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Audi Takes its Diesel Technology on the Offensive
Since 1989, Audi has built and sold more than 4.5 million cars with TDI engines (turbocharged diesel with direct injection) worldwide. Over that span, the company has steadily improved its TDI offerings and next year plans to launch a 3.0-liter TDI with ultra-low emissions. Audi calls this engine the “world’s cleanest diesel” and plans are underway to heavily introduce it and bigger TDI engines into the U.S. market beginning late 2008/early 2009.
So if TDI technology has been around 19 years, why make this push now? Because, though diesel fuel has readily been available in the U.S., the low sulfur fuel that powers Audi’s latest diesel engines was only introduced nationwide in 2006. With this fuel, and the 3.0 TDI, Audi can reach super-clean Federal Government emission standards.
But, in gasoline-powered America, what does Audi’s TDI technology mean to you? It means that we should all learn more about the benefits of TDI and diesel as there are many. And like my father always said, ain’t no time like the present.
The key to TDI and Audi’s new line of engines is that they are extremely efficient, produce very low emissions, and are performance oriented. When released, the U.S. market will first see the 3.0 TDI offered in the Audi Q7 and then in the new A4. In the Q7, the V6 generates 221 –horsepower and a whopping 406 pound-feet of torque available at a low 1,750 to 2,750 rpm. The engine weighs less than 500 pounds and propels the large SUV to 60 mph in 8.4 seconds. It also delivers 25 mpg and provides a fuel range of more than 600 miles with the Q7’s standard 26 gallon fuel tank. For comparisons sake, the 2008 Chevy Tahoe Hybrid 4X4 gets 20mpg.
Take the same engine and drop it into the sporty Audi A5 and the numbers are even more stellar. Now 0-60 comes in just 5.9 seconds with the car capable of reaching a top speed of 155 mph. And then there is the average mileage of 37 mpg! What? Let’s learn more about Audi’s TDIs.
When we talk about Audi we are talking about a luxury performance brand. Though the 3.0 TDI has a lot to offer, luxury consumers may want more under the hood. At a later date, the U.S. will also see the Q7 equipped with a 4.2 TDI. Delivering 24 miles to the gallon, the 4.2 has 326-horsepower and 560 pound-feet of torque. This incredible amount of torque comes between 1,800 and 2,500 rpm. This Q7 will take you to 60 mph in 6.3 seconds.
Want more? How about a Q7 with a V12 TDI? Zero to 60 in 5.3 seconds, 500-horsepower, 737 pound-feet of torque and 20 miles per gallon. Nuts! Put this V12 in the R8 supercar and see 60 mph in 4.1 seconds.
So the numbers are great, but how do these new generation diesel engines drive? We had the opportunity to take Q7s with the 3.0 TDI and the 4.2 TDI through their paces. The 3.0 TDI provided good power for the Q7, and was both smooth and fully able off the line and at speed. Not the fastest combination to 60 but there was no want of power or feelings of sluggishness in the throttle. The 4.2 TDI was indeed faster but was harder to accelerate smoothly due to a slight lag in response from a standstill and high torque. Both engines, however, showed the refinement and class expected of an engine in a luxury vehicle. Also, the noise levels of each TDI were very low and are like night and day compared to the diesel engines of old.
We also got to test an A5 with the 3.0 TDI which was pure joy. With a six-speed manual, the car was fast, eager and responsive. Not often do you hear that a sports coupe is economical, but the numbers of the A5 3.0 TDI prove that diesel can not only compete with its gasoline powered counterparts, but in this case, it wins.
But in a U.S. market where sales of diesel powered cars only account for about 4% of annual auto sales, Audi has its work cut out. The good news is that the research firm JD Power and Associates predict the share of diesel engines increasing to between 12 and 15 percent of annual sales. With such great technology it seems like an easy sell. In Western Europe, more than half of all new cars sold are equipped with a modern diesel engine. In some countries, that number rises to 80%. As gasoline prices creep higher and higher, it will be interesting to see when America catches on.
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