Chismillionare eager for the Diesel Invasion

At the 2007 Detroit Auto Show, BMW was prominently displaying their diesel engine technology, particularly the latest 3.0L twin turbocharged in-line six cylinder. At the time, BMW spokesman Daniel Kammerer told us that BMW would be introducing that diesel engine to the U.S. market later in 2008. BMW still hasn't said which vehicles would get the diesel although it's expected that that the first installations will be in the X5 SUV and 5 series sedans and possibly the new X6 crossover.

While the diesel engines of twenty years ago were thrifty with fuel, they did earn the reputation which diesels hold among American consumers to this day: slow, noisy and smoky. While that reputation may have been deserved then, nothing could be further from the truth today. The engine in the 535d is a 3.0L in-line six cylinder in the classic BMW configuration. Fuel is delivered directly to the combustion chambers via a Bosch Piezo Common Rail injection system and air is pumped in by a pair of turbochargers. The result of all this high-pressure action is 286 hp and, more importantly, 428 lb-ft of torque at only 1750 rpm. As with all diesels this is not a high revving screamer with the red-line at a relatively modest 5,000 rpm. However the almost flat torque curve combines with a 6 speed automatic transmission to provide fabulous acceleration that never seems to let up. If feels more like an electric motor if you ignore the pleasant exhaust growl. BMW rates the acceleration from 0-62 mph at 6.4 seconds and that was backed up by my informal observations, even on less than dry pavement.