I think diesels are about to make somewhat of a comeback here in North America.
Granted, diesels have maintained a presence in the heavy-duty pickup segment, but diesel Nissan Titans and Chevy Colorados are hitting the sales floors. Rumors of the next gen Jeep and Frontier also having diesel options.
IMHO, diesel engines, so long as they are relatively reliable, make far more sense for trucking and overlanding purposes than a gasser V6 or V8.
Better mpg; the gap between gas and diesel is still significant (even accounting for turbo gas engines). I'm lucky if I can get +22mpg on the highway with my 4.0L V6 in my 4runner. The new I-4 duramax diesel in the Colorado produces 100lb-ft more than my engine and gets 30mpg on the highway....a huge advantage. And when you start throwing weight on the truck or add a towed trailer, gas mpg really starts to suffer while diesel mpg doesn't degrade nearly as much.
Better torque; diesel engines provide much better torque which is far important to me when offroading and towing.
Engine longevity; I get that most people won't own a diesel vehicle for its entire life expectancy. But a longer engine life means that a diesel rig will fetch a much better sales price on the used market (go compare diesel Ram 2500's to gas 2500's to see that price difference).
The main issues that modern diesels have to contend with is emissions regulations and their affect on reliability. The pre-emissions diesels were generally known for being bullet-proof. But it seems the after-treatment systems to reduce certain emissions can lead to some reliability issues for some of the more modern diesels (which of course no wants to deal with).
If these new diesel offerings can manage to maintain reliability in the face of these emissions requirements, I think a lot of the traditional truck and SUV crowd will be more than happy to jump onto the diesel bandwagon.
Granted, diesels have maintained a presence in the heavy-duty pickup segment, but diesel Nissan Titans and Chevy Colorados are hitting the sales floors. Rumors of the next gen Jeep and Frontier also having diesel options.
IMHO, diesel engines, so long as they are relatively reliable, make far more sense for trucking and overlanding purposes than a gasser V6 or V8.
Better mpg; the gap between gas and diesel is still significant (even accounting for turbo gas engines). I'm lucky if I can get +22mpg on the highway with my 4.0L V6 in my 4runner. The new I-4 duramax diesel in the Colorado produces 100lb-ft more than my engine and gets 30mpg on the highway....a huge advantage. And when you start throwing weight on the truck or add a towed trailer, gas mpg really starts to suffer while diesel mpg doesn't degrade nearly as much.
Better torque; diesel engines provide much better torque which is far important to me when offroading and towing.
Engine longevity; I get that most people won't own a diesel vehicle for its entire life expectancy. But a longer engine life means that a diesel rig will fetch a much better sales price on the used market (go compare diesel Ram 2500's to gas 2500's to see that price difference).
The main issues that modern diesels have to contend with is emissions regulations and their affect on reliability. The pre-emissions diesels were generally known for being bullet-proof. But it seems the after-treatment systems to reduce certain emissions can lead to some reliability issues for some of the more modern diesels (which of course no wants to deal with).
If these new diesel offerings can manage to maintain reliability in the face of these emissions requirements, I think a lot of the traditional truck and SUV crowd will be more than happy to jump onto the diesel bandwagon.
