Understanding Torque vs. Horsepower: What’s the Difference?

No matter which kind of powertrain propels your car — internal-combustion engine (ICE), electric (EV), or hybrid — their performance is measured as torque and horsepower. How much you need depends on your driving desires and demands.

Understand what these measurements mean and how they translate into the driving experience and vehicle capabilities.

Torque is a twisting force: the kind of force that causes rotation. In a car, it’s the force that turns the wheels and pushes the vehicle forward. You’ll feel it most when taking off from a stop, climbing a hill, or accelerating to merge with traffic.

It’s measured in pound-feet (lb-ft), which represents how much force (in pounds) is applied over a one-foot lever arm. Torque is like strength; horsepower is how quickly that strength is applied. While related, they’re not interchangeable — torque is force, horsepower is force over time.

But what good is this twisting force if it’s not used?

Think of torque as the force you can use to turn a wrench, for instance. If the bolt is stuck tight, you’ll need a lot of torque to break it loose. But once the bolt is moving freely, you don’t need much torque — you just want to apply it over and over. Unscrewing that bolt quickly would require a high-horsepower situation.

Higher horsepower means the engine can maintain useful torque across a broader RPM range, which translates to stronger performance at higher speeds. In other words, horsepower is about repeatedly putting out that torque.

A high-torque, low-horsepower car might take off quickly, but not go that fast on the highway. A low-torque, high-horsepower car might be slow out of the gate, but add to its momentum — go faster — more easily on the highway.

Torque and horsepower, for a car, might be best understood by thinking of the engine itself:

• Torque is how much force a single turn of the engine can produce
• Horsepower is how quickly that engine can turn

You might be starting to see how this would impact your drive. Torque helps you get going, horsepower helps you keep going.

Picture yourself running: the faster you can move your legs, the faster you’ll go. Horsepower works the same way — it’s how quickly the engine can keep “spinning its legs” and delivering force to maintain speed. (Torque is analogous to how hard you push against the road with each step.)

So when your car “stretches its legs” on the highway, it’s using horsepower to cruise confidently, pass other vehicles, or climb hills without losing momentum.

How Do Torque and Horsepower Impact Fuel Efficiency?

When it comes to fuel efficiency, more torque at lower RPM means burning less fuel to get going. On the other hand, since horsepower is delivering turning force over and over again — which requires consumption of fuel for each revolution — it typically means higher fuel consumption.

Plenty of factors go into real-world fuel efficiency, but high-horsepower cars focused on speed and performance tend to have lower fuel economy than cars built with low-end torque for strong force off the line. This low-end torque, or torque available at the lower end of the car’s RPM range, is one reason why fuel-efficient cars, like hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and EVs, deliver better efficiency. Driving style and overall powertrain tuning also make a big difference, but this is a simple way to understand the concepts.

Towing a load means the vehicle has more weight to move. Therefore, more torque is beneficial, so the engine doesn’t have to work as hard to get that mass in motion. For instance, the 2025 Mitsubishi Outlander has 181 lb-ft of torque at only 3,600 RPM to support its 907 kg towing capacity.

Off-roading is, ironically, similar to city driving in that it typically involves lower speeds and stop-and-go scenarios. Torque is also helpful here, and handy to pull the car out of sticky mud, propel it through standing water, and climb steep hills.

Performance — speed and agility — requires horsepower. The need for twisting force goes well beyond the initial shove. It needs to be repeated over and over to gain and maintain, and to help the car change direction in turns.

However, it’s not as simple as focusing solely on horsepower for a performance vehicle. Performance cars still want to get off the line quickly and, after slowing to safely enter a corner, power out of it and regain speed quickly. Torque still matters. If the car has high horsepower but low torque, it will have to rev higher to take off and pull through corners. Revving the engine takes time. Low-end torque helps a performance car by getting it moving quickly.

That’s why a performance-oriented vehicle like the 2025 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross balances its 152HP at 5,500 RPM with 184 lb-ft of torque available at a low 2,000RPM.

Think of a drag racer. It requires a lot of torque to accelerate off the starting line faster than its opponent. Then, it needs high horsepower to apply that force quicker and reach a higher speed by the end of the track. A semi-truck, on the other hand, might just prioritize torque. It has a heavy load to pull, and it doesn’t need to go fast.

Explore Mitsubishi Motors' diverse lineup of vehicles that balance torque and horsepower to suit the needs of drivers with different needs. Torque and horsepower, and a vehicle's technology, weight, size, and purpose, all impact how it performs in different driving conditions — and how fuel-efficiently, too.

Disclaimer: Always refer to and follow your owner’s manual when operating, driving, and towing with your vehicle.