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Mercedes-Benz Presents Its New, More Efficient Four-Cylinder Diesel Engine

Whoever was quick to foretell the death of the diesel engine in passenger cars once the Volkswagen emissions scandal broke out sure didn’t bother to tell Mercedes-Benz about it, as the Stuttgart company is now making a big fuss over its new range of diesel engines.
Mercedes-Benz OM 654 1 photo
Photo: Mercedes-Benz
And just by looking at the numbers, it has every right to do so. The talking point at this moment is the new four-cylinder two-liter (finally) turbodiesel engine that will be powering the new Mercedes-Benz E 220 d first, only to be found on pretty much all the other models in the near future.

Now that there’s a replacement, we can be honest about it and say that Mercedes-Benz desperately needed to do something about its 2.2-liter (or 2.15-liter, to be more precise) engine: it was very loud and rattly and surpassed on almost every level by the competition. It’s not OK to be a premium brand and have an engine that’s worse than the one in a Skoda, is it?

The new one, however, will change all that. Mercedes-Benz went from one extreme to the other: if the old unit had a displacement that made more sense on the Japanese market than in Europe or the US - 2,143 cc - the new one jumps to a more conventional 1,950 cc, leaving 49 cc to spare until reaching the 1,999 cc threshold.

It’s hard to say Mercedes-Benz focused on one aspect in particular, but if you were to choose one, it’d have to be weight saving. The new engine shaves off 17 percent of its predecessor’s weight, coming in at 168.4 kg (compared to 202.8 kg). That’s mostly down to the smaller displacement, the switch to single-stage turbocharging, the aluminum crankcase and the two plastic engine mounts (which also help with vibration reduction). The new diesel engine is the first four-cylinder unit to come with an all-aluminum construction.

The new engine - codenamed OM 654 - is also more compact, allowing it to be mounted in a variety of models both transversally and longitudinally. It also comes with reduced cylinder spacing (90 mm from 94 mm), while the camshaft drive is located on the rear (transmission) side, to reduce the unit’s overall height.

Another important aspect is the reduction in fuel consumption, which, according to Mercedes-Benz, amounts to around 13 percent compared to the OM 651, its predecessor. A series of technical features were employed to achieve it, but most of them can be reduced to a 25 percent reduction in the internal friction loss.

The OM 654 will be launched this spring on the E220 d, but it will soon power a large number of Mercedes-Benz models. With power ratings ranging from 122 hp to 195 hp, the new diesel engine will surely prove versatile enough to fit under the hood of plenty vehicle types, from the small A-Class to crossovers, minivans or even commercial vehicles. There’s no word on whether there will be any modifications in terms of price, but we’ll know more once the new models are put on the market.
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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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