Ok, now I'll get more specific. The vehicle I want is the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Engine options are 3L diesel with 240HP/420TQ and the 5.7L hemi V8 with 360HP/390TQ. Looking at the torque curves, I estimated the numbers at various RPM:
..........................diesel...........hemi
2000 RPM......145HP/420TQ....120HP/300TQ
3000 RPM......210HP/380TQ....205HP/360TQ
4000 RPM......240HP/325TQ....290HP/380TQ
The turbodiesel's torque peaks at around 1800-2000 rpm. The 5.7L torque @ 3000 rpm is within 85% of the diesel's, but at that rpm it has surpassed the diesel in HP by 40%. If I'm not on a pedal-mashing race to the top but merely want to hold highway speed, I'm thinking the hemi will do just as well as the diesel on that 5%-6% grade, right?
Of course I realize that the hemi will lose about 2% of its power for every 1000' of elevation. And it will use more fuel, no doubt.
