My last car was also a diesel.Like my current one it was a 4 door sedan (not a truck/van/SUV,etc).My current diesel puts out 400 ft lbs of torque from somewhere around 1700rpm to 3000rpm.My previous one put out 425 ft lbs in about the same range.Have you ever been in a small or mid sized sedan that puts out 400+ ft lbs of torque? Also,I took my current car to Colorado last year and took it to the top of Mt Evans (14,200 ft above sea level).Taking it from 500 ft (in Illinois) to 14,200 feet my diesel never broke a sweat...never left 7th gear..until the drive from Denver to the summit.
I guess it all depends on how one defines "smoke".
‘I guess it all depends on how one defines “smoke”.’
I think a pretty good definition goes like this:
416 horsepower
443 ft/lb of torque at 0 RPM
16,000 RPM redline
0-60 MPH in 4.6 seconds
13.3 second 1/4 mile at 104 MPH
134 MPH top speed (governed)
.91 G on the skidpad
All in a four door luxury sedan.
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2013-tesla-model-s-test-review