The Affordable Used Sports Sedan That Packs A Mighty Diesel Punch

Our love affair with diesel-powered passenger cars in the US has, historically, not even held a candle to the sort of reverence they’ve experienced in Europe. Over here, diesel power is normally reserved for the likes of semi-trucks, agricultural equipment, and heavy-duty pickup trucks. Not to mention, the US isn’t subject to the same sort of fuel taxes and congestion charges that many in Europe are subject to, most of which are alleviated a bit by owning a diesel car.

However, just because Americans don’t typically get along with diesel passenger cars doesn’t mean we’ve never had any available. One such model happens to be the subject of today’s write-up: the BMW 335d. It was only around for five years, and it didn’t get much love in the open market. The thing is, though, it’s not nearly as bad as you might think it is in terms of performance and its ability to be fun. In fact, we’d even call it a good car.

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One Of The Few Modern Diesel Passenger Cars In The US

BMW 335d Key Points

• Introduced to the US market in 2007
• Took advantage of a 3.0-liter diesel engine
• Axed following the 2013 model year

While it may not pertain to diesels, the US has been an avid buyer of BMW models for decades. Upon the fifth generation (E90) 3 Series’ debut in 2007, the compact executive sedan was BMW’s best-selling four-door in the United States, a feat that had been cemented during the 3 Series’ fourth generation. In fact, the fourth-gen 3 Series (E46) was BMW’s best-selling model around the world.

Perhaps the “high” of the E46 3 Series’ success in the States is what persuaded BMW to release a diesel variant of the model line in the US, despite Americans being notorious for not much liking diesel-powered passenger cars. After all, the US suffered through one of the worst diesel passenger car diesel engines ever created: the Oldsmobile Diesel Engine, a mill that was very short-lived, but was so bad that it damaged the American car-buying public’s opinion of diesel passenger cars for decades.

Despite this, BMW released their diesel 3 Series, coined the 335d, in 2007. It featured a turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six-cylinder diesel engine, but retained most other 3 Series features seen at the time. Because BMW knew the diesel 3 Series wouldn’t be nearly as big a hit as the standard, gasoline-powered version, it only exported roughly 10,000 335ds to the United States and Canada.

Specs And Performance

The BMW 335d’s 3.0-liter diesel engine belongs to the BMW M57 engine family, which began its timeline back in 1998. The version seen within the BMW 335d, called the M57D30TÜ2 Top, was the final iteration of the M57 engine, and featured a sequential twin-turbo setup, along with a high compression ratio that’s typical of diesel engines. Unlike other 3 Series sub-models of the time, the 335d only offered a single, six-speed automatic transmission.

We’ll lay out the BMW 335d’s detailed engine and performance specs in the table below:

*Specs courtesy of BMW and Car and Driver testing

The BMW 335d’s Competition

Although rare, there were still other diesel cars on the market at the time. When it comes to those in the BMW 335d’s segment, models like the Audi A5 with the 3.0-liter TDI V6 and the Mercedes-Benz E 320 BlueTEC come to mind. So, to fulfill our due diligence, we’ll talk about the pair of German-bred rivals the 335d had to contend with below.

2007 Audi A5 TDI

First, let’s discuss the Audi A5 TDI. Despite its two-door body, the A5 TDI can be considered a close competitor to the BMW 335d, and not just because it also has a 3.0-liter turbocharged diesel engine. The Audi A5 TDI first hit the market in 2007, and was offered as just a coupe, initially. By 2009, Audi allowed buyers to order their A5 TDI with either a sportback or cabriolet body style, along with the original coupe, of course. The A5 TDI faded from the market in 2011, just four years after its debut.

2007 Mercedes-Benz E 320 BlueTEC

Next up, we have the Mercedes-Benz E 320 BlueTEC. Like the Audi above, the E 320 BlueTEC was also a short-lived model, with its lifespan only lasting three model years. The E 320 BlueTEC is also the slowest of the bunch, thanks to its 3.0-liter OM642 turbo diesel engine. Specific sales figures for the E 320 BlueTEC aren’t verifiable, but it was considered one of the last popular diesel passenger cars offered in the US in modern times.

The State Of Diesel Cars Following The BMW 335d

Of the two German diesel passenger car rivals and the BMW 335d itself, the Bimmer was the longest-lasting of the bunch. After its axing in 2013, BMW’s diesel-powered passenger car offering list consisted of the BMW 328d and the BMW 540d, both of which would be in production until the end of 2018. However, these models still suffered from the American Anti-Diesel Syndrome, something that’s extremely hard to overcome.

Another reason for our disdain for diesel cars in this day-in-age can be traced back to Volkswagen’s “Dieselgate” scandal. About a decade ago, Volkswagen was caught manipulating software in some of their diesel models in order for their emissions to appear to be cleaner than they actually were. This issue, compounded with the Oldsmobile Diesel Engine fiasco, put the final nail in the diesel coffin in the eyes of the American public. For the BMW 335d to get as far as it did is impressive.

Sources: BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Supercars.net, GM Heritage