Australia to get MINI Diesel

autralia ?

Have you priced diesel lately? Here in NJ it is $.50 to $.60 more per gallon than super.

Yes but Diesel goes a lot farther too..

BMW is always way behind the curve. Style and profit over substance every time. VW is already promoting their new “clean” diesel in all 50 States. By the time BMW/MINI gets around to a diesel MINI for the US, we’ll all be driving fuel-cell and electric cars.

the really just need to bring the diesel here. if bmw is going to sell diesels here, why not mini? i just can’t stand the priuses anymore. too crappy and too much smug

I hear you DB, but really do you consider the greater damage being done would be from a thousand Mini D’s running around in California or by the millions of SUVs that inhabit the area. Seems to me if a government is honest about addressing air quality which group has a greater impact on your air.

The only MINI that has a chance soon is the Clubman D since emission laws are mostly based on cargo capacity to emission limit ratios.

Regretfully, many who claim environmental arguments cannot see beyond efficient fuel use (itself a very worthy goal) and conflate high MPG with “good for the environment”. If only environmental issues were that simple! Air emissions and their associated environmental and human health effects are grossly undervalued by the high MPG folks that accuse California of slowing “progress”.

DB speaks as many Californians (correctly) do because they have had to – and continue to have to – disproportionately experience the environmental and health effects of air pollution. And, yes, the particulate matter (i.e., PM2.5) emissions from diesels – the most serious pollutant by far for both acute and chronic health effects – are far higher than they are from gasoline engines. Throw in a diet of biodiesel and the toxics associated with the PM only increase.

There is no magic bullet, unfortunately, and the rest of North America should be happy that California consistently upholds higher air quality standards. But diesel with appropriate PM-aftertreatment can be made to work, and I believe it will be sooner rather than later.

A lot posting to the thread need to do some learnin! What is offered for sale as a powertrain is directly related to what is regulated. The US, unlike most other regions, regulates particulates as well as a bit of gas mileage. In Europe and many other large markets it’s more about CO2 per mile. As one of the posters correctly pointed out, particulates are a serious health risk and do carry lots of additional costs that isn’t captured in the price of the fuel. So if you want high particulate deisels be prepared to spend lots of your savings via increased average health care costs and the like.

There’s more to life than just MPG….

Also, it’s funny to read the implication that if small deisels are available here in California, then all the SUVs will suddenly go away and we’ll all have Jetta TDIs. That’s laughable on it’s face….

FWIW, Porsche has announced that they will offer hybrid versions of their panamerica 4 door sport sedan and the Chyanne…. Targeting 30% increase in fuel efficiency.

There’s more than one way to skin the cat…

The US is also pretty tapped out on diesel refining capacity, and because if the increase in other contries car use, less diesel is available on the open market. Wonder what the price delta will be if all of a sudden millions of diesel passenger cars start hitting the streets?

I’m all for diesels, as they get more overall energy efficiency than gas motors, but it’s not as simple as just letting them be sold.

Matt

I wonder if California has the highest (per capta or in gross ) number of MINIs.

MINI Copoper D sounds like a good start for MINI Diesel in Oz. I’m looking forward to knowing whether there is a possibility for a MINI Cooper S Diesel variant (presumably an intercooled turbo charged diesel engine?)

Also interested in knowing what the service intervals will be on diesel, plus the cost of Oil Service, Inspection 1 and Inspection 2 services compared to the petrol variants.