The ubiquitous test from 0 to 60 has become the standard a measure of leaps in vehicle performance among industry professionals and car enthusiasts come together, but this single measurement does not paint a complete picture of the car’s character. On the way, or even on Speedway it is more likely that the car’s speed results from 5 to 60 mph or the sleek start results reveal more about the car’s performance in real-world conditions. In a recent study Car and driver compared the vehicles’ 0-60 mph and 5-60 mph times to determine which cars had the smallest difference between the two results and therefore the most responsive powertrains, and vice versa.
Despite holding the crown for the slowest novel car on the market, the 2017 model Mitsubishi Mirage G4 it actually completed the 5 to 60 mph test one tenth of a second faster than it completed the 0 to 60 mph run. Year 2018 Honda Odyssey matched the Mirage delta, making them two of the most responsive powerplants Car and driver tested. The actual time it took each car to reach 60 mph varied greatly, with the Mirage recording a 0-60 time of 12.8 seconds and a 5-60 time of 12.7 seconds, while the Odyssey recorded a 0-60 time of 6.7 seconds and a 5-60 time of 6.6 seconds.
Cars with the least responsive drivetrains aren’t the culprits you might expect. The car with the least responsive powertrain is the 2020 model Porsche 718 Cayman T with a two-second difference between a 0-60 time of 4.4 seconds and a 5-60 time of 6.4 seconds. Then it will be 2020 BMW M235i xDrive Gran Coupe with a difference of 1.8 seconds between a 0-60 time of 4.2 seconds and a 5-60 time of 6 seconds. Car and driver he said,
Unsurprisingly, all of the least responsive powertrains are turbocharged. The worst results were achieved by the Porsche 718 Cayman T, equipped with a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder boxer engine with high boost. The manual-equipped 2020 model we tested accelerated to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds, but was a full two seconds behind from 5 to 60 mph. Other delayed engines included the 2020 BMW M235i xDrive Gran Coupe and the 2018 Land Rover Range Rover Velar P250 SE, both of which saw a difference of 1.8 seconds between 60 and 5 to 60 mph times.
The composed response is certainly not confined to leisurely vehicles. The 2021 Ford Bronco Outer Banks four-door needed 8.2 seconds to accelerate from 5 to 60 mph, which is 1.7 seconds slower than the 60 mph speed. But the 2024 Porsche Cayenne Coupe Turbo GT experienced the same delta, needing 4.5 seconds in the 5-to-60 mph test compared to a ballistic sprint to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds.
Not everything turbocharged cars However, he performed poorly in the starting heats. There were 10 turbocharged models whose delta between the two test results was less than three-tenths of a second. However, all the cars that had the smallest delta between tests were naturally aspirated and ran Car and driver concluded that contemporary turbocharged engines still do not provide the same linear power curve as theirs naturally aspirated equivalents.
Similar to understanding that the weight the world has placed on 0 to 60 times only relates to a single aspect of a car’s performance declines, 5 to 60 spin start results also focus on a single metric and do not paint the full picture. Comparing the two measurements illustrates an compelling point, but these results don’t tell us much about the vehicles tested beyond their performance in these two tests. That said, I’m shocked by the huge, huge difference between the Porsche 718 and the Cayenne Coupé Turbo GT. The 718 is about 45 percent slower in the rolling test than in the 0-60 run, and the Cayenne Coupe Turbo GT is more than 60 percent slower in the rolling race. Given Porsche’s pedigree and reputation, I didn’t expect such a huge difference in performance, but then again: Porsche has always been about more than just straight-line speed.
