Why Diesel? They have come a long ways, diesel is getting cleaner, more efficient and unless your driving a truck the foul smell is a thing of the past. Even with the higher Diesel prices you still make like a bandit, with about 33% better fuel economy you would still have to buy quite a bit more gas to compensate. I would love to see a V8 diesel version with an engine similar to the Audi a8 tdi.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKa90jSvkPs

So would you guys like a diesel version?

 

No. Diesel costs more per gallon.

 

Not for me. The extra cost of the diesel engine would negate any cost savings in fuel economy. To break even on what you would pay for an equivalent gasoline engine, it would take years of ownership. I don't keep vehicles long enough to recoup any long term paybacks.

 

Diesel BMWs get 30-40% better fuel economy and diesel costs 10% more.

You do the math.

Not only that but the torquey nature of a diesel engine is much more suitable to American driving conditions.

 

I've already done the math. There is a payback time period to break even.

 

Depends how cheap they make the Diesel option, They are bringing Diesel Jetta's this fall and they already presold most of their fleet. It's only a 2K premium over the Gas version and there is a $1300 fed income tax reduction on that car, so for the Jetta in the end it's only $700 premium over gas.
Example is.
10,000 miles a year driven
Gas @ 22mpg combined example 454 gallons of gas a year. $4 gal premium. $1816Yr
Diesel @35mph combined example is 286 gallons of gas a year. $5 Diesel . $1430Yr
$386 USD difference a year.

This is a rough estimate if a new Diesel RL had combined 35MPG efficiency, this does not factor in repair cost or reliability. I was also generous with the fuel economy of the current RL, it's closer to 19mpg combined.
19.4Gal is size of tank means 426.8 Miles range gas. 679 on the Diesel.

 

Honda is supposed to come out with a I4 diesel next year sometime.

 

Depends on a lot of things. It might make sense for a car of this type if it were the new type of diesels they are selling overseas using the clean fuel and the availability of same. My perception is that MB and BMW have been successful in the luxury market, but I have no numbers to back that up. The current premium in diesel is not insurmountable in the payback challege.

Plus diesel attributes mean different things to different people. I have a cousin who is a neurosurgeon, and he insists all his cars be diesel because he believes they are inherently safer for fire, etc, in a crash. Someone he knows must have been burned, so to speak. Driving his old MB diesels with the smoke and the clatter was most unsatisfying, but he kept his for years saying he appreciated the $50 oil changes instead of the hundreds every time he brought his gas cars in. He went so far as to sell every gas car he owns and bought diesel MBs. Hard to do in CA.

 

On the MB and the BMW, the diesel is a $1000 add-on.

That's about 200 gallons of gas.

 

How long it would take to justify a diesel over a gasoline engine depends on the additional cost of the diesel, the driving habits of the individual, i.e, how many miles driven a year, and finally the mileage differential of the diesel vs. the gasoline. In my case, it would take longer than I usally own a vehicle to justify a diesel over a gasoline engine. Got it?

 

What appeal the most in Diesel for me is that I would be able to get a larger vehicle without sacrificing fuel economy. Example is you drive a lot you want civic economy at a accord size without having to downsize. A lot of ppl are downsizing.

 

Nope, not interested in an RL diesel.

 

Be careful with the EU diesel comparison of $$'s. The price of diesel will increase in the US because we don't have the refining capacity to accomodate a switch to diesels in autos. If we have to delete gas refining for diesel refining then we lose lose to the oil companies. Diesel will go up due to the extra refining necessary and gas will go up because of the less refining capacity of gas. Oh yes, the lose lose - that's what's happening now!

 

I would be one of the few people who would certainly want to have a Diesel Version of RL... Sounds Exiting.....

 

Me too. I want to see what it looks like and how it performs.