If you’re in the market for a quality used vehicle, there’s a good chance that you’ve taken a look at how your favorite car performs. Two of the main metrics people use to judge a car’s strength are horsepower and torque output, but many have trouble figuring out what both can do for your vehicle on the road. So, what is the difference between horsepower and torque? We’ll let you know today!

What is torque?

Torque is a key metric for determining a vehicle’s strength, and higher levels are what allow you to accelerate and get up to speed faster. Torque is basically the amount of turning power you have in your wheels; the “foot-pound” measurement tells you how much force your engine is able to provide to your axles as you speed up. Obviously, the higher the measurement, the more energy you can get to your drivetrain, which is why muscle cars and heavy-duty trucks can provide such high outputs!

What is horsepower?

As one of the benchmarks for measuring work and performance, horsepower is vitally important to figuring out how well your car can do once you press the gas. By definition it’s a unit of power equal to 550 foot-pounds per second, or 765 watts; this means that when we talk about horsepower we’re also talking about how much torque your car can produce for your engine and drivetrain!

Read More: How to maximize efficiency in your used vehicle

Test drive a used vehicle at Carville’s Auto Mart

We offer a lot of high-quality and powerful used vehicles here at Carville’s Auto Mart. If you’re interested in taking a look at our inventory, feel free to contact our sales team! We’ll get you behind the wheel for a test drive and help you work out a financing deal for whatever car catches your eye.