Latest word on Mazda diesel in US market...

[paris1]

Mazda's limited corporate resources continue to be a source of frustration. http://wardsauto.com/auto-makers/product-assault-scr-fix-behind-mazda-s-diesel-delay

 

[Chris_Top_Her]

Well, I'd probably change to the diesel if it comes before 2.5g aftermarket power mods are available (it probably will). I'll have to deal with the crappy redisgned grill, or maybe see if the honeycomb could be swapped on.

 

[MikeM.]

Mazda's limited corporate resources continue to be a source of frustration. http://wardsauto.com/auto-makers/product-assault-scr-fix-behind-mazda-s-diesel-delay

Now we know the delay wasn't a problem meeting U.S. emission quality. I think Mazda was pretty smart here. If a buyer pays that much more, they had better get the performance right, especially considering diesel owners have been paying around $1 more/gal. which pretty much wipes out the fuel savings. Not to mention the heavier diesel doesn't do anything to enhance the light nimble handling.

 

[Sassimac]

Well, here in Oz at the moment, Diesel fuel is on par with unleaded fuel. So that bit is a non issue here.

Seriously though, what performance issue? The diesel is so much more powerful than the 2.0L and 2.5L engines. The only reason we bought the diesel over the 2.5L was the performance of the engine. It is absolutely night and day...!!!

 

[paris1]

I'm no expert on diesel technology, but I can't help believe all this has something to do with the "gas in the oil" issues Mazda has had in other markets with this engine. I think they were forced to add the downstream emission controls to deal with that for the US market and that in turn killed performance.

 

[Kedis82ZE8]

Not sure if it is an urban legend about diesel being the sludge that is sold for a premium here.

Anyone care to add any thoughts on the US premium cost for diesel?

 

[wiley264]

You can find a lot of good US gas/diesel price data at http://www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel/
(You can also chuckle at the need to have separate regions for "West Coast" and "West Coast less California")

My understanding is that the inflated cost of diesel is mostly because it's a smaller market with a more limited supply. As I understand it, the refining processes actually have about the same cost, but there's much less incentive to compete on price in the US diesel market.

 

[Kedis82ZE8]

Are the diesel service intervals the same or longer than petrol? How many quarts of oil are used in diesel SkyActiv engines?

 

[MikeM.]

Seriously though, what performance issue?

The article says this:


"The engine was supposed to launch last year, but the mill failed to deliver the sporty driving characteristic critical to the brand and would have disappointed customers, North American CEO Jim O’Sullivan says.“We’re going to do things that are right for the Mazda brand,” he tells WardsAuto at the auto show here. “We met all the regulatory environments on diesel but didn’t deliver the performance aspects we wanted. We decided to delay it to get it right.”

My guess is "sporty driving characteristics" go beyond 0-60 times. But you would have to ask Mazda's North American CEO to know for sure. Note that he didn't say "performance issue", he said "performance aspects".

 

[ALafya]

but the mill failed to deliver the sporty driving characteristic critical to the brand and would have disappointed customers

Car & Driver, Motor Trend reviews of the Euro diesel were all extremely positive. I don't think there was any performance problem if these gear heads liked it.
MT: Let's just cut to the chase and say the diesel manual is the compact CUV you want now.

Perhaps the additional cost vs. performance delta was not up to par, such that most consumers will skip the more expensive engine because the additional performance would not justify it.

 

[Sassimac]

MikeM...

I read the article, and my point is still the same.

Personally, it was the sporty performance that sold the car. Especially having come from an ECU tuned CX7.....

 

[Chris_Top_Her]

Well by the time it comes over I'll have my suspension ready to put on and will just need to get my mazdaedit re-set for the a different ecu id and tuned.

 

[Sassimac]

Chris...

Versatune will be the better choice. And for your info, I'm down to 6.39 seconds 0-100kmh.

 

[MikeM.]

MikeM...

I read the article, and my point is still the same.

Personally, it was the sporty performance that sold the car. Especially having come from an ECU tuned CX7.....

But Mazda DID release the diesel in YOUR market. It was the US market they judged would look at the product through different metrics. Most Americans who have driven any length of time have driven cars with far more power than a 2.2L CX-5. Even if you did live in the US market, a handful of happy customers does not mean there would be enough sales volume to make it profitable. The diesel costs considerably more, many US consumers don't like the way diesel smell can "cling" to your hands after handling a pump handle and the diesel, while more powerful, has declining torque after 2000 rpm's which can reduce the sporty feel. Combined with an extra 200 lbs. in the engine bay (compared to the 2.0L g) the driving experience on a curvy road, going through the gears, is significantly altered.

Also, the US has probably 10 gas pumps for every diesel pump. There are a lot of factors that go into manufacturers decisions about which markets will be worthwhile to enter and Mazda is a relatively small company so it benefits them to make conservative decisions and only enter markets with the highest probability of profitability. And if Mazda can make the diesel more sporty in the interim, I might even consider it as a replacement in the future. But only if the cost delta is worth the extra performance and they are able to keep running costs low.

 

[Chris_Top_Her]

Chris...

Versatune will be the better choice. And for your info, I'm down to 6.39 seconds 0-100kmh.

Very nice times, however I already have ME and a cable. Not sure how versatune would be a better choice though.

 

[Sassimac]

Chris...

If Epifan will allow you to swap your Personal MazdaEdit license over, fair enough.

The Versatune software works fine with the OpenPort interface. Always has since the first releases of the software for Mazda Speed 3 and CX7 cars. The beauty of the software is ease of use and well described tables. As well as MazdaEdit works (please remember I have a Pro license for ~7 years now) it sadly lacks well defined tables. And this makes it very hard at times.

In the end I makes choices based on my needs, and so should you. That's the beauty of choice.