BMW News
The EPA has good news for BMW diesel fans: the 2014 328d is rated at 45 mpg highway. The rear-wheel drive 328d is expected to return 32 mpg in the city, 45 on the highway, and a combined 37 mpg. Adding all-wheel drive to the 2.0-liter turbo diesel reduces those numbers slightly to 31 in the city, 43 on the highway or 35 mpg overall.
BMW marketed a diesel version of the 3 Series, the 335d, in the U.S. market from 2006 to 2011. That car favored performance over efficiency and was hurt by its high cost. The 328d’s fuel economy slots it right beside other efficient compact diesels like the Volkswagen Jetta and Chevrolet Cruze. Chevrolet’s new disel sedan is rated at 46 mpg on the highway whereas the Jetta is stamped to get 42. Both are mid-market cars however, leaving BMW alone in the luxury segment. Neither Mercedes nor Audi offer diesel versions of the C-Class or A4 to American buyers.––Paul Duchene
