Renault and Nissan deliver new 3.0L V6 diesel engine w/VIDEO
Click for a high res gallery of the new Nissan-Renault diesel
The clean diesel V6 you see above will supposedly find a home under the hood of the Nissan Maxima sometime in 2010. Back in April in 2007, Nissan announced it would offer an oilburner in the Maxima, but that was before the price of diesel spiked well above gasoline. That price increase, combined with the huge drop in car sales over the past 12 months, has caused most of the non-German automakers planning US market diesels to seriously reconsider or cancel there plans altogether. That's a shame, because if this engine is anywhere near is as good as some of the others we driven, Americans would probably love it.
The diesel V6 is a joint project between Nissan and Renault, with both companies contributing half of the development cost. It's got all the latest diesel goodies including a 23,000 psi common rail injection system, EGR and a particulate filter to eliminate soot. About three-quarters of the total production will be used by Nissan, largely for Euro market Infinitis like the FX and G series, while Renault will install most of its share in the new Laguna coupe. If the 235 hp/331 lb-ft diesel does make into the US Maxima, it will probably get EPA numbers in the range of 25/35 mpg city/highway. Hit the jump to check out a video tour of the engine.
[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]
Get a WordPress.com Blog
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
zamafir 7:40PM (1/07/2009)
"That price increase, combined with the huge drop in car sales over the past 12 months, has caused most of the non-German automakers planning US market diesels to seriously reconsider or cancel there plans altogether. That's a shame,"
Not really, we're getting VAG's amazing 3.0TDI and BMW's bringing one over as well.
Reply
montoym 8:35PM (1/07/2009)
Last I checked, BMW and VAG were German automakers.
Re-read the quote you posted again.
why not the LS2LS7? 7:42PM (1/07/2009)
If it doesn't turn a lot higher figures than the EPA numbers, they can forget it. That's slightly above break even with you figure in higher Diesel prices.
Reply
Conundrum 8:05PM (1/07/2009)
Yeah about 30% better city and 20% better highway mileage. Add diesel fuel that is almost 50% higher in price. Then add the premium price to check the diesel engine option box. Result = recipe for failure.
pmiddle5 10:08PM (1/07/2009)
^^^ and then take away the fun revving crisp throttle response and better handling petrol version.
Jake B 5:09AM (1/08/2009)
This engine would fly in the US if the VQ currently in production really wasn't so amazing.
Korben Dallas 7:45PM (1/07/2009)
Well, this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone as long as the USA continues to stick to its barbaric habit of extensive use of diesel as a generic energy source. The civilized world has long switched to natural gas. How long is it going to take for USA to develop/upgrade its energy infrastructure at least to the level of Russia?
Reply
The Luigiian 8:09PM (1/07/2009)
Wow. You're... something.
Yeah, uh, European vehicles are usually diesel as are vehicles in most other industrialized nations.
Diesel vehicles deliver better mileage, are more powerful, and are just as clean as gasoline engines when equipped properly. Unfortunately in the US they're prohibitively expensive.
CNG may be great for power plants and running stoves (I should know--plenty of both in New Mexico), but it's garbage in vehicles.
firstplace 8:12PM (1/07/2009)
I agree with the dog headed fellow.
Korben Dallas 8:15PM (1/07/2009)
Er... Say what?
All I'm saying is that USA is relying heavily on diesel as an generic industrial energy source (for non-vehicular purposes), which is what makes diesel so much more expensive for use in vehicles. In Europe diesel is not used as generic industrial energy source (natural gas is used instead), which is why in Europe diesel is so much cheaper and dieesel-powered cars are much more viable that in the USA.
The bizzare situation with diesel being more expensive than gasoline in the USA will continue as long as the USA sticks to its backward energy infrastructure.
The Luigiian 8:21PM (1/07/2009)
Ah. In which case I wholeheartedly agree with you.
I would really like a Dodge Ram or Nissan Frontier diesel. I do hope the Frontier gets this diesel.
why not the LS2LS7? 8:21PM (1/07/2009)
How is relying on natural gas working for Europe right now? Ukraine and Russia say hi.
There is upside and downside to all different fuels. Natural gas is no panacea.
happy_penguin 9:47PM (1/07/2009)
While diesel engines may offer up to 30% more efficiency, it takes about 25% more oil to make a gallon of diesel as it does to make a gallon of gasoline. Add to that the higher production of soot and particulate matter, even in "clean" diesels, and suddenly the diesel advantage picture becomes less clear.
Diesel is not the panacea many people believe it to be.
Sam Abuelsamid 6:50AM (1/08/2009)
Not true. It takes the same amount of crude to produce a gallon of diesel or a gallon of gas. Even with the ultra low sulfur diesels now being sold it still takes less refining and energy to produce diesel than gasoline. With particulate filters, diesels are virtually smoke/soot free. The only performance area where they are still at a disadvantage is NOx emissions but they can still pass US standards.
happy_penguin 11:05AM (1/08/2009)
Yes, it is true. In fact, you can only get so much diesel and so much gasoline out of a barrel of oil as the fuels are extracted by a distillation process. You can't make a barrel of diesel out of a barrel of oil.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/bookshelf/brochures/diesel/
http://science.howstuffworks.com/gasoline2.htm
http://science.howstuffworks.com/oil-refining2.htm
The Luigiian 3:49PM (1/08/2009)
All right then Penguin Man, then I got a couple cents to add. I'll admit I'm not the smartest guy around but let's see if I got this straight.
-First, not one of the links you added said anything about it requiring more oil to refine a gallon of diesel as a gallon of gas. It said diesel was "heavier", but then there's the next point you added which is
-You can't get gas from diesel, or diesel from gas, anyway, so the amount of oil each type requires is meaningless.
-The reason we don't have much diesel is because most of it is used in big semi trucks, oil for our homes, and other such tasks.
So basically, the reason diesel prices are so high is because the diesel is being used heavily in other tasks such as heating houses and powering trains.
I dunno. I'd be contented with a gas-fired truck if it got decent mileage, but if these facts are any indication I'd say the best approach would be buying a flex-fueled vehicle that could run diesel or gas. The owner could then use gas when diesel ran short and run diesel when his neighbors were using more gasoline than usual.
Or, naturally, buying a hybrid or electric vehicle. But I think the best approach would be the flex-fueled truck for the forseeable future.
happy_penguin 9:25PM (1/08/2009)
Poorly worded and misleading on my part to begin so I apologize for that. My original statement is a misconception.
You get less diesel from a barrel of oil than gasoline, that is a fact. But that matters less than the fact that each of the fuels are obtained by a distillation process which yields a certain amount of each per barrel, as well as other petroleum products. As for why diesel is more expensive, there are many reasons not the least of which may be taxes but one thing is for sure: In the end, there is no oil savings realized by switching to diesel and you aren't really saving anything except perhaps some carbon emissions.
Sam Abuelsamid 10:37PM (1/08/2009)
Again you are inaccurate, it takes the same amount of the barrel of oil to make a gallon of diesel as it does to make a gallon of gasoline and less energy input to distill it. Since you go 30 percent farther on a gallon of diesel than you do on a gallon of gas from a similarly powerful engine, you in effect use less crude oil to go the same distance.
As for the amount of diesel you get from every barrel, US refineries are set up to produce less diesel and more gasoline. However there is flexibility in those fractions and it is possible to get a larger fraction of diesel than we get currently. That is how European refineries are set up. Several US refineries are currently being modified to increase diesel output which should lead to closing the price gap between gas and diesel sometime in 2010.
happy_penguin 11:11PM (1/08/2009)
I've provided links to support my claim. Would you care to either provide links to support yours or show me in my links where your claim is accurate and mine is not?
ckm 7:46PM (1/07/2009)
If it's anywhere near as good as the Clio TDi I drove in Europe, that would be amazing. Much more torque than any gas engine, a 5000 rpm redline and a 1000km range.
However, I'd much rather Nissan bring a smaller 1.8 or 2.0 turbo engine than a large V6....
Reply