MiEV Horsepower

I read somewhere that Miev has 66hp.
But it is not the same as the regular engine hp.
It is not an apples to apples comparision when you compare Miev hp to regular car.
Can anyone elaborate for my understanding.

Thanks

The advantage of an electric engine lies in the fact that the torque is available right at the first second you accelerate. If you combine that to the fact that the torque of an engine like iMiev' tiny 66 hp is equivalent to the torque of a modern tdi but available right at the start, then you can better imagine that a small EV can accelerate like a powerful V6 from 0 to about 40 km/h then gradually loosing ground, the lack of power become noticeable from about 80 km/h but still remains very comfortable and fun to drive.

Yes, torque is the much more important number and where that torque is developed is critical

One of our other cars is a 4 cylinder Mazda with 130 hp and 133 pound feet of torque (which is the same torque rating as the iMiEV) and their weight and acceleration are both very similar . . . . even though the Mazda needs 5 gears to do it while the EV does it with no transmission at all, because it's torque begins at very low RPM's

Electric motors and steam engines are similar in that they are ideally suited to automotive applications because they have gobs of torque at very low RPM's, right where you need it to get the vehicle moving. All gasoline and diesel engines have next to no torque at idle, hence they require torque multiplying transmissions with several speeds just to get moving

Don