Quote:
Originally Posted by MattBianco
Scandinavia is in reference to diesel's former years of having problem with cold starts. BMW has a space heater system for Europe, that heats the cabin, not the block. Even Russian BMWs are sold without block heaters now, with their only difference versus ROW models being a tune-down for tax purposes (same with Thailand diesels). Finland is particularly diesel happy. All the stats:
Attachment 1365038
At the end, for me the choice was 30/35d or 50i, having driven all three. Others will have different preferences and wants......Adding MPPK .... diesel has it to for outside of N. America and achieves the same; here in N. America, you can chip.
Back to the point on reliability.....within Europe BMW hardly sells any gassers. No manufacture can capture that much diesel share, as shown below, of its own sales and have reliability issues. (from the pdf linked above)
Also, the tech improvement, besides noise, CO2 (which is lower than 35i for the 30/35d), smoke, and rattling has been in fuel efficiency. In the last decade there has been a huge leap:
30% better fuel efficiency is only overlooked if you don't care about efficiency -it is not a measure of one's ability to financially waste. |
I left your post intact because you states facts and it's so well written, it needs to be read again.
Let me make one more statement in this argument of which is better. If you drive primarily in urban or city traffic, diesel is superior for a couple reasons: it produces more torque, and therefore power, at a lower RPM for better throttle response and efficiency than any petrol engine - max torque is 1500 rpm or about 600 RPM off idle. Petrol needs higher RPM to produce the same power and be efficient. With lower RPM diesels, the engine will last longer too. BMW is clear where their engines produce their power and efficiency in the RPM band. If you want to get the most efficient and powerful engine, look at your application, then consult the dyno charts for the right engine. Ironically, petrol motors only make sense, from an efficiency ( performance, fuel economy, drivability, emissions) point of view, somewhere between light urban traffic, up to but not including freeway cruising - where the diesel kicks ass on efficiency, power (I did not say acceleration - I said power) and longevity. Petrol is good for a very narrow range of application and why the rest of world uses diesel, not petrol. Additionally, this is majority of real world driving. For those of you who like acceleration, like me when I haul ass at Road Atlanta, petrol wins because of the higher RPM and fewer gears - bigger power band but at a higher RPM. Racetracks or long accelerations is a different application and that's why I have an SL550.