We have a raging agreement. :) That 2.5 litre BMW diesel engine was crap. I had the manual, and it was OK for power, just rough, and very poor when cold. Sort of like an early Ford Powerstroke 6.9, not as smooth as the 7.3 or 6.0.

I think you are agreeing with me on the refinement, as you note that the 3.0d is very smooth for a diesel. Spot on, it is a great diesel. But it is still a diesel. I like I6 BMW engines for their refinement, and that is where the diesel loses me.

I have driven the Ford and Peugot in Europe recently, and agree. The VW and Audi don't seem a lot better. I haven't driven a Merc diesel since the old days, when refinement wasn't part of the criteria.

How can you say this when you havent even driven an X5 3.0D!!!Dont knock it before you try it!
What model and year was the Discovery you rented??
I know for sure that some LR Discovery had the Italian VM 2.5TD engine!Wasnt this the one you rented! I maybe wrong but I didnt know that the BMW 2.5TD Diesel engine was fitted on the Discovery!I thought this engine was only in the top of the range RR 2.5 DSE!!!!!(A downtuned version of the engine found on the 3,5 and 7 series of then).
The 2.5 Td engine is almost a 20 year old design having been uprated from the 2.4TD engine of the 1980s ,the 3.0D is a completely new engine and with VGT and Common Rail injection, which on a 6-cylinder engine will smooth out most of the characteristic Diesel clatter! Nothing in common with your Discovery except the Diesel you put in it!

A current standard X5 3.0D will never be on par with the 4.4 performance!If Bmw do decide to install the engine from the 535D,then we will have to update this thread!
However,I will say that because the 3.0D is not normally aspirated,you can easily and reliably uprate its performance to near 4.4 standing start accelerating levels but then the 3.0D will devour it on pulling power!!

Hi Fiona,pls let me know where you get your Remus so cheaply?I thought they were more like GBP 570.00!!!!!Being in the trade I can get 30% off,but even then ,it will still cost me 300 quid.
Ok.I know you meant 279 each silencer,right:thumbup:

I haven't driven an X5 3.0D, but I have been in BMW diesel saloons many times, including recent models.

I didn't rent the Disco, I leased it in the UK five years ago. I paid the leasing company a significant sum to take it back early when the UK government introduced employee benefits taxation based on company car emissions (2002?). It wasn't the VM diesel, that was in the series 1 Discovery. I had the series II, refreshed in 2001, the longer wheelbase model with the raised tail lights. To be fair to the BMW engine, it wasn't quite as bad as the rest of the truck, or the dealer.

I am not anti-diesel. The company I work for is an international dealership/distributor for the largest manufacturer of medium speed diesels in the world (who is also one of the largest manufacturers of high speed diesels). They are the yellow ones from Peoria. I have worked with high pressure direct injection systems on large diesels since the mid eighties (the automotive manufacturers took decades to catch up). Look up the 797 truck, high altitude version (with a 3500 hp V24) to see some real turbo technology.

Anyway, I am sure the 3.0d X5 is a great truck/car/SUV/SAV. It is the best combination of torque and fuel economy currently available in an X5. I would just rather have a DI petrol version, turbocharged, with similar power as the diesel, but quieter, cleaner, higher revving, no fuel smell, and no clatter on a cold morning. IMO, investing in that technology is a better payback for BMW than diesel, for passenger car applications. Diesels are the undisputed leaders in the Class 7/Class 8 on-highway truck, and off highway equipment, markets, for very good reasons. It is just that while those engines are great in tractors, I want something different in my personal car.

I suspect you know what I mean. Otherwise, you would be looking for a diesel M3 or F355, and I suspect those aren't on your wish list. ;)

Cheers

Jeff

that's the thing when I phoned for a quote was getting some other ice stuff done. They quoted me something like £700 for the exhaust. I thought at the time jeez that's ££££ anyway when it came to paying the bill for the exhaust I was surprised to find it was much cheaper infact a lot cheaper may have been £300. not sure TBH. They may have made the price on other stuff they done for me

and there goes a man that does not have to pay ££££ for fuel;)

Point taken, and even worse, my employer pays for my fuel here for the X5 (so I just pay the marginal tax rate on it as a benefit).

However, my request is for a turbo DI version of a six cylinder petrol engine, which will get the same mileage as today's 3.0 diesel when the rest of the technology being developed gets bolted to it. I currently drive a 3.0 to conserve resources; not mine, the planet's. Everyone has their own level of rationalization; I suspect that many people would see ownership of multiple BMWs as wasting resources. Oh well, que sera, sera.

"Even BMW, which has succeeded in building diesel versions of nearly every model it manufactures for the European market has no plans to bring a diesel car to America. "If we could offer a 50-state clean diesel-powered car, the likelihood [of bringing it to America] would certainly be greater," BMW Product Communications Manager Dave Buchko said."

Edmunds.com, May 17 2006

Taken from this article:

http://www.edmunds.com/advice/specia...8/article.html

America is the largest known contributor for greenhouse gases and is doing little about it. (no offence it not the citizens fault) I can't see the logic in not importing modern diesels when you constantly see all them gas guzzeling petrol "tanks" they drive around? Doesn't make sense!?!?!:tsk::tsk: