Is the mini cooper D coming to the US and when. What is the benefit of a diesel engine. Are the more dependable. etc. Is the car the same size as the 07 MC and MCS. And lastly how much will it cost in the US. Thanks as always

 

I'm curious too.

 

From what I've heard there are no plans to bring the Cooper D to the US.

I hope that changes. It would make so much sense...

 

I think diesel cars are generally unloved by the vast majority of Americans, so its unlikely we'll get the Mini D.

 

Agreed...do not hold your breath. Yes, it looks just like a normal Cooper.

 

I hope that when BMW brings their diesel to the US in the next year or two that the MINI D will follow.

 

Being from Europe originally, I am used to diesel cars. I owned an Audi A3 Turbo Diesel, so here is my experience about diesel engines...

1/ In Europe, a gallon of gas is around 5.4 EUR ($7.2) where a gallon of Diesel is around 3.4 EUR ($4.5), which is the first reason why Diesel cars are quite popular...

2/ Diesel are more gas efficient, close to 30% more efficent on MPG

3/ Diesel cars used to me more expensive to buy but nowdays, it's pretty much the same as a gasoline engine.

4/ Most Diesel cars come with a Turbo. The Diesel engine produces more torque and less power. So, to compensate manufacturers put a Turbo on it giving the Diesel engine that nice kick people like. Perfect in the city, dreadful on the highways!!

5/ Diesel engine are build strong (and are quite heavy), hence quite more reliable and dependable than regular engines. They also need less maintenance because of the way they are designed to work.

Now, there has been controversy about the pollution factor of Diesel engine Vs. gas engine. Diesel engine need extra exhaust filters because the particules are way smaller than the particules emitted by regular engines.

Also, Diesel SMELLS! When I go back to Europe, I am shocked how bad diesel smells like!

Here in the US, the price of gas and diesel is pretty much the same (+/-10c difference). Except, it's harder to find ah!

So I am not sure a MC D is the best option for the US... Maintenance could be an issue as most garage don't know how to deal with diesel engines and you might not see a huge benefit in the end.

P.S. I am not a mechanic, so this my opinion from a user point of view I would NEVER trade my MCS for a brand new Audi A3 D, that's fo' sha!!

 

I had a VW Rabbit diesel
it ran forever
i would like to see the MINI diesel

 

I really doubt we will see the D here in the states.

"Currently no new diesel passenger vehicles can be sold in the five states that adhere to the more stringent California requirements: California, Massachusetts, Maine, New York and Vermont. The current diesel Liberty, Beetle, Golf and Jetta, in other words, are 45-state vehicles. The EPA, however, is tightening its diesel emissions requirements, and moving them more into alignment with the California requirements. The point at which the two map exactly for passenger cars is called Tier 2 Bin 5 (T2B5)."

 

Yup, for some reason, I am not surprised!

 

The MC D probably won't make it here. It is suppose to get up to 64.5 mpg. It is suppose to have better filters making the emissions cleaner, but it still probably wouldn't meet many of the new EPA requirements.

BTW, it is suppose to have a TON of torque.

Too bad really. If they could produce a viable biodiesel option it really would put the whole hydrogen car fantasy to rest.

 

We Americans usually associate diesel engines with trucks. European diesel engins (for cars) are in a whole other league. They are fast and fuel efficient.

Aside from marketing and perception, the main reason we don't have diesel cars in the U.S. yet is that we use a much higher sulphur content diesel fuel than the rest of the world. That's suppose to change this year (if I recall correctly). That higher sulphur content is what fails emissions tests, and leads to acid rain, among other things.

 

dneal hit the nail on the head (as I was writting the same thing). U.S. diesel just sucks. It has much higher sulphur content and to refine that sulphur out is very expensive.

 

Right. Not only is European diesel cleaner, it's subsidized to make it cheaper.

 

Cheaper than what? They get raped at the pumps.

 

Cheaper than petrol.

 

The main reason we dont get the many diesel cars in north america is that diesel fuel is way more contaminated than it is in europe. there are many high performance deisel engines over here that would explode if they ran on the deisel availiable in the states.

 

The Cooper D would definitely fit in with the rest of the MINI lineup in the 'states. I would be very interested to check one out; the same torque as the MCS, with double the fuel economy = HOT

 

The way I understand the current status of diesel powered vehicles is this... The 2007 and up model years, by law, require ultra low sulphur diesel (might be ultra ultra low sulpher) and all of them are going to be common rail diesel rather than direct injection. A 2007 model year car with common rail diesel can NOT run on the current crop of diesel fuel because it would destroy the engine/injector pump or something. ULSD or UULSD isn't going to be available at 100% of the fuel stations here until 2008 though some do have it. That's why VW isn't selling any 2007 model year diesels here in the states. I was originally going to buy a Jetta diesel but since I've never had a new car and didn't want to wait another year, I started looking elsewhere, re-discovered Minis and realized that I could have a fast, fun and fuel efficient car NOW!

That being said, if BMW/Mini were to bring the MCD here, I'd definately be interested in buying one.

 

Yea, don't hold your breath, guys. A Mini diesel is a niche within a niche in the current US market and is just not economically viable for BMW, especially without the new 2008 clean diesel and emisisons regulations firmly in place. However, the luxury diesel market is slated to grow in the coming years with BMW, MB, and others bringing new diesel offerings in mainstream sedans.

Perhaps in a few years, when American diesel tolerance begins to increase, a better infrastructure is in place, and Euro-spec englines can be more cheaply adaptible to US regulations, we can hope to see the D over here.

 

Not to get too political but with gas "only" $2.40-$3.40 a gallon now the demand is still not there, If we paid $4.50 + for a gallon of gas demand for ALL fuel efficent varients would explode, including demand for the regular mini

 

The low-sulphur diesel is supposed to be available this year in the US, but I think it will take a while before you'll find it in all cities easily. Once it is readily available, I think BMW will bring over the 3 and 5 series diesels and see how they sell. If there is a demand, they might bring over the MINI too. What would really change things is if the Federal Government considered the MINI diesel like a Hybrid and gave out tax credits and HOV permissons to diesel owners. That would probably spur sales. Sadly, it seems like the US will instead be going to E85 which is corn-based fuel. Current cars don't run on it, and engines tend to loose power on E85. Ahh, I want the Mr. Fusion MINI...

 

There is some diesel fuel info here regarding the new regulations.

http://www.clean-diesel.org/highway.html

Looks like 2010 will be the hardline year requiring all US diesel to be in line with the European standards. I'd be all about the MCD here.

 

Diesel is not subsidized in Europe, just less taxes on it ...