BMW's North American Diesel Parade Continues On, With Fewer Cylinders

Derek Kreindler
by Derek Kreindler

The 335d may not have done so well in the United States, but BMW seems undeterred, and is set to launch yet another oil-burning 3er shortly.

Rumors of another diesel 3-Series began in the bowels of the internet rumor-mill, but ended up being confirmed by BMW. Sort of. AutoGuide.com initially reported the “news” based on a tweet (!) from Automobile’s Jason Cammisa, but a BMW spokesman ended up verifying the factoid, telling them

…the next BMW Advanced Diesel engine that will come to the US is the 2.0-liter 4-cylinder turbo-diesel. Specific timing and model applications will follow.

If the new engine doesn’t appear in a 320d, I’ll go out and buy a Jetta SportWagen TDI. Or a 320i.

Derek Kreindler
Derek Kreindler

More by Derek Kreindler

Comments
Join the conversation
8 of 33 comments
  • Vanpressburg Vanpressburg on Jul 14, 2012

    Finally. 320d makes much more sense than 335d.

  • Carrera Carrera on Jul 14, 2012

    The 335D was answering a question that no one was asking. Most people weren't looking for a performance diesel, but for a frugal vehicle. The 335d's consumption was impressive for the power and torque it was providing, but that's not what people were looking for. I've been in European 320ds and I was very impressed. The power delivery and fuel consumption was amazing. Now, if they could keep the price at $34-35K this could be a blockbuster. If the price gets into the $40s...I don't know...

    • See 2 previous
    • Tjh8402 Tjh8402 on Jul 15, 2012

      @facelvega It's not without (successful) precedent. Consider that in many of Mercedes' cars here in the U.S., the economy/diesel is the entry model (current GL and S class).

  • Blowfish Blowfish on Jul 14, 2012

    pay a premium for a diesel with an aluminum block as opposed to VW’s iron block. alloy block in dsl is it a good thing? as alloy likes to change shape when temp rose. merc made a bunch of them. the famous 350 sdl, solly that has nothing to do with alloy blk, but tried to blame our dsl with no sulphur! BMW historically didnt sell oel burner too well un-like merc or veedub those 4-5 cyl merc and wabbits were flying of the showroom back in the early 80s. Bimmer only carried on the 524 tdi for 1-2 yrs. They also sold the engine to a few Lincoln Contirentals , who tried to go oel burning too.

    • Geeky1 Geeky1 on Jul 15, 2012

      The 350SDL didn't have an aluminum block. The OM603 has an iron block with an aluminum head. The issue with the 3.5L version were unrelated to the block or head materials; the rods were simply too long. They bent, which lead to ovaled cylinder bores. This caused the engine to use a substantial amount of oil, which is when people usually noticed and took it in. There have been something like 7 revisions of the 3.5L rod over the years, and Mercedes was replacing the engines under warranty with 3.0s. The only issue related to aluminum that I'm aware of with any Mercedes diesel engine is the head on the original 3.0L OM603. The first casting run ("#14" heads) had a metallurgical issue with the aluminum alloy that made them especially prone to cracking if they were overheated. It was a non-issue if the owner wasn't a moron; there are plenty of early cars with their original heads still running around.

  • Blowfish Blowfish on Jul 14, 2012

    You can do it without a diesel, too, if that’s your only criterion: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/car-life/across-canada-on-four-tanks-of-gas/article4386735 i really dont know how they can do it?

Next