Call me crazy but I find this exciting: BMW will finally be making available their wonderful diesel engines in US market vehicles in the fall. The X5 will finally start making sense and a 335d wagon would be a fantastic family car type thing.
By the way, The Freep was first to notice that in a recent well circulated rave review of the BMW 135i, Jeremy Clarkson made a basic mistake with his understanding of the BMW 3.0 twin turbo gasoline engine.
In the article he describes the two turbos as being of two sizes, one smaller and more easily spun for low r.p.m. and a larger for added thrust once the engine is up to speed. In fact the 3 liter turbo has parallel turbos of equal size.
What Clarkson did do is perfectly describe the BMW 3.0 liter Diesel 6. At 265 HP and 425 lb-ft @ 1750 rpm BMW claims 23/33 mpg in the 335d and a slightly disappointing 19/25 for the X5, but then again not bad considering it weighs as much as a 50' Hatteras convertible.
The engine is quite clean because of a process I was not familiar with, urea injection.
The Diesels will have an auxiliary tank for the urea solution (AdBlue in marketing terms) which when sprayed into the exhaust system will help turn nasty nitric oxides into nitrogen and water vapour. Not really clear how involved replenishing the tank is but that's certainly not an issue during the free service period.
Anyway.... sorry about this sensible motoring interlude, back to your regularly scheduled motoring insanity!
Okay, you asked for it. You're crazy.
ReplyDeleteActually, you're not, or maybe it's that I am too. I'm almost as excited as you. Except that according to the Roundel, we're not getting these engines in the cars where they'd be the best.
For example, give me a 535td, please! Nope, we're not gonna get it.
"...the cars where they'd be best."
ReplyDeleteThat is soooooo subjective though.
-Freep
Agree!!
ReplyDeleteThe 5 Series Touring is the best BMW on sale now, but in the US we don't get the better versions like the M5 Touring or the 35d...
...instead we get what we all want(?)... an X6.... the most pointless car ever to emerge from the Black Forest...
...and don't ask me about the X5... back at the dealer... again... some other pointless unnecessary electronic system malfunction! (Who thought about replacing the good ol' manual parking brake system with an electronic one?)
OK....here is a clue as to why no 5 series diesel in fall 2008....
ReplyDeleteThere is a new or at least heavily revised 5 series due in spring of 2009 according to Autocar
I don't know if I believe that story, but even so, it doesn't explain why we couldn't have that variant along with the other diesels. They are already available in Europe, so it's not like they don't exist.
ReplyDeleteNo, the reason we don't get them is because BMW NA doesn't think they'd sell. They might be right, I'm sure we're not normal buyers.
I'd pull the trigger on a 535iT right now if it were available in RWD. But we don't get that either.
When did it happen that to get 2WD you have to buy an SUV? Seems good wagons only come in AWD now. Used to be you needed an SUV to get AWD. Something went backward.