Diesel Sport Compact: MINI Cooper S D

[Joey D]

So BMW will be making a Cooper S D. Yes the D stands for diesel, as in the fuel America is allergic to if it's in a car.

MINI Cooper S Diesel Revealed
Our friends at Bigblogg have scooped the first technical info of the upcoming BMW diesel that will power the Cooper S D. While we’ve reported (along with a few other outlets) that the engine was coming, this is the first confirmed power figure.

As previously reported engine is based heavily on the 2.0 turbocharged BMW diesel found in the 1 and 3 series. Bigblogg is reporting that the car will have 143PS or 141 hp. But what about pulling power? How about 200 221 ft lbs of torque? Again that’s what Bigblogg is reporting.

We expect the car to be released next spring in Euro markets. It will not come to the US due to all the same reasons we’ve reported over the past several years.

If you really want the original article here it is:

Der neue BMW Dieselmotor für MINI mit 1,6 Liter Hubraum und 112PS ist, was die reine Leistungsausbeute betrifft, für viele Fans der Marke eine Enttäuschung. Doch der werte Leser mache an dieser Stelle einmal einen kleinen Dreisatz:

Wenn der BMW N47 Dieselmotor mit einem Turbolader bei 2,0 Liter Hubraum eine maximale Leistung von 177PS hat, dann könnte der kleine Bruder mit 1,6 Liter Hubraum theoretisch wieviel Pferdestärken haben?

143PS! Das sagen zumindest unsere Quellen aus München hinter vorgehaltener Hand. Klingt gut und die Literleistung ist damit im Vergleich zum 2,0Liter nochmals leicht gestiegen. Natürlich steigt auch das Drehmoment. Von aktuell 270Nm auf etwas über 300Nm.

Da dieser Motor in allen Baureihen verfügbar sein soll, bekommt der Countryman mit knapp 1.400kg Lebendgewicht damit einen standesgemäßen Diesel und seine rund 200kg leichteren R5x Brüder einen richtigen Sportdiesel. Endlich! Denn auf einen MINI Cooper SD warten speziell die Afficionados mit hoher Jahreskilometerleistung schon seit Jahren.

Ach du lieber Himmel!!!

Anyway a 141hp car with 221lb ft of torque? The horsepower isn't much but just look at that torque number! Talk about a little torque steering, tire roasting monster this is going to be.

I'm just curious what people think of a diesel sport compact though? The Cooper D is reported to be pretty fun and have decent handling so I'm curious to see how this does. I only wish it was coming state side because I could do 50mpg and fun.

 

[Tornado]

So are those scary looking German words saying that it is a downsized 1.6L version of the 120d engine?

 

[Jondot]

Good.

BMW haven't really pushed the boat out much with the Cooper D - they've just stuffed a French diesel in it and called it a day. Which, amusingly, means it's actually a fraction slower from 0-60 than your Grandmother's comfy new C3 with exactly the same engine. It's a nice enough engine, but if I were to point out that PSA has also been stuffing them into their Berlingo vans for the last 6 years you might get some clue as to its outright performance pedigree.

Still not massively impressed by those figures, though. The 2 litre diesel from the X3 has more power than that, for example. Not to mention that it's going to need that extra torque to hulk around the weight of a diesel engine in the first place.

EDIT

Ohhh, are we talking 141bhp from a 1.6 diesel now? That's more like it. Thought something sounded a bit off there...

 

[niky]

I had the same issue. I was thinking: 141 bhp? I thought the 2.0 was getting 170 now... ohhh.

What's interesting is that BMW's diesels are now using aluminum blocks. If they haven't cheaped out and gone iron block to cut costs, that means the Cooper S D won't weigh much more (if anything) than the regular turbocharged Cooper S... which should make it lots of fun to drive.

 

[Stotty]

The BMW 2.0 D is over 180bhp now, and over 200 in twin turbo 123d guise.

 

[niky]

Be awfully tough to get the twin turbo set-up under the Cooper's bonnet, though. The Cooper S engine bay is already rather cramped.

 

[Stotty]

I'd expect a FWD mini would struggle to handle the torque of the TT version in any case.

 

[niky]

Hey, with diesels, torque steer is half the fun...

 

[homeforsummer]

I'm just curious what people think of a diesel sport compact though?

Pretty much used to them over in the UK and Europe. Had them for years.

Probably ten or twelve years ago now that Volkswagen launched their "GT TDI" sporty Golf diesel, and since then it's pretty much taken off. You can still get one, now called the GTD, 170bhp and 258 lb/ft torque. Knocks on the door of 140mph, does sixty in less than 8 seconds and still does 55 (UK) mpg.

Likewise, SEAT have always been big on them thanks to the VW parts bin, they've done "FR" sports TDIs for ages. And Skoda got in there with a diesel hot hatch with the old Fabia vRS, 130bhp, 229 lb/ft and 53 mpg. Plenty of torque...

Or there's the BMW 123d with 200bhp, 295 lb/ft and 150mph, 54mpg...

So yeah, we're used to them. A MINI S D with decent power should sell though.

 

[SlipZtrEm]

That's not a huge amount of ft-lbs more than the JCW. Well, enough that it sounds like it'd be reasonably controllable.

BMW, bring it here. I'd actually be interested in any of the Mini models with this installed, especially the Countryman (which I am inexplicably liking more and more each day).

 

[Jim Prower]

Hm...

All I can think of now is starting a FWD tractor pulling class...8,500 lb FWDs...

 

[eSZee]

Mazda is apparently thinking of going diesel with the mazdaspeed3. I'm not sure it'll be too hot here in the states. I'm all for it as it suits my driving style, old lady like.

 

[Danny]

BMW haven't really pushed the boat out much with the Cooper D - they've just stuffed a French diesel in it and called it a day.

The engine itself is excellent. Diesels are one of PSA's strong points. I think it's the mismatch of the sporting pretention and rather sedate engine that causes problems.

 

[Jondot]

The engine itself is excellent. Diesels are one of PSA's strong points. I think it's the mismatch of the sporting pretention and rather sedate engine that causes problems.

Exactly. It is by all means a lovely diesel, but it's about as sporty as I am. Which is why I expect I'd be very happy to own a Focus or C4 that they've stuffed one into. With a Cooper D, though, I think I'd just feel disappointed.

 

[GT_Prologue5]

I hate being allergic to diesel.

Actually, I love diesel. But the onlt application are in HD pickups, German cars (I like VW's TDi the best) You never see a compact sedan with a diesel. It bugs me.

 

[Joey D]

One thing that I forgot about is that MINI now has a new software setup for the steering that almost eliminates the feel of torque steer, so maybe this won't be so bad after all. The Cooper S does torque steer and it's pretty noticeable in the JCW, so I'll be curious to see what happens with the 2011's.

 

[Casio]

Torque Steer isn't that bad. I mean, I own a Turbocharged Saab, the undisputed king of Torque Steer, and as long as you keep your hands on the wheel you barely notice it. Sure if you do a full on start with no hands you're going to drive into a pole in about .7 of a second, but who does that?

Also, I somewhat like the idea of a Cooper S D, but how much extra benefit in economy do you get over a standard S?

 

[niky]

Should be in the mid-40s to around 50 mpg officially... should be even better in real life.

 

[Philly]

First the GTD and now this. I'd really like to see what these new diesel things can do. It sounds like a pretty good compromise for the frugally minded person who wants something a little bit more sporty. They're just a tad bit more on the economical side of the equation than just a regular sport compact.

 

[homeforsummer]

It's the driving characteristics too. Obviously most of them don't sound too sporty (some do, though) and you'd be hard pushed to describe it as a pleasant noise (again, some exceptions) but driving a good turbodiesel can be quite cool. There's a kind of "unburstable" feel to them sometimes that you don't get with a lot of petrol engines that often feel like you're going to kill them (V8s excepted ).

The torque is great too. Turbocharged petrol engines are pretty good for that surge you get when you put your foot down, but diesels just seem to take off.

And there's the fact that many of them are happy to pull along at idle with no complaints, even though you're generally out of the boost at those engine speeds.

 

[Jim Prower]

Well, the problem we seem to have with diesels is they tend to eat trannies...Then again, this won't be making nearly 600 lb-ft, and will more than likely be feeding that through a more robust manual...

Um...where was I going with this again?

 

[-Fred-]

Half the fun of driving a hot hatch is making it rev to the stratosphere to get every last bit of performance out of it... the sound plays a big part of the driving experience... Well, with those cars anyway.

 

[niky]

I actually agree with that... but with manufacturers moving away from high-revving screamers (adieu, K20... adieu, RX8) and towards turbocharged gassers, the differences are getting smaller. And most new gasoline engines nowadays sound like lawnmowers... the sound of diesels isn't such a big deal anymore.

The big problem with diesels is the powerband. A good gasoline engine (non-turbocharged) rewards commitment. The deeper you go, the better it gets.

Regular turbodiesels are fun to drive at 1/10ths. And fun at 2/10ths. And still fun at 7/10ths. Anything beyond that, and they run out of steam. Wringing the engine out to redline isn't worth it, because boost often peters out before 4000 rpm. If you get the more powerful units, boost surges like nobody's business just before 3000 rpm and then dies out... This kind of behavior rewards short-shifting and conservative strategies. It's not the same intoxicating challenge you get with a torqueless wonder like a Honda B16A.

It's still fun.

Well, the problem we seem to have with diesels is they tend to eat trannies...Then again, this won't be making nearly 600 lb-ft, and will more than likely be feeding that through a more robust manual...

Um...where was I going with this again?

There's a solution... just give it a bigger tranny! Our Focus Diesel has a 6-speed manual, and the clutch is built like nobody's business. We've seen tuners break engine mounts and turbos, but we have yet to see a single broken clutch.

The racing crew broke a flywheel, though... dunno how that happened.

 

[Jim Prower]

Well, I am talking about Cummins Rams, Power Stroke Fords, and Duramax Chevies, with their supposedly well-built Automatics...yet I hear more tranny problems from diesel truck guys than anything else. It's kind of hard to get bigger with those without going into Dual-Range 16-speed manuals that have to be double-clutched.

 

[niky]

Having 600-800 foot-pounds of torque isn't very good for gearboxes... whatever is making that torque!