Will diesel ever be available?

I'm trying to take a guess whether an X3d will be available anytime in the next 1-2 years..any ideas?

Well they are made now. But obviously you mean for the NA market. Would be nice. But I'm guessing in the mid 40s to start. Unless they bring the 2.0D and you know that won't ever happen.


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I suspect that BMW will bring a Diesel X3 to the USA, but I suppose it depends on how well the Diesel thing is going for them in the US so far. On the one hand, I get the feeling that quite a few 335d and X5d vehicles are going out the door. On the other hand, they have had to discount them pretty heavily. I believe the pattern elsewhere is that they charge extra for the Diesels and the Europeans pay -- will Americans do the same? That remains to be seen...

With the X cars "bring" is really the wrong term. As of now all the X cars are being built in the US so they are already here. It is just the BMW decision to SELL them here or not, and they should!

I asked that question of the person in charge of the X3 line at the NA open house for the NJCCA this summer and was told: a) as of now the X3 would be a 2-engine line (I know there are 3 for X5); b) they had been unable to make a business case for a diesel; c) diesels didn't help that much for CO2 emissions in any case. With regard to the third point his feeling was that US regulations might well move from MPG to CO2 emissions and on a per gallon basis diesel generates 15% more CO2 than gasoline mitigating its MPG advantage.

Although I would love to see a 40D in the X3 I came away from the conversation less than optimistic and thinking if we did get an X3 diesel it would more likely be a 4 than a 6cylinder. In any case the 35D is 'old' technology and I don't see BMW going thru the expense of certifying it in an X3, rather they'll wait until the new 3 series is out and share engines with it.

Marty

None of the competitors offer a diesel in a comparably sized cross-over SUV: not MB, not Audi, not even VW. No reason for BMW to do it.

There are many reasons not to offer the X3 diesel for sale in the US, many of which are already noted above. However, the argument about CO² emissions is not true. BMWs equipped with diesels emit fewer CO² emissions than their petrol counterparts. Even the biggest diesel, the xDrive30d emits fewer than the xDrive28i.

xDrive20d: 149 [147 with AT] g/km
xDrive30d: 159 g/km
xDrive28i: 210 g/km
xDrive35i: 204 g/km

By the way, the X3 Catalog in German is worth downloading from BMW.de. It's got all the tech specs and nice pictures. Generally their information is more thorough than US market brochures.

But back on topic, no diesel X3 offered for the near future. No business case for it, unlikely to be profitable given the workarounds needed to meet certain states' emissions standards (*cough thanks CA *cough), and price-wise, the market just wouldn't sustain it.

Although we're getting a little off track here, the BMW person never said CO2 emissions from diesels where higher than from gasoline engines. Rather that the decrease in emissions were less than one might expect due the increased carbon content of diesel fuel relative to gasoline. If the basis for regulating environmental impact in the US changes from MPG to CO2 diesels would be put at a disadvantage compared to hybrids. Where he was going with this argument was that BMW will need all the help it can get from 'efficient' models if wants to continue to sell semi-affordable high powered, high performance cars and diesels may not be the way to go in the US.

Marty

It seems if you want a fairly inexpensive diesel SAV you have to get a T-egg or Mahindra SUV (if they ever get them here). Looks like BMW has punted on this one.