A tricky one because torque is probably more important to your daily driving experience than horsepower is, although all you ever hear about is horsepower.

Torque is is twisting movement. Think of it as the force required when you use a spanner to undo a nut.

This is a very handy force, and explains why diesel engines are so relaxing to drive – they have bags of torque so you can pootle around without revving the engine too much, and pull away from traffic in any old gear.

Formula one cars have lots of horsepower (a measurement of pure power originally based on the power output of a horse) but they have relatively little torque, so need to revved at or near their maximum speed to achieve maximum effect. If a Formula One driver found himself in the wrong gear coming out of a corner (say 4th instead of 2nd) the whole grid would pass him by until the engine sped up and produced maximum power. Not ideal when you’re off to Sainsburys.

VW have tried to achieve the best of both worlds with their ultra-modern TSi engines, which are petrol but boast a turbocharger and and supercharger to boost torque and horsepower beyond the limits of a similar capacity engine not fitted with either.

In a nutshell an engine with lots of torque will give you a relaxed drive. An engine with lower torque but tuned for a higher horsepower will give you a more frenetic experience. Of course, your might be after this – it’s called a sportscar.