Lusting for Europe's Illegal 60-MPG Cars
Published December 7, 2008
Why Are Some Diesels Illegal?
Euro-diesels are very efficient, burning less fuel and therefore putting out less carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. The problem is NOx (which produces smog,) and particulate matter (which emits carcinogenic particles.)
Read: Guide to Diesel Vehicles
If you crave high gas mileage but aren’t a stickler about low emissions, then a European diesel-powered car will beat out a hybrid any day. The only problem: They are illegal in the US.
That's mostly because Europe’s high-mpg diesels lack the sophisticated and pricey after-treatment systems required to meet the latest US emissions standards. And carmakers have been unwilling to make them legal by passing emission and safety regulations, and marketing cars that are small but relatively expensive.
Ever since the Ford Fiesta's unveiling at the British International Motor Show in July 2008, we've been eager to get a close look at the sporty subcompact five-seater—the most fuel-efficient car available in the UK.
Ford Fiesta ECOnetic – 65 MPG
Ford achieved the impressive 65-mpg via aerodynamic body styling, lowered suspension, and low resistance tires. Extensive use of high strength steels and a focus on cutting weight also reduced the mass of the new Fiesta—despite improved safety equipment and sound insulation.
We'll have to wait to get behind the wheel of the Fiesta diesel, but we did get our hands on a 2007 Audi A6 TDI and a 2006 Smart ForTwo CDI for the weekend. We took the A6 for a 500-mile high-speed joy ride through the fields and hills of upstate New York. How was the fuel efficiency? 39 miles per gallon—impressive for a midsize luxury sports sedan with crisp styling, lots of electronic frills, and the torque of a freight train.
Audi A6 TDi - 39 MPG
The big A6 diesel was a delight to fling around the two-lane country roads between Woodstock and Ithaca. The Quattro all-wheel-drive kept the car firmly on line through corners despite spirited driving—and the car tracked straight regardless of speed, road surface, or side winds. Noise isn’t an issue; inside the Audi, you’d barely know it’s an oil burner. Outside, the idling is deeper and clankier, but it’s nowhere near the garbage truck rattle of older diesels.
Smart ForTwo Brabus CDI - 71 MPG
We were less impressed with another Euro-diesel we tested—despite the 71 mpg promised by Smart. The 2006 Smart ForTwo Brabus CDI is a semi-hot-rodded version of the standard diesel Smart sold in Europe. It had a number of nice upgrades over the standard Smart—a glass roof, leather seats, even an aero kit—but the Brabus CDI just crept away from stoplights before the turbo spooled up to boot it forward. We had to “row” the car with the paddle shifters—fun and sporty if you’re up for it, but tedious for hours of city driving. Unfortunately, our short tenure with the Smart didn’t let us test mileage, but hopefully it delivers as promised because the tank holds only 6 gallons.
Our wish list of high-mpg contraband includes these three 60-plus-mpg machines that put US hybrids to shame in the fuel efficiency department. If it weren't for the problem of diesel emissions...
SEAT Ibiza Ecomotive - 62 MPG
In late 2007, Spanish automaker SEAT, a subsidiary of Volkswagen, introduced the Ibiza Ecomotive, its most economical, least polluting production model to date. The SEAT Ibiza has adequate pep, hitting 60 mph in 12.8 seconds. The particulate filter and an exhaust gas recirculation system make the Ibiza one of the cleanest-running cars on sale in Europe—still not good enough for US standards.
Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion - 62 mpg
In 2006, VW introduced the Polo Bluemotion, which uses a modified version of the 3-cylinder 1.4-liter TDI diesel engine to produce the same power output found in the conventional Polo—but with increased fuel efficiency to about 60 mpg. In the most recent release, Volkswagen managed to squeeze out an additional 2 mpg, by optimizing the engine and fine-tuning the aerodynamics. With the better fuel efficiency, the Polo BlueMotion’s CO2 emissions dropped to 99 g/km. Its 0 – 60 performance matches that of the SEAT Ibiza.
MINI Cooper D – 60+ mpg
The diesel-powered MINI Cooper D forces the other fuel-sipping diesels to the slow lane. This car can hit 60 mph in less than 10 seconds, while maintaining the US equivalent between 60 and 70 mpg. Automotive News, the trade publication, managed 74-mpg on their test run. This car also uses stop-start technology to shut down the engine when it comes to a stop. With its cute looks, zippy performance, and great handling, the MINI Cooper D would be a winner in America, but BMW would have to use more advanced emissions controls to bring it to all 50 states in the US.
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Hmm, maybe our diesel polution standards are a bit too high.
I'd love to commute to work in that Fiesta ECOnetic.
How come that the country that is the largest polluter in the world (at least per head of population) has emission standards that allows a hummer but not these 60+ MPG cars?
This stinks.
All these cars look great and they are good too compared to our Tahoe's, Expedition's, Sequioa's and Armada's. We better lower Diesel emission standards and bring them in.
But Diesel is $1/gallon more here and can anyone explain why Diesel is expensive.
I know that Diesel in Europe is subsidized. So what is the actual cost of Diesel.
Is it really expensive to make Diesel.
I could not find a website that clearly defined the implications of the difference between USA and Europe standards. There's various sites that talk about different CO requirements, different NOx requirements, etc. In the USA, we have catalytic converters to reduce CO. I'm not sure what else we do to meet our standards, or why that means lower gas mpg. And, why can't these high MPG euro cars be converted into USA cars with a reasonable hit in the MPG? There's some talk that Europeans loose forests due to their "lax"standards, their life expectancies are over a year shorter, etc.
The things that need to be explored are what does it take to get Euro cars compliant, how important is that vs less CO2 (lower MPG cars would have more CO2)? Anyone have a website/resource on this?
Okay, for those who want a detailed answer about what the consideration for bringing European cars to the US, here goes:
Federalizing a vehicle for US sale is relatively easy if it's designed from the onset to be sold here, but taking an existing model and getting it ready for US sale is fairly complex; I believe the Ford folks itemized something like 60 significant changes that needed to be made (to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars) just to get them ready for here. In addition to emissions issues, there are safety ones since (which may or may not be significant to any real safety concerns, much like the emissions differences) the testing process is different. There are also a bunch of idiosyncratic differences; stuff that the auto industry has been trying to make common for years--to no avail. Then there's also the Japanese market, which has its own standards, which have kept imports to a minimum for decades. In most of the rest of the world, China, India, etc., the standards aren't what keep imports out--it's price, usually fed by import tariffs to product home grown industries.
Regarding the specific models in this article:
Fiesta--I think it was designed to meet US specs except for the diesel engine. They could probably drop the current Focus engine in it and bring it over, which I think are in Ford's plans.
Seat--Not designed for US export so it would need a total overhaul to be brought here.
Polo--VW has talked about bringing the Polo over, but has balked because of concerns about the US commitment to small, high-efficiency cars. That tells me the car is probably very close to US spec, although the engine would probably take some work to get ready for export.
Mini--a different case since the car is US spec. The engine is all that would be needed to be certified. Since it's (I believe) a Peugeot engine, that could be more complicated since PSA doesn't export any of its products to the US.
Two philosophies are out there among the auto companies--only bring vehicles over that can be sold in all 50 states, or try to sell in the 45 non-CA emissions states (about 75 percent of the market). BMW is leading the charge of the former, which would mean the Mini wouldn't come over until it met CA emissions. I think the trend now is to aim for the tougher emissions since the CA and NY markets represent such a key target for imported cars. All US emissions laws are tougher than EU5 emissions although at EU6 (I think that kicks in after 2010-11) they start to equalize -- unless CA goes to LEV III (SULEV as baseline for all cars).
The marketing question is also quite significant. As you could see from Daimler's several year hesitation about bringing over the Smart (remember it was in Canada and Mexico for at least two years before it made it here), the automaker's consideration of whether the market is truly interested in a particular vehicle or segment plays into the decisions. Along with that are market size considerations, etc. The decisions are ones involving significant financial risk, which is why the automakers deliberate so much, then they're complicated because of the technical work involved, so typically it is a couple years before a model can migrate over, even assuming it was designed to meet US market specs. One benchmark is the Japanese, who always introduce their new international models in their home market first, then roll out to the US and EU. That gives them more time to tailor them to the overseas markets based on early reviews at home.
I hope this helps. HybridCars.com tries to make our articles accessible, which usually means leaving a lot of these details out. Thanks.
Those MPG numbers are not standardized and can NOT be compared to US MPG tests.
Check out REAL apples to apples comparisons at
http://www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk/information/how-to-use-the-data-tables....
There you will see that there are only 4 tiny european diesels that just barely beat the Prius (and Civic) hybrid in CO2 emissions. No cars anywhere close to the size of the Prius ("Midsize" in the US, "Large Family Car" in Europe) come anywhere close to it in terms of CO2.
So why is that?
Diesel contains 15 % more energy (i.e. carbon) than gasoline. Therefore, a diesel car MPG must be 15 % higher than a gasoline car to have lower CO2.
Hybrids ARE truly more efficient, and also produce much less NOx, particulates, etc.
I can not share the excitement about the Diesel cars. Firstly, these are all mini-sized cars - the way you have not seen in the US. If the Prius would be built that small it would outperform all of them. Second, the CO2 emission of Diesel is 13.5% higher than with normal gas. Why is this not said thoroughout all the article. Thirdly, keep in mind, that the above Diesel cars still give out cancerogenous particles. Why would anybody be keen on this. Have you ever been on an intersection in Europe? Have you ever been breathing the air we have? Have you the same 60000 people that annualy day from the smallest particle dirt in part issued by Diesel?
Be a little bit more proud of your government. It did the right thing.
We need to move away from pollutants/gallon and move to pollutants/mile. If we did this, my guess is that all of these cars would pass...
So did these guys make the all to often mistake of forgetting that Imperial gallons are not the same as US Gallons?
1 Imperial Gallon = 1.2009 US Gallons
Therefore 65 UK mpg Ford Fiesta is the same as 54 US mpg not 65 mpg--still really good, but common people, how often do we need to be reminded of simple UK to US gallon conversions?
It's starting to become a pet peeve of mine, does anyone else in the world realize that UK gallons are not the same as US gallons?
Diesels are noisy. Get rid of them.
Here is the thing imperial or standard US .... it does nto matter there is not reason to push manufacturers to bring those cars here. Why?? Our gas tax is tiny compared to Europe. Start taxing @ $0.50 a gallon and raise it to $1.00 in 2 years.....
We should force Ford to make those $100's of thousands of dollars of changes - why? We are pumping $15 BILLION into the auto industry - if they are given garbage requirements - then we will continue to get garbage cars and vaporware....
It is embarrassing that we can buy monster gas guzzlers that are sooo much worse than these "illegal" diesels all things considered. These diesels are even as clean or cleaner than our gasoline cars of just a few years ago. I've been to France (which has a very large percent of diesel cars), and the air is fine. And Europe's safety standards are fine too. There is really no good reason to keep these cars out. It's a shame they can't be sold here due to our government's silly policies.
Oh, and diesels are not loud "Bill 2". What's loud is a ten year old gasoline car that's on its last cylinder.
One thing that no article can convince people of is how much more fun a diesel car is to drive, even the small ones. A driver doesn't have to baby it or drive like grandma to get great mileage. I'd challenge all the naysayers to go take one for a test drive.
It isn't harder to make diesel. The reason for the high pricing is the same reason our gas prices were so high only a month ago. The so-called "supply-and-demand" for diesel isn't there, therefore our diesel isn't subsidized like Europe's diesel is. As for the differences between US and European standards for cars it reaches into things as pathetic as the spare tire size and the mechanical make-up of the catalytic converters.
Diesel fuel does contain more carbon per unit volume, but it produces less CO2 emissions during refining.
The true WTW CO2 emissions of diesel fuel is a little over 6% greater, 25.8 pounds per gallon of diesel, 24.2 pounds per gallon of gasoline.
Do American manufacturers, domestic or transplant, even want to bring this technology here? I have doubts, based on their lack of effort with EPA and lack of effort to lobby big oil about diesel supply here versus gasoline. Why would they not want to have these products here?
Our available fleet struggles to top low thirties mpg for typical affordable daily family cars, while Europe doubles the number. What is wrong with this picture? Why would we prefer exotic and expensive hybrid technology over proven, cheaper, and probably more durable diesel technology? Maybe someone can make a stab at explaining us to me.....
So to hammer home my point, using wxmans numbers, a gas car getting 30 mpg would add 80 2/3 pounds where the diesel getting 60 mpg would only add 43. Seems to me like we would be better with the diesel :-)
I would love to buy a diesel to use instead of my pickup for daily use. I highly doubt that the dirtiest of these vehicles puts out nearly the same amount of pollution as my truck getting 14mpg. And the next person to complain about them being noisy or smelly, should go to a VW dealer and test a TDI. I'm hesitant to buy one (and there's about a 4 month wait for the sportwagen I want), but my only other choice is.. well actually there isn't another choice.
One nice option with diesel engines is that one can consider biofuels in addition to or instead of diesel fuel. Those cars can run on used cooking oil. I don't know about the emissions, and there are some limitations but it seems like a nice idea to be able to use the oil that that is usually dumped down the sink to run a car for a while.
Imagine how much money a restaurant could save on delivery using its old vegetable oil.
http://www.biofuelbasics.com/
FYI Diesel is NOT subsidised in Europe. It's taxed at an extremely high rate, just like regular petrol/gasoline is - a litre of Diesel in the UK is about 1.10 GBP currently ($2) - very roughly, $8 / US Gallon. I believe you guys pay around half of that?
Diesel is taxed at a slightly higher rate than petrol in the UK, as the MPG rating is higher (it's a leveller to make diesel and petrol about the same price). As far as I'm aware the cost of producing diesel is exactly the same as making petrol (both use fractional distillation)
We in the US pay about $2 per US Gallon of petrol.
I really beleive its the speed limits which is causing the less milege. My Scion xA gives about 45 mpg if I drive at 45mph on highway (risking a ticket). If I drive at the stupid arse limits of 65 MPG I get about 29Mpg. With this example I'd say if the US govt reduces speed limits we can all get atleast 20% more mileage. We have to look at US govt to reduce limits because it is not legal to drive below 15 miles to speed limit on US Highways.
Look at AAA articles (ignored by Gas gaints lobby) to understand lower speeds give more mileage.
Europeans are taxed from their butt to mouth with taxes. We should all be glad we are not taxed similarly in the US (Diesel vehicles or not).
Did you notice that most cars in Europe advertise a green jone (speed limit) where their cars give optimum mileage and cars in US dont....
European governments want their citizens to drive more )and put more Co2 into the air) so they can collect their hefty taxes and thus have lower emission standards.
US govt wants its citizens to burn more gas so their Gas zars will continue paying them money for lobby and thus have higher emission standards.
Believe Me, I have done a ton of research on this subject, (NOX, NOH3, etc) diesel cars are far cleaner,safer more efficient than gasoline vehicles (beside the fact that diesel contains no benzine or toluol) it boils down to "strange bedfellows" in Congress.
US Congressman Joe Barton wrote the Energy Policy
in 2005 that drove all the European Diesels off shore (just one of a long line of oil controlled
policies). Barton (a Texas Republican known as "Smokey Joe") has been under the wing of big oil for years, his staff are all from Atlantic Richfield Oil .....
Bingo Craig.. You know you can run a diesel off of normal vegetable oil provided you heat the fuel tank and lines (which can be done in an afternoon). Imagine dumping a gallon of Vege oil in the tank after doing your grocery shopping and driving almost a week on it.... people really need to open their eyes, say screw the corrupt officials and bypass their BS by going vege!.. not to mention it's better for your engine than diesel too...
In the US people complain about 3 dollar per US gallon gas.
In most of Europe the cost per US gallon is above 10 US dollars - makes people very interested in consumption. Diesel is slightly less in most cases - maybe 5 to 10%
I love the comments by people who suggest the emissions standards are too tight in the US - they are only getting more strict so get used to it.
Europe is the place they love to talk about the world environment (since they screwed up theirs so well) but the Euro governmental actions are kind of on the iffy side.
To those of you who want to use old veggie oıl - welcome to do it. I don't think you will do it twice.
Just stay away from my Mercedes Van with a TDI diesel engine! This is a full size Viano van.
It gets about 23 miles per US gallon - is as quiet as any gas engine - drives the same or better - has great pickup
Max,
Diesel isn't subsidised in Europe, not least here in the UK where it was (until recently) more expensive than standard unleaded petrol/gas.
Diesel is currently £1.09 a litre at my local service station and standard unleaded is the same price. An annual car tax (called 'road fund licence', commonly known as a 'tax disc', displayed in your windscreen/windshield), here in the UK is based on (for newer cars) their CO2 emissons.
Cars such as the Toyota Pruis pay nothing, but large 4 wheel drives pay £415 a year (roughly US$ 600 a year) for their licence.
Europeans have always tended to buy small cars as 80% of the price of fuel is tax and as i've mentioned the annual payment is lower if your vehicle is fuel-efficient.
The 2nd hand value of those big 4X4's plummeted as the oil price shoots up. The only thing to be said about diesel 4X4 versions is they may allow them to get into the low teens as far as mpg goes.They are still too big and too thirsty.
They are used as posing tools in fashionable locations by the more pretentious and 'fashionable' drivers, or should I say 'fashion victims'.
You see one person driving around a narrow city street with a 'car' that weighs 2.5 tons: so big they cannot reverse into a parking space that a more odest car would easily fit into.
I don't feel any sympathy for them: they bought something completely impractical.
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