BMW X5 XDrive 35d and 335d; Oil Burners Finally Arrive Stateside
WardsAuto reports that BMW will reveal the U.S.-bound diesel-powered X5 xDrive 35d cross/utility vehicle and 335d coupe at the upcoming (TTAC-attended,) North American International Auto Show. The big news here is that Bimmer's boffins have designed a urea-injection exhaust treatment to capture those nasty particulates before they can weld themselves onto the inner surface of your lungs. In other words, BMW's "BluePerformance" technology meets California's way-tougher-than-European-Union-regs diesel engine emissions requirements. Yada yada yada. Here are the stats oil burner aspiring pistonheads want to know. The 3.0-liter inline six cylinder. twin-turbo diesel engine develops 265 hp and, get this, 425 lb.-ft. of torque. That's enough to sling the big ass X5 xDrive 35d from 0-62 mph in 7.2 seconds, and power the 335d from 0-62 mph in a respectable 6.2 seconds. Of course, the sprint time doesn't reflect the ENORMOUS in-gear shove. Perhaps more saliently, the diesel X5 gets 19/25 mpg, while the 335d clocks in at 23/33 mpg. Do you have to pee in the urea tank? And is this the long anticipated re-start of America's oil burning aspirations? That depends on the price. Hey, there's got to be some surprises left for the show.
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KixStart, BMW has developed a two-tank AdBlue system for convenient use. The amount of AdBlue required in each case is injected from the active tank (approximately 1.6 gallons in volume) by means of a dosage pump. Since the urea solution would freeze at a temperature of 12.2°F, this active tank, as well as the dosage pipes, are heated. The active tank is connected to a second reservoir, referred to as the passive tank. With its additional capacity of approximately 4.5 gallons, this passive tank offers a plentiful supply of the urea solution. The average range provided with this supply capacity is sufficient to have the tank system replenished only when the driver needs to change the engine oil. Since all BMWs sold in the US operate under the BMW Maintenance Program, the refilling of the AdBlue tanks will be a no-charge service for 4 years or 50,000 miles No mention on urea cost after this period.
The gas powered 3 series cars get remarkable fuel economy given their sporting nature, so I think there will be limited migration of these owners to the diesel version. However, the X5 (and all the other Xs soon to appear) will benefit tremendously from the diesel option and I believe that, after a period of "acclimation", at least 50% of X-# buyers will opt for the diesel.
Hi, thought that I would add a bit of real world to this discussion. I have just bought the X5 3.0 twin turbo diesel, here in Australia it is called a 3.0sd. It is priced mid way between the 3.0 gas and the V8. The majority of X5s (>70%) here are diesels and Australians have a love affair with V8 gas engines. However it is the torque and fuel economy that are driving diesel sales here. I get around 23 mpg out of the X5 with less than 2000 miles on the clock, so it is still very tight. There is absolutely no turbo lag and just a wonderful linear hard shove that doesn't end till you get to the 4750 redline and then it smoothly changes top the next gear. Point to point the diesel would probably beat the V8 purely because of the amount of torque available at any revs. The v8 may beat it to 60mph, but rolling acceleration the diesel will certainly keep pace if not neat it. So I hope that you get to sample one soon and those that don't are really missing out.