Europe Only: BMW X5 & X6 Might Get xDrive40d Versions

Bmw Group’s nonidentical SUV twins, the X5 and the X6, will receive a new diesel unit, becoming available as the X5 xDrive40d and the X6 xDrive40d in spring, but only on the European Market, as bmwblog.com reports. The information has not been officially confirmed.It seems that the engine we are talking about is the twin-turbocharged 3.0 liter straight six which has recently found it’s way under the 7 series sedan’s hood. In the X5's case, it will be featured on the upcoming facelift. Apparently, for the X5 and X6 SUVs, the unit might have slightly different power and torque figures - 300 HP and 442lb-ft (600Nm) of torque as the cited source mentions.

In the current diesel-dominated automotive era, especially in the SUV segment where these engines really make sense, the new powerplant would give the twins a huge advantage over the competition. It's simple to explain: one of the most direct competitors, the Mercedes ML 450CDI, uses a 4.0 liter turbocharged V8 to offer the same level of performance (306 HP and 700 Nm). The other German rival, the Audi Q7 4.2 TDI has to use a 4.2 liter V8 to deliver this kind of figures - 336 HP, 720Nm.

The situation is similar for other players in the league, such as the Range Rover TDV8 or the Toyota Land Cruiser, who also use larger displacement V8 engines to develop even poorer performance. So, virtually all competitors return inferior fuel consumption and economy figures. As a comparison, the X5/X6's current top diesel unit is a straight six turbocharged 3.0 liter one developing 286 HP and 428 lb-ft (580 Nm) of torque. The competition's six cylinder engines (Mercedes, Audi and Toyota - Land Rover doesn't have one) don't even come close to this specs.

According to the same source, it will be matted to an 8-speed ZF automatic transmission, which will help it achieve its goal of returning competitive fuel economy and emissions figures.

We will probably have to wait until March to see the new X5 xDrive40d and X6 xdrive40d live at the Geneva Auto Show.

This is another example of BMW’s expanding of its Efficient Dynamics concept. The programme is BMW’s way of reducing its range’s fuel consumption and emissions. It doesn’t only rely on downsizing and engine optimization, but also uses solutions like brake energy regeneration, an automatic start-stop system and engine vents control. For the next generation package, BMW is working on some incredibly interesting features such as an exhaust-heat regenerating system which would provide electricity. (thermoelectric generator).

This particular feature started a frenzy on the Internet in early 2009, when the Brits at the Autocar website misunderstood the technology and reported that BMW was going to use radioactive stuff on its future cars. Subsequently, many motoring news websites quoted them without investigating the story and thus the media chaos was complete.

Our Chief Editor quickly spotted the misunderstanding and created this piece of writing to correct it. Can you imagine that so many people believe that the idea of radioactive cars would be possible? Ford supported the notion too, when it revealed its radioactive powered Nucleon concept, but that was back in 1958.