The list of diesel cars available in North America has been shortened dramatically since both Audi and Volkswagen had to pull theirs from the market due to the EPA emissions cheating scandal. There are however still, a number of good options.
2016 BMW 328d Sedan and Wagon
BMW offers their popular 3-series Sedan and Wagon as the 328d. It has a 2.0 liter four-cylinder turbo-diesel that has 180 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque with an 8-speed automatic transmission. It can be had in the Sedan in rear-wheel drive or with all-wheel drive in xDrive trim. The 328d Wagon comes in xDrive only.
They’re a premium product with the 328d Sedan starting at $39,850, the xDrive costing and additional $2,000. Stepping up to the 328d xDrive Wagon will start you at $44,150 before you begin choosing options.
The EPA rates the cars as high as 32 mpg city, 42 mpg highway, and 36 mpg combined. The xDrive models lose 2 mpg across the board .
2016 BMW 535d Sedan
If you’re looking for something larger, the BMW 535d sedan starts at $57,350 and like the 3-Series can be optioned with all-wheel drive for an additional $2,300.
The 535d has a silky smooth 3.0-liter inline six turbo-diesel engine with an impressive 413 pound-feet of torque and 255 horsepower. It comes exclusively with an 8-speed automatic transmission and BMW says it can accelerate from 0-60 in 5.8 seconds.
EPA ratings for the 2016 BMW 535d are 26 mpg city, 38 mpg highway and 30 mpg combined. With the 535d xDrive you only lose 1 mpg off the highway rating to 37, the other metrics remain the same.
Mercedes-Benz E250 BlueTEC
Mercedes-Benz at least as of today only offers one diesel powered car for 2016, their mid-size E-Class. Instead of the more powerful route taken by BMW with their competitive 5-Series, the E250 BlueTEC has a 2.1 liter four-cylinder turbo-diesel with 180 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque.
With at 7-speed automatic transmission it achieves slightly higher fuel economy than the BMW with 28 mpg city, 42 mpg highway, and 33 mpg combined. You can option the E250 BlueTEC with 4MATIC all-wheel drive too, which has slightly lower fuel-economy.
Pricing for the E250 BlueTEC starts at $52,650, the least expensive E-Class sedan you can get. Stepping up to the 4MATIC will start you at $55,150. Get yours soon as an all-new 2017 model comes by years end.
Future Options
Later this year the all-new BMW 3-Series fighting 2017 Jaguar XE will arrive offering a diesel model, the XE20D. It will be powered by a 2.0 liter four-cylinder turbo-diesel with 180 horsepower. Pricing, fuel-economy and availability timing haven’t been released yet.
There’s also the all-new 2016 Chevrolet Cruze that goes on sale soon, skipping a diesel engine option for the first model year. At current Chevrolet says it will again offer a diesel engine starting for the 2017 model. Again, not details yet given.
