Buying a Car - Jargon Terms

You can’t avoid coming across technical terms when you’re tracking down that ideal car. So to help you

speak the lingo like a native, here are the top four jargon terms and what they really mean.

Displacement

Most people talk about the ‘size’ of an engine. The technical term for this is displacement. Generally, an

engine with a higher displacement will feel more refined and responsive in everyday driving. There are two

ways of measuring displacement: litres and cubic centimetres (cc). Most car engines fall between 1.3 litres

(1,300cc) and 6 litres (6,000cc). If the engine has a supercharger, that will also boost performance, even if

the engine has a modest displacement.

Power Output

This is the maximum power produced by an engine. A car with a high power output will normally feel more

sporty than one with a low output, especially when you’re driving it hard. However, weight is also an important

factor. If it’s a heavy car, you’ll need a higher power output to have the same kind of performance as a lighter,

lower powered car. Power output is measured in horsepower (hp) or kilowatts (kW), and cars typically range

from 75hp to 550hp.

Fuel Consumption

If you want to know whether the car will sip or gulp the fuel down, ask about the fuel consumption. It tells you

how far the car will go on a set amount of fuel and is measured in litres per 100km (l/100km) or, sometimes,

kilometres per litre (km/1 litre). Big, heavy cars with big engines drink more fuel than small, light cars with

small engines – and a car with an automatic gearbox is usually a little thirstier than an identical car with a

manual gearbox. But whatever the car, you’ll get through more fuel in stop-start driving than on a long, steady

cruise. That’s why you’ll see fuel consumption figures quoted for urban (city), long journeys (expressway)

and a combined figure. A normal range for the combined consumption figure is 5 – 15 litres/100km.

Torque

When you’re ambling around and you suddenly put your foot down, the initial acceleration you feel is caused

by the engine’s torque. The more you have – and the sooner you have it – the more responsive the car will feel.

Torque is measured in Newton-metres (Nm) so look for a high ‘Nm’ number. It will be quoted next to an ‘rpm’

number. Rpm (revolutions per minute, or revs) refers to engine speed – basically, how hard the engine has to

work to give you the torque figure quoted. So the lower the rpm figure, the sooner you’ll feel the push of the

torque. High torque at low rpm will give you a nippy, responsive car in everyday driving.

-source: mbsa.com.my