How Much Horsepower Do You Really Need?

2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 NImage: Hyundai

When mass produced automobiles first came around you were lucky to get 20 horsepower in your Model T. A century later, Yet we’ve advanced so far and so fast that now your average person can pack 500 or more ponies under their hood. It makes you wonder though just how much power do you actually need?

Jennifer Tilly’s First Car Was a Beat-Up 1969 Ford Mustang

According to JD.Power, the average horsepower for standard cars ranges from 188 to 200. It starts to fluctuate when you get to specific segments. The average for crossovers is 200, small SUVs is 240 and midsize sedans is 170. The last few years though have seen a boom in enthusiasts models sporting a lot more power. Think Dodge Hellcat and Ford Mustang Dark Horse

2024 Ford Mustang Dark HorseImage: Ford

I believe that part of being a true automotive enthusiast is being responsible. And part of that responsibility — whether many want to admit it or not — is thinking that we all may not be needing as much horsepower as we have access to. Dodge was cooking for years with its SRT and Hellcat models, giving what was once racecar power levels to the masses. Even family sedans like the Toyota Camry and Hyundai Sonata have (or in the case of the Camry, had) models with 300 horsepower.

EVs have taken this power arms race and dialed things up to 100. On the low end, EVs like the Chevy Equinox have 220 hp on basic models. However most have ridiculous power levels, more than anyone would ever need. No one actually needs 480 hp from an electric Ford Mustang crossover. The average Cadillac buyer sure doesn’t need a 340 hp Lyriq or the 500 hp version. And an EV with no rear window definitely shouldn’t have nearly 600 hp. This is the world we live in though. No one needs this much power, but it’s so readily available to use many don’t think twice about it.

So this all begs the question of just how much horsepower do you actually need? Do you need just enough to get around town and merge? Are you wanting to be a speed demon 24/7? Or do you not care and just want to make sure you can have as much as you want when you want it? However much you think you need, let us know in the comments.