BMW announces 2009 7 Series Diesel

BMW has announced that it will, as expected, be launching the diesel version of the 2009 7 Series next year. This is in addition to the two petrol engined models already scheduled.

Even at this luxury end of the market, the diesel engine has become a must-have for car makers. Despite the fact that there is almost always a price-premium attached to diesel cars (compared to a similar engined petrol car) and diesel is no longer cheaper than petrol, the headline economies of the diesel, and its reputation as the ‘Green’ alternative, make the diesel a must-have model.

The 2009 BMW 7 series 730d will start to hit car showrooms in the UK in the Spring, and offers sector beating performance and economy. Headline fuel economy is a frankly startling 39mpg from the 245bhp turbo-charged straight 6, with a 0-60 time of around 7 seconds and a top speed of 155mph.

The new 7 series also offers a whole raft of technological advances, as you would expect from the flagship model. These include active brake regeneration, night vision, BMW’s version of lane-assist, active steering (with rear-wheel steering) and active cruise.

This version of the 7 series is a big styling improvement on the last one. Its lines are much more cohesive; less jarring. I’m sure it will go down really well in what is quickly becoming the 7-series’ most important market - China - where the 7 series is more popular than its nemesis, the Mercedes S Class.

In the real world the 7 series diesel will probably use a third less fuel than its petrol-engined siblings, whilst still offering performance that equals the V8 740 of a few years ago.

Hard to argue against it.

Porsche Cayenne Diesel - it’s official

We all wondered how long it would take for Porsche to bite the bullet and give in to the diesel bandwagon. Well, it’s happened. Porsche has officially announced today that the Porsche Cayenne diesel will go on sale in Europe in February 2009. And, surprise surprise, they’re dropping the 3.0 diesel from the Q7 in!

Although Porsche has made the announcement today, the diesel version of the Cayenne is a little less boastful about it. In fact, you’d have to lift the bonnet to have a look or hear it running to know it’s a diesel. There’s not a single giveaway on the body. No badge. No little TDI anywhere. To all intents and purposes it’s a standard V6 Cayenne.

The 3.0 diesel out of the Q7 puts out a very creditable 240bhp, so it’s no sluggard. In fact, it’s arguably a better engine than the petrol V6 Porsche already use in the base Cayenne. We’ve got a V8 Cayenne, but when we were buying that we did try out the V6. It wasn’t nice. Yet the 3.0 diesel Q7 is actually a pretty good drive. No V8 for sure, but perfectly liveable.

So, to clarify, Porsche’s press release said:

The new Cayenne with diesel drive will be available from dealers from February 2009 onwards. Equipped with the proven Tiptronic-S automatic gearbox as standard, the Euro base price will be EUR 47,250. In Germany, the Cayenne with diesel engine including 19 percent VAT and country-specific equipment costs EUR 56,436.

Now whether or not that gets any cheaper when it gets to the UK to take account of the currently miserable exchange rate, who knows. But by the time it gets to the UK in February we could well see the price in Deutschmarks instead of Euros, such is the precarious long term future of the Euro!