Article: Véhicule diesel plus polyvalent en Amérique du Nord?

track3000

Legacy Member
N'est-il pas temps pour un véhicule diesel plus polyvalent en Amérique du Nord? La demande pour les gros VUS diesel est ici et étonnamment, mangeant les offres pour VW, Audi, Mercedes et BMW. Les grandes marques de luxe changent le visage du diesel et de plus, retire la fausse conception de machines bruyantes, malodorantes et de fumée noire qui ne part pas en hiver. Malheureusement, ces VUS viennent à un prix que peu de gens peuvent en profiter. Alors pourquoi ne pas offrir quel que chose de plus petite taille? Pourquoi pas un camion plus souple comme un pick-up demi-taille? Eh bien, il ya le fait que les acheteurs nord-américains aiment les chiffres de camions avec beaucoup de HP et nous savons tous que le marketing mange ces chiffres vers le haut. Bien que les moteurs diesel peuvent produire peu de HP, ils produisent quand meme beaucoup de puissance couple. Ajouter des économies de carburant dans le mélange et vous avez une excellente combinaison de puissance et d'efficacité en parfaite harmonie.

La plupart des gros VUS coûteux vendus par Mercedes sont vendus avec un moteur diesel. Audi a également du mal à suivre la demande pour le Q7 TDI. Volkswagen a un problème similaire avec les plus abordable, Golf et Jetta TDI. Au lieu d'avoir deux extrémités opposées de l'échelle des prix, pourquoi ne pas offrir quelque chose au milieu? Pourquoi pas un polyvalent 4x4 avec un moteur plus petit qui peut transporter une charge décente? Je pense que nous allons dans la bonne direction avec le nouveau moteur diesel Mercedes GLK, mais avec une étiquette de prix $50k, meme a ce niveau, nous sommes pas encore capable d'atteindre la cible.

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Isn’t it time for a more versatile diesel vehicle in North America? The demand for large diesel SUV is here and surprisingly eating up supply for VW, Audi, Mercedes and BMW. The big luxury brands are changing the face of diesel and removing the misconception of loud, smelly black smoke machines that don’t start in winter. Unfortunately these SUVs come at a price tag that not many people can take advantage of. So why not offer a smaller size? Why not a more versatile truck such as a half size pickup? Well there’s the fact that North American truck buyers love HP figures and we all know marketing eats those numbers up. Although diesel engines may produce next to no HP, they do produce tons of torque. Add fuel savings into the mix and you have a great combination of power and efficiency in perfect harmony.

Most of the large and expensive SUVs sold by Mercedes are sold with a diesel engine. Audi also has trouble keeping up with demand for the Q7 TDI. Volkswagen has a similar problem with the more affordable Golf and Jetta TDI eatting up supply faster that it can be filled. Instead of having two opposite ends of the price spectrum, why not offer something in the middle? Why not a versatile 4x4 with a smaller torquey engine that can haul a decent load without stopping for gas every 400kms? I think we are moving in the right direction with the new Mercedes GLK diesel, but with a 50k price tag, we still aren’t hitting the target dead on.

Here is a list of current diesel vehicles for sale in Canada (from driving.ca):

Mercedes-Benz GL 350 BlueTEC
Price: $70,500
Diesel engine: 3.0-litre V-6, turbocharged
Output (horsepower/torque): 210/400 lb-ft
Fuel economy (litres/100 km): 12.4 city/8.8 hwy

Audi Q7 3.0 TDI
Price: $58,900
Diesel engine: 3.0-litre V-6, turbocharged
Output (horsepower/torque): 225/406 lb-ft
Fuel economy (litres/100 km): 12.3 city/7.4 hwy

Audi A3 2.0 TDI FrontTrak
Price: $35,300
Diesel engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder, turbocharged
Output (horsepower/torque): 140/236 lb-ft
Fuel economy (litres/100 km): 6.7 city/4.7 hwy

BMW 335d
Price: $49,900
Diesel engine: 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder, turbocharged
Output (horsepower/torque): 265/425 lb-ft
Fuel economy (litres/100 km): 9.0 city/5.4 hwy

BMW X5 xDrive 35d
Price: $62,800
Diesel engine: 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder, turbocharged
Output (horsepower/torque): 265/425 lb-ft
Fuel economy (litres/100 km): 10.9 city/7.6 hwy

Mercedes-Benz E350 BlueTEC sedan
Price: $62,500
Diesel engine: 3.0-litre V-6, turbocharged
Output (horsepower/torque): 210/400 lb-ft
Fuel economy (litres/100 km): 9.7 city/6.1 hwy

Mercedes-Benz ML350 BlueTEC
Price: $58,900
Diesel engine: 3.0-litre V-6, turbocharged
Output (horsepower/torque): 210/400 lb-ft
Fuel economy (litres/100 km): 11.1 city/8.0 hwy

Mercedes-Benz R350 BlueTEC
Price: $56,700
Diesel engine: 3.0-litre V-6, turbocharged
Output (horsepower/torque): 210/400 lb-ft
Fuel economy (litres/100 km): 11.5 city/8.2 hwy

Volkswagen Jetta TDI Comfortline
Price: $23,875
Diesel engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder, turbocharged
Output (horsepower/torque): 140/236 lb-ft
Fuel economy (litres/100 km): 6.7 city/4.6 hwy

Volkswagen Golf TDI four-door hatchback/wagon Comfortline
Price: $25,275/$26,875
Diesel engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder, turbocharged
Output (horsepower/torque): 140/236 lb-ft
Fuel economy (litres/100 km): 6.7 city/4.6 hwy

Écrit par: Yves Alexandre Paquette
Photo: Mercedes-benz.ca
 
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The Japanese car manufacturers should also ship over their diesel models as well. They will sell so well here in NA now that people are more aware about the cost of fuel per year (better late an ever).
 
Having spent some time in the Carribean last week, I was able to drive a few vehicles and talk with a few truck owners. Of course, when diesel only cost 0.40 cents CAD down there, you can understand that filling your pickup for $18 is nothing short of pleasant... Most of the vehicles there are pickup trucks with tinted windows, AC, leather and 4x4 with 5 or 6spd manual transmission. Diesel engine almost standard.

New Mitsubishi diesel
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Toyota Hilux 3.0 diesel
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BMW x6 3.0 diesel
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Toyota Hilux diesel (older one)
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Not sure, was driving my gf snapped this pic
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Nissan Navara diesel
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Bonus Land Rover diesel
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Ford Ranger XLT 2.2 diesel
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Sure we need more affordable diesel car/trucks, another problem with the current vehicles available is that you need to buy the fully loaded version in order to have the diesel powertrain available.

The 2.2 ranger diesel would probably be my pick.

They are supposed to bring diesel motors in 1500 pickups next year, if it turns out to be a popular option that could be very good for the car industry.
 
Le nouveau Ford ranger est trop beau! Méchante connerie de pas avoir eu le nouveau modèle ici sous prétexte qu'il ne voulais pas nuire a la vente des gros pickup, essssssssti.

Moi c'est un VW Amarok que je voudrais.
 
Problem is in the USA diesel is often more expensive than premium fuel in some states. The fuel savings are almost completely offset by the price difference and even more so by the premium cost of the diesel option vs gasoline engines.

We are seeing diesel make their way here, but for the moment, they appear to be sold as a premium engine upgrade more than a frugal engine option...
 
Not sure, was driving my gf snapped this pic
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That is a Ssangyong Actyon SUT... It's Corean built, italian-styled & it uses old-tech MB diesels under liscence.

Hope you had a nice time in Tobago! Been there myself... Very nice sleepy little island!
 
Bref, à part la VW Jetta et Golf, faut être assez riche pour se permettre de rouler en diesel. J'ai exclue l'Audi car faut vraiment être attardé pour acheter une Audi FWD.

En fin de compte c'est pas tout à fait vrai car il y a maintenant la Chevy Cruise diesel qui tourne autour du même prix que les VW.
 
Yes it is time. If it weren't for the German manufacturers nobody would be actively promoting diesel engines in N.A. We need more choices with the smaller engines as well, such as the 320d and others...
 
Isn't there a way to import Euro diesels? seeing as they have a lot better fuel consumption than ours...?
 
Isn't there a way to import Euro diesels? seeing as they have a lot better fuel consumption than ours...?

They don't.

They only appear to be more economical because the the Imperial gallon is bigger than US gallon.

Imperial gallon: 4.546 liters
US gallon: 3.785

So when a car is rated at 40mpg in the US, it's rated at 48mpg in Europe (or L per 100 elsewhere). Because of this, people who watch British car shows think cars there are more economical. Identical diesel models here and in Europe have exactly the same fuel economy, no difference, they just have access to smaller motors than us.
 
Got more pics of the suzuki jimmy? That must of been a fun little 4x4 to drive

drove a gas one in cuba in january...didn't really test out the 4x4 but definetly a fun little truck

as far as the original subject: I would really love more options in the diesel segment...the hilux would be an awesome daily driven truck
 
Why does N.A. remain so obsessed with large SUV's? The new Gold GTD MKVII is almost the perfect city car. Beautiful design, good performance, good size and fuel efficiency. If we could only get it here along with the smaller diesel engines from BMW & MB.

The MQB is around 220 pounds lighter than the platform it replaces and the Golf GTD tips the scales at just over 3,000 pounds.

The latest car also picks up a new EA288 TDI turbodiesel engine, which is rated at 184 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque. The 2.0-liter unit delivers its peak torque from as little as 1,750 rpm, which should make the GTD very eager around town and possibly quicker off the line than some much more powerful cars.

By comparison, the outgoing MkVI Golf GTD only put out 168 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque.

Both six-speed manual and six-speed DSG dual-clutch transmissions are available, and interestingly it is the manual that is the more efficient option. Volkswagen says the manual-equipped Golf GTD is good for up to 56 mpg on the European combined cycle. Not bad for a car that can fit five and accelerate to 60 mph in around 7.5 seconds.

To go along with the potent powerplant, the Golf GTD also picks up many Golf GTI styling cues. These include a sporty body kit, 17-inch alloys, lowered suspension and chrome-tipped exhausts.

The cabin also gets sports seats with GTI-inspired tartan trim, a sports steering wheel and metal pedals. Other standard goodies include white ambient lighting, automatic climate control, park assist, and a touch-screen infotainment system.

http://www.motorauthority.com/news/...n-golf-gtd-revealed-ahead-of-2013-geneva-show

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