Here's a link about a Mini Cooper D owner's mileage(across the pond) experience that would put hybrids to shame. Too bad we can't have the Dooper here in the states.

 

Keep in mind that they are using IMPERIAL gallons - 4.5L compared to 3.8L US. Multiply anything you see by 84% for comparison. Still not too shabby - I've driven in France and many of the small diesels can be quite peppy.

 

You can thank the Kalifornia tree huggers for the lack of diesel motors here.

 

My late, lamented VW TDI regularly exceeded 50MPG (US). You gotta love Diesel power.

 

I have a cousin with a Cooper D who regularly makes runs between London and Inverness and he claims to get fuel mileage in the upper 60s.

 

Yeah, I hear you. I used to have an old 81 VW diesel Rabbit that got 45-50 mpg all the time.

A Cooper D here would be a fantastic option for those that want higher mileage in a car that doesn't look like a spaceship or handle like a horse cart.

 

There's plenty of diesels being sold right now in Cali... VW Golf, Jetta; Audi A3 and Q5. Both Mercedes and BMW have a few models as well.

 

That's hardly plenty. The only reasonably cheap cars on there are the V-dubs. Diesel should be the norm for small car motors here.

 

True... no demand = small offering. The point is it's not regulation but the lack of demand in the US for diesels. It's the consumers who don't want them because they still associate diesels with 70s technology.

 

no joke! why are the majority of Americans so ignorant? toyota prius yay! lets all be gay! if they simply brought over more diesels or put a diesel in the prius then the current numbers of the prius would be trumped all day long!

 

I sold my 98 Jetta TDI last year. It was getting around 45 mpg regularly. I had a trailer hitch on it too and drove it all the time pulling a 5x10 flat bed trailer loaded down with 3-4 Vespa scoots weighing 150-175 lbs each with no problems at all. Lots of torque and even with the trailer loaded down, would see nothing less than 30 mpg at 70mph highway speeds. Would totally consider a MiniD if they were sold in the states.

 

Hi, I am in the UK and own a clubman D. My typical daily mpg is 60 and on a run I can exceed 70. (figures using Imperal gallon).

Do BMW import diesel models in to US, if they do, you may get the new generation od Diesel engines in R55,56 and 57 as they are the ones from the BMW116d.

 

I'm looking forward to the next gen cooper D.. talks of huge torque and better mileage. SIGN ME UP!

 

There is also talk of a JCW diesel! 200 Stallions!

 

I drove a Clubman D last year in the UK and I loved it. There is no power around 4k rpm but the low end torque is great. You can drive the heck out of it and still get great mileage. Motoringfile is pretty sure it won't come here.

 

My buddy just swapped his GTO for a Golf TDI. Great looking car, well option and still reasonable priced... and he saves the car payment in his gas costs...

 

My mom has one and I'm not particularly keen on it.

Rear seat room is almost non-existent. My mom is claustrophobic and is unable to sit in the back of the car without getting a panic attack it is so small back there.

As far as gas mileage, we have the Cooper S and live in an area with lots of hills and lots of city traffic and mileage is only about 22mpg combined. Not particularly impressive considering the car doesn't have much power.

We also have the convertible, which is bad for numerous reasons. First of all, you get the smallest trunk ever. Second, the rear seat area is even more confined. Third, the convertible has the biggest blindspots ever when the top is up and you can't even see out of the rear view mirror.

On the positive side, my mom does get lots of compliments, which she likes, and she was also happy to switch from an SUV to the Mini.

The best advice is to go to a dealer with your children. Usually the salespeople are happy to give you a test drive and you can see how the kids like the car.

 

Here's a tip on how to avoid blind spots.

http://www.cartalk.com/content/features/mirrors/

It works but takes some getting use to. I still turn my head to double check.

 

OMG! Someone finally figured this out! I have done it since I first started driving. It is so true! I got yelled at during my driving test (at 15yrs old) because I never moved my head when changing lanes. When I finally showed my instructor why, they were speechless. It is funny to me how many people dont use this simple technique. Much safer in my opinion. Great find!

 

Driving my second TDi, I would love an MC D here in the States Rented a Mondeo TDCi from Heathrow and drove all the way to Berlin. That "huge" car was so much fun to drive, until I was in Germany, where I could hardly keep up with the "German" brands in the autobahn

Tired of waiting for the Mini One D to show up on our side of the pond, and after somewhat being dissappointed by the new Passat TDi, lurking around here to perhaps buy an MCS

 

I Managed 1000 miles on £75 (effectively a tank and a half) of fuel going London up to Glasgow returning via the lakes.

 

Don't forget that 1 Imperial Gallon = 1.20 US Gallon.

So if one gets 60 Miles per Imp Gallon, that's 50 MPG U.S.

 

The only BMW diesel in the states is the 35d model available in the 335d and I want to say 535d. It's in some X models too. The VW TDI is the only 4 cylinder diesel in the states that I know of.

It's really too bad, IMO everything that's not performance oriented should be diesel and even then the 335d puts out some impressive numbers.

 

I'd like to add that European diesel fuel has a different formulation than that found in the United States. European diesel has a cetane rating of 51, while the US and Canada only have a cetane rating of 40. Cetane is the fuel's ability to self ignite under pressure, basically the opposite of octane. Higher cetane fuels burn faster and can provide easier staring, more power, cleaner burn, and increased mileage.

 

I add Cetane Boost to the diesel in my Motorcoach . The C12 Caterpillar 455hp turbo pushes her 22 tons along at 10 mpg which is pretty amazing.