Interesting.




The U.S. resurgence of diesel may finally be shifting into high gear, but some of the world's best diesels still aren't even offered here. In Europe, however, carmakers such as BMW are introducing new models to meet ever-stricter emissions requirements, and the latest volley is the BMW 316d ES sedan.

Billed as BMW's most efficient 3-series ever, the 316d ES manages just 118g/km of CO2 emissions - just 9g/km more than a second-gen Toyota Prius - while also returning 52.3mpg US in the combined European cycle. That's good enough to beat the current Prius. It's also good for 10.9 seconds 0-62mph (100km/h) and a top speed of 125mph (201km/h).

It does these feats with a compact 116hp (86kW), 192lb-ft (260Nm) 1,995cc four-cylinder diesel that takes advantage of all of BMW's EfficientDynamics techniques and technologies, including a six-speed manual gearbox.

The 316d is otherwise specified identically to the 318d ES sedan, which has previously won awards for its balance of green motoring and executive appointments.

Prices start in the UK from £23,330 or about $38,450 - but don't expect to see this car on American roads anytime soon. BMW has made it clear that more expensive technologies like turbocharging and diesel won't be made available on entry-level four-cylinders here for some time yet.


2.0-l turbodiesel engine 4-cylinder
116 horsepower
260 Nm
201km/h
0-100km/h in 10.9 seconds

Source: http://www.motorauthority.com/bmw-la...or-europe.html

 

With the amount of miles that Americans drive on the highway, sometimes I wonder why clean diesel is not more popular than Hybrids in the US. Maybe it is because of the great job Toyota and Lexus is doing in marketing the hybrid.

 

Or probably because when magazines get their hands on these car they try to brainwash everyone into thinking they need a 335d because of the performance - and people believe it without thinking about their true needs.

I would love to see more diesels in the US. The 316d is obviously a type of budget diesel but a 320d or 325d should be more than satisfactory for most Americans.

 

40 grand for a car that does 0-60 in over 10 seconds is a bit tough for me to swallow.

I'm also nervous about diesel prices. Just a year or so ago they were so high that they erased almost all advantage that diesel engines had over gasoline in economy.

Lastly, while BMW does have an extremely low cost of ownership in the first 4 years... after that it gets very expensive. I have a hard time seeing somebody that's cheap enough to drive a 10 second 0-60 diesel in order to get good fuel economy actually write a check for 40+ grand for a car and risk spending many thousands in repairs and maintenance after the first 4 years of ownership.

 

I never understood why people think like this.

There is more to a car than performance. How often do you even hammer your car or clock your 0-60 times? I can't even remember the last time I did a kickdown on my current car.

I also seriously doubt anyone looking into this car cares about the acceleration times. If they want a bit more performance they can go a level higher and sign up for a 318d / 320d.

 

I understand there's more that acceleration times. In addition to my 335i I have a 4-cyl Saturn Aura that probably takes just a hair under 9 seconds to get to 60 and when not floored almost certainly is slower in relaxed acceleration than the BMW due to the diesel/gas difference and associated torque curves. But at the same time I only paid 16 grand for the car. If I'd paid 40 grand I'd expect more.

Yes I'm sure the 3-series handles well, but are there really that many people out there who want a car that can carve corners yet can't get to 60 10 seconds or less?

To me this is like a diet pizza or something... half the calories, half the taste, and twice the price.

 

Even though it's not true anymore, diesels still have a "dirty" stigma attached to them. Hybrids have the "clean" tag attached to them which attracts the greener folk.

 

As much as I try to take a balanced automotive perspective, I acknowledge that I have an American perspective too. And I have no interest either in paying $40K for a low performance/high mpg car, and no interest in a owning a low performance Prius for that matter either.

A couple of points make the American perspective a bit different (and I'm not saying one perspective is better than another):

1. Lower price of fuel (I'm not going to say if that's a good thing or not)
2. Higher income levels (certainly a factor for many of us in the US driving premium cars on this forum)
3. Safety (In the US we are surrounded by poor drivers driving crappy Explorers and other truck-type vehicles as personal transportation)
4. Wide-open spaces in the Western regions (it might be a surprise to some that speeds in the uncongested regions of the West are quite high over vast distances, it's pretty nice). So yes we do care about and like the power, especially if we can afford the premium car(s).

 

Won't work in the American market. More expensive, slower, and less efficient than a Prius.

 

Thats exactly what I mean, top hybrid makers such as Toyota has brainwash the American buyers. A friend of mine drives a Lexus RX hybrid, he does 90% highway and he wonder why his mileage is not much better than my RX350.

 

Yep, just like here where you will often see a Prius running 80+ mph in Car Pool lane, the only reason why they bought the ugly Prius is to use Car Pool lane legally while riding solo with no passenger(s).

 

I'm sorry but 40 grand for 116hp and no passing power and no acceleration? No thanks. Its not like you are getting a loaded/super luxurious car anyway, probably basic equipment.

So it beats the Prius by a whopping 2 MPG? THe Prius is faster, more useable with more technology for less. You lose some interior build quality, handling.

The 335d is sesational but a 55k car, that is nuts!!

 

Tell that to the same folks to say 10.5 secs to 60mph for the Prius is slow (given that it's 10.9 secs to 62mph for the 316d, I'd say it's a wash). Yet a Jetta TDI does it in 13 secs and it's suddenly a better car (not the interior, not the mpg, just the fact that they somehow conveniently ignored that fact).

The new Prius also gets 89g/100km so it's now 20g behind.


If I wanted a BMW diesel, I'd take the 335d. It's not marketing. It's just that I can have a performance BMW with Corolla mileage rather than "the ultimate driving machine" getting Yaris performance and near Prius mileage.

I'd say the 335d has a bigger impact.

 

You don't hear that very often

 

The Prius is faster than a good number of diesels that are vying for mpg champions but of course you never hear that. It's also larger too but you never hear that either. You only hear "yeah this diesel from Europe gets 60mpg" until you realise it's a 1.4 litre that does 60 in 15 secs (I think I'm generous here). Hell the smart fortwo cdi handily beats the Prius with 80mpg (Imp.) real world driving compared to the Prius' 70mpg (imp.) rated value. Do you want a 45hp smart that does 60mph in 19 secs?