Eli5: 2 cars have the same Horsepower but different engine in terms of displacement (2.0L TDI vs 3.0L TDI) but what difference does it make and which one is better?

Question

Eli5: 2 cars have the same Horsepower but different engine in terms of displacement (2.0L TDI vs 3.0L TDI) but what difference does it make and which one is better?

In: 87

Answer 1

Engines can be rather complex, and there’s a number of factors that go into which engine is “better” which is pretty arbitrary to begin with. One engine might be more efficient (which can be considered “better” even if it’s slower. One might be more powerful/faster (“better”). One might be lower displacement and turbocharged, one might be more reliable (cheaper is “better” too).

Now specifically to the two engines you mentioned, one has more horsepower than the other unless you’re comparing different years, so could you provide a different example?