashed though.."
I laughed hella hard...

 

[vi edit]

They're the safest car for their size on the road. Just wait till somebody hits you and 6 airbags go off :Q

 

[andylawcc]

LOL!!!! 6 airbags.... ohhh comfy..... probably fall asleep in that till cops come.

 

[vi edit]

Yeh, those were the 2001 models. 2 in the dash, 2 in the doors, and 2 above your head.

 

[geno]

<< probably fall asleep in that till cops come >>


Either that or suffocate while you wait

(hey - that rhymed!)

 

[andylawcc]

what? why do I need airbag ABOVe? just in case a tank falls on top of me?

 

[BCYL]

I think those airbags above you are suppose to come down and protect you from the window...

 

[Zenmervolt]

115 HP in a Civic will give you pretty decent performance. The third gen. Accords (1986-1989) had a 98 HP engine as the base engine (LXi had a 110, then a 122 HP engine) and they have plenty of power. Naturally you're not going to blow someone away at a stoplight, but 115 in a car that only weighs around 2000 pounds will be more than adequate for driving through mountains. The mileage ought to be more than worth the potential embarassment in a stoplight drag.

Aaron Meyer

 

[Spindler]

my brother wanted to be as frugal as he can on his car purchase, so he bought a brand new, right off the dealer parking lot, a little geo metro that gets close to 60 miles per gallon but only has something like 95 horsepower.

he would drive around 70mph on the freeway til he reached this part where it was perhaps at a 35 degree angle, which is not steep at all, but he would still drop down to 35-40mph regardless. sometimes he'll revv it up to a good 85mph and it'll still drop down to 40mph while climbing up this small hilly part.

he traded it in after a month for a honda accord. havent heard a complaint from him yet.