BMW's new diesel-engine 335d carries a $1,925 premium over the gasoline-powered 335i. BMW Tuesday announced prices and technical information in advance of its return to the U.S. diesel market. The 335d sport sedan will sell for $44,725 including shipping and an automatic transmission. The X5d SUV will be priced at $56,625. BMW said dealers will get demonstrator models before year's end, suggesting customer availability early in 2009.

BMW had said it wouldn't return to the U.S. market until its diesels could be sold in all 50 states. It last sold diesels here in the mid-1980s, but those were weak on performance and weaker on sales. (Mercedes-Benz and VW soldiered on with diesels available in about 45 states and now are bringing out 50-state versions.) The 2009 335d will accelerate to 60 mph in 6.0 seconds, midway between the performance of the gasoline 335i and the gasoline 328i. BMW said the 335d is rated at 25 mpg in city driving, 36 mph highway driving, with a typical driving range between fill-ups of 570 miles, or once every 2-1/2 weeks for a car driven 12,000 miles a year.

As far as price premium, the question in advance of the announcement was whether BMW diesels might sell at a low $1,000 premium over comparable gasoline models (as Mercedes-Benz does) or as much as $2,500 over. That's especially important to buyers looking for economy - such as economy is when you're paying $40,000-plus for a sedan no roomier than a Honda Civic. BMW says diesels are about 30% more efficient than gasoline vehicles, and since all gasoline BMWs require premium fuel, the difference is well under 30% now between diesel and premium fuel.

If you're comparing the new BMW 335d to the high-end 335i, the difference is $1,925, or $44,725 vs. $42,800, comparably equipped. (All BMW diesels sold worldwide have automatic transmissions.) A comparison to the 328i is trickier since there's a difference in standard equipment, but the difference in base prices is $8,625 compared to the 328i with a gasoline engine, which lists at $36,100 with the automatic.

The X5d SUV is positioned midway between the two gasoline X5s. At $52,025, it's $4,600 less than V8-powered X5 ($56,625) and $4,100 more than six-cylinder X5.


Two-thirds of BMW sales in Europe are diesels and they're in virtually every BMW, including on the upcoming BMW 7 Series. As for other models here getting a diesel, such as the 7 Series, Willem Rombauts, a BMW product manager, said, "It's certainly a possibility but not decided at this moment. Maybe it will come,"

BMW's announcement was the company's first Web-based press conference, an hour-long session originated from its Woodcliff Lake, N.J., headquarters, supplemented by taped videos of BMW executives from Europe and an on-the-road segment by product planning manager Rich Brekus. BMW allowed questions to be posed as online submissions; BMW then chose questions to answer at the end of the session.