Just because the 2.5L hits peak torque earlier doesn't mean that the 2.4L produces less torque in those areas. Engine design and tuning can make a cars torque carry much further into the powerband. With today's techonology smaller motors can easily produce more torque and longer then our 2.5L motors. If our 2.5L motor had a bigger stroke then i think it would be different, but the fact that the 2.5L only has a stroke of 89mm makes me question whether it truely has more lower end. typically a larger stroke pulls the powerband down more, since pistons speeds are generally higher (rod to stroke ratio). My old 2.2-2.3L hondas definately put out more low end torque then my current 2.5L jeep. Bigger stroke, better design, better tuning... Timing makes a world of a difference in how good your motor feels down low. Only good thing i can say about a small stroke (assuming it has decent length rods, which it must since its supposed to be based off the 6 cylinder motor which uses a bigger stroke) is that it's nice for forced induction since the piston spends more time at TDC, so the smaller jeep stroke isn't bothering me to much.
