The company expects the first X5 xDrive35d (and 335d) buyers to be seasoned travelers -- people who once lived in or made a trip to Europe, who are familiar with BMW's diesel products and who might even have driven one during their stay. Hopefully, these customers will spread the good news to their families and friends. As for other potential buyers, the success of the operation will depend heavily on marketing efforts.

The company expects the first X5 xDrive35d buyers to be seasoned travelers.

A new fighter in the diesel ring
In case you didn't know, the Munich-based manufacturer was late to jump in the diesel ring. The first such production model was the 524td and it made its European debut in 1983, a few months before landing on our shores. That car's 6-cylinder turbodiesel engine even found its way into the Lincoln Continental and Mark VII!

But that's an old story. Americans never got used to the noise and unpleasant smells associated with this type of engine, which is why automakers quickly turned the page on diesel as the oil crisis was getting solved.

Today, things are quite different. Of course, fuel stations still carry the same typical smell (not to mention dirty pumps). However, BMW engineers have managed to make their diesel engines less noisy. In order to satisfy North American buyers, they also modified some key components of the twin-turbo to make it even more low-profile. It involved little things like offsetting the pistons' wrist pin location, adding a cast reinforcement on the bottom of the engine crankcase or fitting a noise-cancellation panel under the engine.

Everything else is identical to the Euro-spec engine. The two variable turbochargers combine with an advanced common-rail injection system in accordance with BMW's Blue Performance strategy for the development of "clean" diesel engines.

Clean? That's right: in addition to reducing fuel consumption, this turbodiesel benefits from efficient catalysis through aqueous urea injection to neutralize carbon oxides, hydrocarbons and other toxic particles in the exhaust system.

The phenomenal torque produced by the diesel engine of the X5 makes it an ideal solution for towing.