Mini Cooper D coming to U.S. by 2011
By Andrew C., 27 Aug, 2010. 0 Comments
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In the US, the engine of choice is still the gasoline and diesel powerplants have not succeeded in supplanting them due partly to the high cost of diesel fuel and diesel engines and also because of a national memory of diesels 30 years ago. However, Mini believes that an less expensive small, sporty and efficient diesel may change American minds in this regard especially those who are in larger cities.
However, Mini thinks this will only make financial sense in either 2010 or 2011 and even then nothing is still certain. If ever the diesel reaches US outlets, it will come only as one of the options in a lineup and not just an individual choice. The possibility of seeing a diesel Mini Cooper is highly unlikely though. Diesel variants are being built by Mini in their branches around the world, demonstrating that the technological obstacles are found not in the construction of the cars, but in the acquisition of emissions certification. The test of the diesel Mini by Bosch showed that it goes over the 60mpg in mixed driving, way ahead of the current gasoline-fueled car's 28mpg city/37mpg highway and even over the Toyota Prius benchmark of 50mpg in the combined cycle.
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