Sonata 4 Cylinder In The Mountains?

QUOTE (mmartin @ Jul 30 2010, 08:06 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=346253

but I don't want to be constantly in the high RPM range with a 4 cyl engine.

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You'll have to be doing that on ANY 4-cyl car man. But that doesn't mean the car doesn't have enough power. I'm sure it does, but it certainly doesn't have power to spare, so engine has to spin higher in the rpm band to produce enough of it. All normally-aspirated DOHC engines are going to be like that to a point, with more powerful engines needing less revs to achieve the same level of power to climb a mountain at certain speed. And obviously a more powerful engine will have more reserve power for passing and getting up to speed. More than high rpm, I would pay attention to noise levels rather than high rpm, since DOHC engines are designed to be operated at high rpm. The bad news is I4 engines are the noisiest, but it's a small price to pay when you only need high rpm operation every once in a while, while enjoying much better fuel economy than a larger/more expensive engine.

Turbo engines make much more torque at low rpm than a normally aspirated engine, plus they're inherently more efficient at high altitudes too, so that might be what you're looking for. I don't like any force-induction engine, but that's just me. Plus going to a larger/force-induction engine just because you want to climb a mountain at lower rpm seems like a waste to me. If you want more power all the time, then it's a different issue. Just find a way to drive the car (rent one, or a friend/forum member) there so you make the right decision. Good luck.