Interesting blurb on Mazda's upcoming diesel engine...
Read this on Autoblog this morning. Sounds like a recipe for a Mazdaspeed-D somewhere down the road... ;)
Quote:
While the 2.0-liter gas engine holds its own, it's the 2.2-liter diesel that should make everyone sit up and take notice. Rated at 173 hp and a no-waiting, no-kidding 310 lb-ft of torque, the SkyActiv engine offers an unusually low 14:1 compression ratio. Usually, the latter would harm cold-weather startup, but Mazda claims that ceramic glow plugs and variable exhaust valve lift solve the issue. More importantly, the 2.2 meets stringent Tier II Bin 5 emissions standards without NOx aftertreatment. This is quite an achievement – other vehicles in its class that offer diesel engines elsewhere would generally have to resort to urea injection systems to pass the U.S. government sniff test. Its lack of an aftertreatment setup not only curbs weight (around 3,300 pounds), it lowers cost significantly – potentially enough to make the premium more manageable for America's historically diesel-averse consumers.
