BMW has for a long time been at the forefront of diesel power research, design and technology, and even more so quite recently, having become a firm favourite among fleet car drivers – drivers who demand the very best diesel fuel efficiency of anyone. BMW’s 3 Series compact saloon is the market leader in terms of fleet car sales, and that’s because it’s still a great car to drive, even though some models have been specifically eco-tuned. But, with the power of great 3 Series sales comes the responsibility of making every new 3 Series model yet more and more efficient.
Every new 3 Series release brings greater fuel efficiency to the market; advancements that BMW’s competition must keep pace with or loose sales ground, and the current 3 Series 320d EfficientDynamics model manages a pretty incredible quoted combined economy of 68.9mpg, with CO2 rated at just 109g/km. That’s some pretty impressive figures for a car of this size.
The EfficientDynamics models in the BMW range aren’t necessarily the cheapest, but you do get what you pay for in terms of the very latest eco-tech. The 4-cylinder, 2-litre, turbocharged diesel engine has been specifically tuned for best economy and there’s an up-shift indicator in the dashboard to remind drivers to change gear early for best efficiency. Couple this with lower suspension for less aero-drag, more aerodynamic wheels with low rolling resistance tyres, and some more slippery bodywork design features means that you get the very best economy that any BMW 3 Series can offer.
It’s still a 3 Series at the end of all the aerodynamics work though, with a nicely balanced rear-wheel drive chassis, a positive 6-speed manual gearbox, as well as some sticky and grippy suspension. All of this means that if you do fancy driving a little faster, without a worry about economy for a while, that the BMW 320d EfficientDynamics is still a very engaging car to drive. No wonder they are in such demand.
However, not every BMW diesel-powered model is all about fuel efficiency; some bigger BMW diesels are designed and built for pure torque and speed. And these are some very impressive high performance beasts indeed.
A high performance BMW turbo-diesel engine is truly something to behold, with some truly incredible engine torque to really get the car moving. Coupled with quick-shifting automatic gearboxes, a high performance BMW diesel engine is very nearly as fast as some of their top of the range petrol engines, but with far better fuel economy. Diesel fans never had it so good!
Next in line for BMW fans that like to save money on fuel will be the soon-to-arrive range of BMW hybrid and electric cars. The German manufacturer has not jumped into the full eco-car market like some of the other big mainstream automotive manufacturers, but they do have some pretty impressive new models up their company sleeve that promise some serious savings for consumers. You can lease one of these BMW’s from a number of UK companies like Central Contracts.
These new eco-cars will feature either a combination of diesel and electric power, similar to some cars we already seen on the UK new car market, while others will be purely electric drive only. But, what is more certain with BMW is that these new green-leaning models will be at the cutting edge of eco-technology at the time. The fuel efficiency future is bright indeed.
