2008 BMW 123d - Short Take Road Test

We imagine rampant chest thumping at BMW’s U.S. headquarters as its product planners finalized the scheme to sell the obscenely torquey 335d here. But BMW sells many powerful four-cylinder diesels in Europe. Wouldn’t the larger fuel-economy payoff of a smaller engine, and its lower price, be worth a sacrifice in the performance of the 3-series diesel?

Our friends at Robert Bosch Corporation loaned us a 123d, which houses the most powerful of BMW’s diesel fours. Surpassing the 100-hp-per-liter benchmark—virtually unheard of in the diesel world—this sequentially turbocharged, 2.0-liter four-cylinder produces 201 horsepower. Just as shocking is its 295 pound-feet of torque, equaling that of the M3’s V-8.

Specifications

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 3-door hatchback

BASE PRICE (GERMANY): $40,900

ENGINE TYPE: twin-turbocharged and intercooled diesel DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, direct
fuel injection

Displacement: 122 cu in, 1995cc
Power (SAE net): 201 bhp @ 4400 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 295 lb-ft @ 2000 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 6-speed manual

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 104.7 in Length: 166.9 in Width: 68.8 in Height: 55.9 in
Curb weight: 3337 lb

C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 6.7 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 19.1 sec
Street start, 5–60 mph: 7.2 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 15.3 sec @ 92 mph

FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving (C/D est): 31/42 mpg
C/D observed: 36 mpg

Keep Reading: 2008 BMW 123d - Short Take Road Test