Ford Transit 2.2l Diesel

[honda03842]

I looked up the UK Subura Outback Diesel.

Outback - Subaru UK

It's rated for towing 3740 pounds, oodles of torque and great mileage. Actually any of the 2L European diesels would be great for us.

I have been taking a renewed look at VW since there seems to be no other choice in the USA and Canada.

[Bill in Pittsburgh]

I understand Mazda has one coming in the CX5.
I was told by the dealer that the gas model is coming this month and a diesel by October with 300 lbs. of torque (and even a 6 speed manual).
Almost sounds too good to be true. You may want to research this.

[GeorgeR]

I copied the following text from here 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee Diesel Announced For U.S.

"Unfortunately, there’s been no mention of which engine will appear in the U.S.-spec Grand Cherokee Diesel. The most likely option would be to simply carry over the V-6 unit offered overseas.

When mated to a five-speed automatic and delivering its peak of 406 horsepower - ONLY?, this 3.0-liter turbodiesel in the Grand Cherokee returns about 28.4 mpg on the slightly less conservative European combined cycle and is good for 0-60 mph acceleration of around 8 seconds - ONLY?."

After our upcoming West US (West Coast to Rockies) trip we are planning to make a change from our F350 Diesel and 21' Bigfoot to either small trailer with a new towing vehicle or Sprinter or similar van conversion. It seems as new towing vehicle and smaller trailer is definitely lower cost option. While looking for a towing vehicle we stopped at Jeep dealer and indeed Grand Cherokee is coming with diesel but no details yet, unfortunately disappointing acceleration results, I wish it would be 5 sec to 60 or better.

George.

[honda03842]

I looked up info on the Mazda diesel. It may be available early next year.

Right now at $5 a gallon, and 15 mpg, a 150 mile trip costs $50..... If a small diesel gets you 30 mpg that cost is $25. If you're doing a 12,000 mile towing trip like us that amounts to $2000 savings on towing costs.

It also amounts to another $2000 savings on drive around miles.

Over our 11 month trip $4000 is a lot.....

Waiting patiently to get a small diesel.

[Mike Magee]

The CX-5 appears to have a 2000 lb. tow capacity with the (direct injection BTW) gas engine... enough to tow most 13s. I found an Australian test report where they said they got 7.7L/100km with the diesel; I believe that's about 30 mpg, all right.

The Jeep announcement is a welcome one, too. That GC probably would tow any molded FG trailer, including a large Bigfoot.

[honda03842]

Mike you want to look at the Mazda diesel, not their gas engine......

[honda03842]

Mike Magee,

I think you made a mistake, it's 2000 Kgs, not lbs.

Mazda Diesel to Arrive in Early 2013 | AutoGuide.com News

Mazda Skyactiv-D 2.2 Clean Diesel Heads to U.S. in Early 2013

I went to Mazda UK and downloaded their brochure. The Towing capacity is 2000 Kg or 4400 lbs.

http://www.mazda.co.uk/showroom/cx-5/ebrochure/

MPG rating is 69 mpg highway in the UK, translated to our gallon it's better than 57 mpg. City rating is 52 mpg in the Uk, translated to 43 mpg with our smaller gallon.

Personally I'd be happy to get 30 mpg towing.

Best of all Honda says it's going to be available in the USA in early 2013...... definitely something to think about

[GeorgeR]

Originally Posted by honda03842

.................................................. .Personally I'd be happy to get 30 mpg towing.

Me too, I hope we don't need to wait until fuel gets to $8/gal to get these 2l or 2.2l diesels here.

George.

[MCDenny]

Comparing the UK Combined mpg figures from the diesel auto AWD CX5 to the UK rating for the 2WD gas stick shift and applying that ratio the the 35 mpg that car gets here indicates the diesel ought to come in around 38 mpg for its EPA highway rating.

[Mike Magee]

We can certainly hope that the higher tow rating will carry over to this side of the pond. The 2000 lb. number came from autos.msn.com which shows what they rated the gas version for, here in the USA. I didn't mean to confuse anyone, but I've noticed that, other than with pickups, mfrs tend to not raise the tow rating when they add the diesel in the US (like VW, Mercedes)... so I made an assumption.

Er, Norm... you might want to change "Honda" to "Mazda"

[GeorgeR]

Originally Posted by Mike Magee

We can certainly hope that the higher tow rating will carry over to this side of the pond. The 2000 lb. number came from autos.msn.com which shows what they rated the gas version for, here in the USA. I didn't mean to confuse anyone, but I've noticed that, other than with pickups, mfrs tend to not raise the tow rating when they add the diesel in the US (like VW, Mercedes)... so I made an assumption.

Er, Norm... you might want to change "Honda" to "Mazda"

I just look at towing capability of my Jetta 06 TDI and it states clearly:

1. tongue weight 200lb,
2. w/o brakes 1000lb for all,
3. with brakes gas 2.5l 1700lb, TDI 1000lb.
So, in actuality diesel engines get lower numbers for towing, must be engineered by sales bean-counter forcing SUVs.

After change of the timing belt my car is getting better fuel mileage, last outing near Mt Hood on slow maintain road we got over 50 mpg and today on flat Sauvie Island near Portland OR over 52 mpg.

George.

[GeorgeR]

Good news for Diesel lovers, new Ford Van will replace E-vans with multiple 1 gas and 3 diesel HP versions of 2.2l diesel.
http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dl...commercial-van
George.

[GeorgeR]

It seems as it comes with FWD and RWD with the latter one being better for towing. I could not find towing capacity. I think it looks as timing chain from the picture with steel cover, but i could be wrong. With 2.2 l Diesel it will be good competition for Sprinter.
Download a van eBrochure

George.

[Roger C H]

I just shake my head when the Gov't mandates 54 mpg CAFE standards. Despite all the hype, mileage has NOT improved all that much.

My first car was a 1959 TR10 Triumph Estate Wagon. I got 36mpg at 65, 32mpg around town, and once when purposely driving at 50mph over 40 mpg.

http://users.belgacom.net/triumph/Triumph%2010.htm

I presently have an almost identical car, a 2001 VW Golf which gets about the same mileage. Of course these cars do not make good tow vehicles.

[Raz]

I'm confused. I thought the Transit was the small van imported from Turkey with back seats to avoid Ford having to pay the chicken tax and marketed as a local delivery van. This sounds like something much bigger. Nice to see a small diesel.

[Thomas G.]

Originally Posted by P. Raz

I'm confused. I thought the Transit was the small van imported from Turkey with back sets to avoid Ford having to pay the chicken tax and marketed as a local delivery van. This sounds like something much bigger. Nice to see a small diesel.

You are thinking of the Transit Connect. The Transit is a full size van long sold in Europe and now replacing the Econoline.

[GeorgeR]

The Turkish one is Transit Connect with 2l gas engine. Transit is similar in size to MB Sprinter or new Nissan Van. I read some conflicting reports about the engine size, some say 2.2l diesel which is used in Europe but some say 3.5 diesel 5 in line for USA. We will know for certain once Ford will release spec instead of this trickling marketing by anxiety.

More vans in this size will result in higher level competition between Sprinter, Nissan, Transit, and hopefully coming to our shores Fiat/Dodge Ducato.

George.

[Bruce Thomas]

If they ever put a small diesel in the "Connect".....they wont be able to keep em on the shelves.

[Mike Magee]

A van that gets 35 mpg on the highway... wow! Um, are the UK gallons the same size as US gallons (i.e. 4 quarts), or imperial gallons like in Canada?

I could use one of those jumbos. But doggone it, I really like AWD too, and they say it will be RWD-only in the US.

[GeorgeR]

Originally Posted by Mike Magee

A van that gets 35 mpg on the highway... wow! Um, are the UK gallons the same size as US gallons (i.e. 4 quarts), or imperial gallons like in Canada?

I could use one of those jumbos. But doggone it, I really like AWD too, and they say it will be RWD-only in the US.

UK gal is 1.201 US gal which makes 35mpg UK to 29.2 mpg US, still good for a large vehicle.

George.