I think the shape of the torque curve is more important than anything. A Honda with a T-72 turbo is going to have a torque curve steeper than Everest, and will be pretty painful to drive.

People always mention a trade-off between torque and peak-horsepower... I don't have any concrete info to back this up but take a glance at the S2000. You can squeeze ungodly amounts of horsepower from a tiny engine, but you're more limited in the amount of torque it produces. In that sense the domestic V8 boys may have a valid point. Have you ever tried to drive a S2000 through bumper to bumper traffic? Not fun...

Shingo