Diesel powered to US

I’ve just joined the forum. Don’t own a Grenadier at this time. I had a Toyota FJ40 for 21 years so I am very experienced with off-roading. The Grenadier very much has my interest. I am however a diesel guy. Almost everything I own has a diesel engine. Is there any talk of making the diesel available to the US market ? I am going to Germany in August. Is it possible to buy a diesel in Germany and import it back to the US ?
Thanks, bbaxter

Diesel won’t happen is US as BMW does not support the B57 engine in that market.

bbaxter said:

Is it possible to buy a diesel in Germany and import it back to the US ?

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Sure, just wait another 22 years

Why is it that diesel isn’t a popular option / made more available for 4wd/passenger vehicles in the US?
Is it because your gas/petrol is so cheap?

bigleonski said:

Why is it that diesel isn’t a popular option / made more available for 4wd/passenger vehicles in the US?
Is it because your gas/petrol is so cheap?

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Definitely part of it; mixed with the "diesel = dirty" thought over the past few decades (both physically and environmentally). The only "acceptable" diesels that sell well are full size 3/4 and 1 ton trucks, and even the 1/2 ton and smaller ones with diesel options (RAM 1500, F150, Chevy Colorado, etc) sell poorly

VW/Audi's "Dieselgate" in the mid 2010s pretty much sealed the deal on all the Euro brands removing their diesel options, with the only exception being MB Sprinter vans, but those now require annual federal emissions re-certification before the new model year can be released/sold to the public.

Truly a shame. I spent lots of time driving my dad's previous Q5 3.0L TDI (2015) and absolutely loved it, the 34 miles per freedom gallon was just a bonus. For those familiar with the RoW Audi SQ5, here in the US our SQ5s have always been the petrol not the diesel motor

anand said:

Definitely part of it; mixed with the "diesel = dirty" thought over the past few decades (both physically and environmentally). The only "acceptable" diesels that sell well are full size 3/4 and 1 ton trucks, and even the 1/2 ton and smaller ones with diesel options (RAM 1500, F150, Chevy Colorado, etc) sell poorly

VW/Audi's "Dieselgate" in the mid 2010s pretty much sealed the deal on all the Euro brands removing their diesel options, with the only exception being MB Sprinter vans, but those now require annual federal emissions re-certification before the new model year can be released/sold to the public.

Truly a shame. I spent lots of time driving my dad's previous Q5 3.0L TDI (2015) and absolutely loved it, the 34 miles per freedom gallon was just a bonus. For those familiar with the RoW Audi SQ5, here in the US our SQ5s have always been the petrol not the diesel motor

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One of the weirdest things I found in the US was the concept of what we call light trucks being gas/petrol powered instead of diesel. The Isuzu N series is the default light truck in Oz (we run them in our business), seeing these mostly running gas V8s flipped my lid. Guess someone has to keep Exxon in business.

Shopkeep said:

One of the weirdest things I found in the US was the concept of what we call light trucks being gas/petrol powered instead of diesel. The Isuzu N series is the default light truck in Oz (we run them in our business), seeing these mostly running gas V8s flipped my lid. Guess someone has to keep Enron in business.
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They would probably sell quite a few petrol Isuzus in Australia if the trucks were available. The US ones are assembled over there and there is also 6.7 Cummins versions available.

NQ94 said:

They would probably sell quite a few petrol Isuzus in Australia if the trucks were available. The US ones are assembled over there and there is also 6.7 Cummins versions available.

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Did someone say 6.7L Cummins diesel in an Ineos??

bigleonski said:

Did someone say 6.7L Cummins diesel in an Ineos??

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You reckon you could stuff it in that toit engine bay?

bigleonski said:

Did someone say 6.7L Cummins diesel in an Ineos??

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Likely in the tray to replace the one that failed in a RAM

anand said:

Definitely part of it; mixed with the "diesel = dirty" thought over the past few decades (both physically and environmentally). The only "acceptable" diesels that sell well are full size 3/4 and 1 ton trucks, and even the 1/2 ton and smaller ones with diesel options (RAM 1500, F150, Chevy Colorado, etc) sell poorly

VW/Audi's "Dieselgate" in the mid 2010s pretty much sealed the deal on all the Euro brands removing their diesel options, with the only exception being MB Sprinter vans, but those now require annual federal emissions re-certification before the new model year can be released/sold to the public.

Truly a shame. I spent lots of time driving my dad's previous Q5 3.0L TDI (2015) and absolutely loved it, the 34 miles per freedom gallon was just a bonus. For those familiar with the RoW Audi SQ5, here in the US our SQ5s have always been the petrol not the diesel motor

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BMW and Ineos made the right call not to offer it in NAM - but it is truly a shame. Just to give those outside the US some sense of how limited it is - if you pull into an average gas station (let’s say 14 pumps), MAAAAAYBE 1 or 2 have diesel. If it’s a station right off an interstate - or maybe a more rural area where guys are driving 3/4 or 1 ton trucks, the proportion will be higher - but it’s just not super convenient to find.

bigleonski said:

Why is it that diesel isn’t a popular option / made more available for 4wd/passenger vehicles in the US?
Is it because your gas/petrol is so cheap?

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The NA market was turning a corner on Diesel. Land Rover had a few models with Diesel. GM had the Tahoe/Yukon/Suburban's and a think a few small SUV's with Diesel. MB, BMW, etc.

Then VW "lied" and it caused a sour taste again. Funny part of their penalty in the US was to start a company called Electrify America. Go figure.

Shopkeep said:

One of the weirdest things I found in the US was the concept of what we call light trucks being gas/petrol powered instead of diesel. The Isuzu N series is the default light truck in Oz (we run them in our business), seeing these mostly running gas V8s flipped my lid. Guess someone has to keep Exxon in business.
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Modern diesel emission systems have made fleet maintenance very expensive, especially when the motor is not taxed in average daily use (not taxed meaning light, not heavy loads). Petrols on the other hand, run really well and most flat bed towing has shifted to these V8’s (in my area at least).

FlyersFan76 said:

The NA market was turning a corner on Diesel. Land Rover had a few models with Diesel. GM had the Tahoe/Yukon/Suburban's and a think a few small SUV's with Diesel. MB, BMW, etc.

Then VW "lied" and it caused a sour taste again. Funny part of their penalty in the US was to start a company called Electrify America. Go figure.

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The US has had a vendetta against diesels for a long time. Notice the only engines available these days are on the huge domestic trucks/SUVs and the Mercedes Sprinter Van.

I did send a note to Ineos and received a prompt reply that they aren't planning on importing the B57 variant to the US right now, but that may change. Since they have their sights set on hydrogen/EV, I'm not very hopeful. It's a shame to have such an inspiring vehicle be only equipped with a motor that gets 14-15mpg and requires "premium" fuel. That's pathetic.

If you're travelling mostly on highway with very little "off road" , then "highway" biased tyres/tires will be far more efficient and it wouldn't surprise me to see a 15% improvement at least in fuel economy compared to the aggressive A/T treads on the BFGoodrich and/or Bridgestone dueler.

DenisM said:

If you're travelling mostly on highway with very little "off road" , then "highway" biased tyres/tires will be far more efficient and it wouldn't surprise me to see a 15% improvement at least in fuel economy compared to the aggressive A/T treads on the BFGoodrich and/or Bridgestone dueler.

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It seems kind of criminal to buy a capable SUV like that and put heavily biased road tires¹ on it.

1. Tyres

clintolsen said:

It's a shame to have such an inspiring vehicle be only equipped with a motor that gets 14-15mpg and requires "premium" fuel. That's pathetic.

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I would have preferred a diesel too, but you're not going to get significantly better fuel economy out of the diesel version. This is a heavy truck shaped like a brick.

I've been putting regular fuel in mine and getting about 18mpg. Works fine!

clintolsen said:

It seems kind of criminal to buy a capable SUV like that and put heavily biased road tires¹ on it.

1. Tyres

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Not. Another. Word. I have an entire build worked out and I don’t want you guys spoiling it for me.

ryket said:

I would have preferred a diesel too, but you're not going to get significantly better fuel economy out of the diesel version. This is a heavy truck shaped like a brick.

I've been putting regular fuel in mine and getting about 18mpg. Works fine

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So I've done some work on petrol v diesel. Long post for anyone interested in a running cost comparison.

We have a choice of engine in Australia. I really wanted to pick petrol because I think diesel has a limited long term future, but I picked diesel again because that is the better option for me because I tow a camper and I travel long distances when I'm on road trips.

We're a metric country so @ryket's 18 US MPG converts to 17.07 litres/100km.
My long term diesel average combined economy is 11.5 litres/100km (20.55 US MPG).
My highway average is 10.8 litres/100km (21.78 US MPG).

On an MPG basis my diesel is not significantly better than ryket's petrol (gas). Economy is just one part of the story. Running cost and range per tank are others.

Unusually, there is no difference in purchase price for petrol or diesel and the relative servicing costs don't appear to be a significant either so the diesel v petrol decision largely comes down to running cost and pattern of use.
Some buyers will naturally shy away from diesel because of the Euro 6 DPF and DEF (AdBlue) requirements and cost. In my calcs below I have added the cost of the AdBlue to the diesel running cost so it's not overlooked.

I have updated my calc sheet for today's fuel prices in my area and used 18 US MPG (17.07 lts/100km) as a benchmark to see how that compares to diesel.
Diesel is still ahead.

Don't worry about this being metric. Just observe that diesel is costing me less to run and is getting me further down the road per tank. For my usage, diesel is the better option. If I increase the distance travelled per year (15,000km) the running cost tips even more in favour of diesel.

And that's been the general (and simplified) consensus on the petrol v diesel coin toss:
- Low annual usage and weights, or hate the necessary diesel emissions tech - pick petrol.
- High usage, need longer range or higher torque for towing then pick diesel.

These numbers are non-towing. When towing I get about 16.8 litres/100 km. Anecdotally I believe the petrol runs around 22-25 litres/100km towing (10.7 to 9.4 US MPG).



I first built this calc sheet in 2022 to help me choose diesel over petrol. It's tracking very close to my actual 12 month stats (below) for 16,443km travelled.

CrazyOldMan said:

Not. Another. Word. I have an entire build worked out and I don’t want you guys spoiling it for me.

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You're gonna have front driveshaft problems