Chevy Cruze to have diesel version and get 50 mpg.

Yes i felt rather dirty afterward. i sometimes forget that my twitter feed doesn't automatically appear on here, i posted all about it. it was a business trip into the peak district, and it was the only "car" our local enterprise had with an autobox. i say "car" since it was more like the size of a transit van. and yes, they said it was a "premium" vehicle, but it really wasn't. there wasn't even a good cupholder.

 

Diesels are highway only vehicles?
Diesel Chevrolet Cruze coming to U.S. in 2013

 

For the most part yes but they can still average pretty good combined MPG if driven well and the driver's commute is conducive to good MPG. For someone like me who drives 95% freeway the diesel is a viable option. I'd nevr get one because it does not help push battery technology and IMO is a dead end street (fossil fuel) but they are still great cars.

 

If I had to have a larger vehicle I'd want to go diesel, but not for smaller vehicles. Realistically, diesel's not going anywhere for larger, long-range vehicles for a loooong time: the energy density issue is too significant and at least some diesel could be synthesized or bio.

 

Yes, I like that statement. It seems that most people do not realize that diesel is fossil fuel with soot and other health-related pollutions, more so than gasoline, has nothing to do with the inevitable electrification of the automobile.

The Clean Diesel is the same fuel with less sulfur, particulate filters and in mid to large displacements, a tank with urea. The Mercedes Benz ML and GL have 28L and 32L tank urea respectively, what a cumbersome idea. It is like cleaning the garbage before taking it out. It is a marketing slogan that sounds more like Safe Sex, not that clean or safe.

 

Clean (enough) Diesel is "clean" because of the filters in the exhaust. The exhaust is not maintenance free and expensive to repair/replace.

Full hybrids allow the gas engine to combust cleaner with the Atkinson cycle so you don't need complicated exhaust system.

Regarding the Cruze Diesel, GM may be aiming it to complement Volt owners. Volt is great for short range but Cruze Diesel will be great for long range (if they can get EPA 50 MPG).

 

They can't.

 

I disagree that diesel technology is a dead end. The use petro-diesel as a fuel is, but the engine technology has a greater adaptability to alternate fuels than gasoline engines. I also believe a sustainable diesel fuel that doesn't affect food production is more likely than a gasoline one.

EVs are the future, but they won't meet all on society's needs.

 

Good point! Thanks for the correction.

 

The total electrification of automobiles is still a long way off. Until then, it is a good idea to reduce consumption if possible and diesel is one of many ways to do so, hence my interest in the technology. Unfortunately, running a diesel engine on high concentrations of biofuels has significant obstacles until next generation fuels with better chemical properties start showing up in larger quantities.

 

My TDI was rated by the EPA at 40mpg on the highway. On trips I usually get the car up to 50mpg or more, and that's traveling at or above the speed limit.

 

Typical owner response... leave out year & tranmission info, as well as an overall average. They say "the devil is in the detail" for a reason.
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2009 Jetta TDI with DSG trans. 15,000 mi/yr. and I said on the highway for the 50. I'm averaging 39mpg with a lot of city and traffic driving.

 

Today's story indicates less than 50 mpg: CEO confirms Chevy to sell diesel Cruze in U.S.

"I drove it the other day. It is great," Akerson said in an interview with USA TODAY. "These new diesels are quiet. Should make it in the low- to mid-40s, and that's with an automatic," the CEO said, ..."

See also: Can Chevrolet Cruze diesel make us forget GM's past disaster?

"The Cruze Euro diesels are rated the equivalent of about 43 mpg on a Euro-cycle fuel-economy test, but that doesn't directly translate into a U.S. mpg rating."

 

I have a 2003 Jetta TDI Wagon with a 5 speed manual. My commute for the past 2 years is 30 miles. It starts with 10 miles of stop-and-go that takes me 45 minutes and then 20 miles of highway that takes me 15. (Yes, I drive 80 on the highway section.) I've averaged 42 mpg on the commute.

Mileage has dropped off some with mileage, I have 221K miles so far. I used to get 50 mpg on the highway driving a steady 70 mph. Now that is down to about 46 mpg. The TDI is easily the best car I have owned. You can see my signature for lifetime mileage.

It that enough detail?

 

r

Holding everyone to the same standard is reasonable. We wouldn't want to be vague about Prius either.
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Behold the Jatropha plant.
[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jatropha]Jatropha - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

 

I know someone with a 320D Mercedes diesel. I got in a conversation with him and he told me that he gets 32mpg on the highway, deliberately omit city mileage, and proceeded to tell me he can drive 600 miles on a tank as if a tank is a standardized unit of measurement.

 

Now to the topic at hand, the diesel Cruze.

One of the reasons that the diesel version of the Cruze has lower than expected fuel mileage is because it has a more powerful engine than the gasoline Cruze sold here. In the UK you have:

Engine ------- HP ---- MPG ---- CO ----- HC ----- NOx --- PM
1.8L gas ----- 139 --- 35.6 ---- 736 ---- 38.0 ---- 19 ---- N/A
2.0L diesel -- 161 --- 42.0 ---- 296 ---- 38.0 ---- 107 --- 0.0

That same Cruze with a 139 hp 1.8L gas engine is rated at 30 mpg combined on the US EPA test cycle. Using a similar ratio the diesel Cruze should be rated about 35 mpg on the US EPA test cycle. That would make it a direct competitor to the VW TDI Jetta which is rated at 34 mpg in the US. The Cruze and the Jetta have identical interior volumes: 94 cu ft passenger / 16 cu ft luggage.

Notes:
All vehicles 2011 Chevy Cruze
HP: Horsepower converted from PS on the UK site
MPG: EU combined converted from L/100km to US mile per gallon
CO: Carbon Monoxide in milligrams / kilometer
HC: Hydrocarbons in milligrams / kilometer
NOx: Nitrogen Oxides in milligrams / kilometer
PM: Particulate Matter in milligrams / kilometer
N/A: Not Tested

Select a search : Directgov - Car fuel data, CO2 and vehicle tax tools
Select a search : Directgov - Car fuel data, CO2 and vehicle tax tools
Fuel Economy

 

Great post JSH. 50 MPG was probably a CAFE (dyno) number before applying adjustments.

Volt was hyped up to get 50 MPG but the final EPA rating is 37 combined MPG.