power: 4-cylinder Honda Civic Si vs. Camry LE?

check the torque figures... thats what matters in everyday driving....

Wow!

Camry: 161 ft-lb @ 4000 rpm Civic Si: 139 ft-lb @ 6100 rpm

So assuming everything else is equal (the cars are loaded with the exact same weight, for example), the Camry can pass semi trucks on the highway faster than the Civic Si?

The camry also has the power where it is needed in real life, lower rpm.

How about that Camry does not require premium gas, but gets better gas mileage?

The Honda requires premium gas ??!

Look at the difference in RPMs at which peak power is produced. If the Camry could run at 7800 rpm, it would probably produce more power than the Civic.

The truth is, unless you are a race driver, you will never run your Civic at 7800 RPM, so you will never achieve that power output. Get a chart of power vs. RPM and look at the 2000-4000 rpm range where you will normally be operating. That is what you need to compare.

For efficiency, check fuel consumption, taking into account the different weights of the vehicles.

Merritt

Only on some high performance models like Civic Si, or S2000.

Now that is impressive... the Camry gets about 1-2 mpg better mileage (EPA estimates), even though the Camry weighs about 400 lbs more than the Civic Si.

Thanks all...

They are two very different cars. I have driven both and, believe me, there is a very distinctive difference in performance and handling.