If you happen to live in Japan, your choices for buying a diesel car are quite meager. Until a new model goes on sale on September 18, there is only one diesel car available: the Mercedes E320 CDI. The model in question is a Nissan X-Trail GT20, codenamed M9R, which gets a Renault-derived 2.0-liter dCi diesel engine, which was announced last year and was used for the G8 summit last June. This engine gets 30 percent better mileage than the standard 2.5-liter gasoline version while offering the same power and torque as the 3.5-liter V6. The powertrain is also fully compliant with Japan’s new anti-pollution legislation which becomes mandatory in October 2009. As with most other new diesels, the M9R uses a high pressure (1,600 bar) common rail injection system with piezo-electric injectors. The exhaust after-treatment system consists of a lean NOx trap and diesel particulate filter. Volkswagen, Honda, Mitsubishi and Subaru expect to have diesel vehicles available next year as well.
[Source: Le Blog Auto]