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by Switching to diesel fuel is one of the single greatest modifications a driver can make to dramatically improve their fuel efficiency. Not only does the fuel pack 18% more energy than conventional gasoline, but the design of diesel engines provides more torque at the wheels. Jeep Wrangler owners everywhere will soon rejoice when Daimler Chrysler officially begins to sell crate diesel engine kits for TJ owners (covering Wranglers from 1997-2006). The kit makes use of the reliable 2.8L CRD utilized in the Liberty but with a modification to remove the lone troublesome component, the exhaust gas recirculation unit (EGR). Even with the price of diesel reaching above $4 a gallon, the fuel efficiency improvements still provide a cheaper cost per mile than gasoline priced $1 less. Perhaps if the popularity of diesel engines continues to spread across the United States, it will become cost effective to construct additional refineries to stabilize the price of diesel. Furthermore, diesel engines can generally run bio-diesel directly, (which packs 50% more energy than ethanol and can be made from a larger pool of sources) allowing the nation to transition to alternative fuel without significantly altering the delivery infrastructure.
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Diesels are Great by Occams :: NR6 :: on 01 April 2008
I have a Land Rover Discovery with a sweet 5 cylinder 2.5 litre TD5 Diesel Engine. This model was not imported to the USA because it was assumed that Americans would prefer the alternative V8 model. Cheap fuel and a passion for speed has denied us the opportunity to appreciate some of the new generation clean efficient diesel engines.
I bought it for towing my boat (2 ton) rather than for off roading. It does both well but is particularly good for towing long distances and up slippery boat ramps with a load on the back. Constant 4x4 with high torque at low revs make it very sure footed.
It is said that an automatic transmission changes gears on a diesel better than a human driver does because the correct change points are different and counter intuitive due to the different rev/torque characteristic of the diesel engine compared to a gasoline one. I can't verify this, but it makes me feel better about the decision to go automatic.
Diesel is also more reliable in extreme conditions through deep water because of the lack of electrics to fail when wet.
Time will tell whether the need for high compression and highly filtered fuel will render this new generation of diesel engined less economic over a life cycle. So far so good for me, and good luck to the Wranglers