RIP: Skyactiv-D
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Mazda's long diesel saga is over. The company confirmed to C/D that it is dropping the Skyactiv-D turbodiesel from its U.S. lineup due to low consumer demand, meaning that this engine will no longer be offered in the CX-5 crossover. Plans for the Mazda 6 Skyactiv-D have also been dropped.
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a35216165/mazda-cx-5-diesel-dead/
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@saracen Good bye D. We hardly knew ye.
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@saracen if they'd made it available in anything other than their highest trim it would have sold better.
We test drove a CX5 and liked it and we're excited when this was announced but it only being available in $40k+ CX5 models was a problem.
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@saracen said in RIP: Skyactiv-D:
Mazda's long diesel saga is over. The company confirmed to C/D that it is dropping the Skyactiv-D turbodiesel from its U.S. lineup due to low consumer demand, meaning that this engine will no longer be offered in the CX-5 crossover. Plans for the Mazda 6 Skyactiv-D have also been dropped.
TIL there was a Mazda diesel engine. Clearly they needed to introduce it into their product mixture a bit more heavily and possibly promote it more as well with marketing and incentives. I'm sure dealers were not too keen on stocking it into their inventory it either.
1981 Pontiac Trans Am
2019 GMC Canyon -
@saracen echoing everyone else,
they sold that here?!?
@ GibbsEmphasis on YouTube and IG
1991 MR2
2019 Rally Camero -
@saracen So... they didn't want the D?
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@saracen There was a diesel Wrangler at work, and it took a very long time to sell. $4,000 and higher fuel costs down the road? Big pass for most consumers.
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I never even realized this engine actually made it into a USDM production car. It sat in a development phase for so long I forgot about it.
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@bandit
Mazda have made diesels for years, just not for all markets. -
Talk to anyone that owns a modern, fully emissions systems equipped diesel and they'll tell you good riddance. They are not the bullet proof run forever things they used to be.
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@saracen In France, they call it the Skyactiv-é
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@someoneatacura said in RIP: Skyactiv-D:
Talk to anyone that owns a modern, fully emissions systems equipped diesel and they'll tell you good riddance. They are not the bullet proof run forever things they used to be.
I disagree, I have a 14 TDI Sportwagen and I love it! I'll probably sell it in the next 6 months but because we're downsizing to 1 car and my wife doesn't want to drive stick.
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I'm fairly certain diesel passenger cars' time in the US has come and gone. Between dieselgate, increasingly good efficiency from plain old regular gasoline powered cars, and high diesel fuel costs, there's just not the demand.
I think we'll see more and more hybridization, especially in premium segments where there's a desire for more power, before moving all the way to EVs. Just like basically every entry-level engine on every luxury car is now a 2.something liter turbo 4, in the next few years more and more of those will get hybrid options, and the step up from that in every luxury car is going to be a 3.something liter hybrid turbo I6.
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@texturedsoyprotein probably right. Especially in smaller cars, the efficiency gap has closed dramatically. Partly because the emissions-addled diesels, while more powerful than their predecessors, aren't quite as efficient. And even moreso that some of the smaller turbo, DI gas engines are that much more efficient than old gas engines... at least on paper in the EPA test certification they are. Sometimes the real world use bears out a whole different picture, but I digress.
What is strange is the most anti-diesel place of them all, California, has diesel prices very competitive with regular unleaded on average. I know that's not the case in many other parts of the country, but it is here.
Where diesel does seem to be making a lot of sense is in the full size SUV and half ton truck segment these days. There is a lot of added expense, yes, but the gap in real world fuel economy between those 6 cylinder diesels in vehicles in that class compared to their gas engine offerings is substantial.
But then you have to wonder about the reliability and long term hassle of the complicated emissions equipment. But it's just about worth it for the drivability combined with the fuel economy. Just listen to guys rave about the torque in the Wrangler vs what the turbo 4 or Pentastar 6 make. Way less downshifting going up steep grades, less noise at highway speeds and effortless passing at highway speeds as well where you just need to squeeze the throttle just enough to not force a downshift and you accelerate surprisingly well.
Not everyone is paying close attention to such things when they test drive a vehicle to realize just how fantastic the drivability is of having well over 400 ft-lbs of torque available at low RPMs and through a good chunk of the rev range in which you use the engine in every day driving circumstances. Just feels more effortless.
On paper it may not be faster, but how you drive to obtain the best acceleration numbers on paper is nothing like how you drive in the real world... The diesel, for all intents and purposes, has better PRACTICAL power.
Oppo's VAG and Euro diesel nerd and wrench turner.
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@saracen Im with all the others who never realized this actually made it to the US. I remember Mazda talking a lot about it, then it seemed like it got stuck in certification hell, I never realized it passed and was actually offered for sale.
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@jminer said in RIP: Skyactiv-D:
@someoneatacura said in RIP: Skyactiv-D:
Talk to anyone that owns a modern, fully emissions systems equipped diesel and they'll tell you good riddance. They are not the bullet proof run forever things they used to be.
I disagree, I have a 14 TDI Sportwagen and I love it! I'll probably sell it in the next 6 months but because we're downsizing to 1 car and my wife doesn't want to drive stick.
Tell that to my brother with a F250 that went through 5 EGRs in 4 years. You haven't had your servicing costs come at you yet (and lets be honest, VW doesn't reallllly have "emissions" equipment) but they will. Most delivery services and couriers are switching back to gas Vans, as they're cheaper overall once you factor in service costs (Purolator type vans).
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@dieseldub That diesel torque you're referring to is also a big benefit of the coming onslaught of hybrid turbo motors.
For example, Mercedes has their M256 48V hybrid turbo I6. It comes in two states of tune. 362 hp & 369 lb/ft in the 450/43 AMG models, and 429 hp & 384 lb/ft in the 500/53 AMG models. The lower power version makes peak torque from 1600-4000 rpm and the higher power is 1800-5500 rpm.
JLR has their own 48V hybrid turbo I6, BMW has a 48V mild hybrid system they've slapped onto a few different motors, and FCA is working on theirs as well.
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@dieseldub said in RIP: Skyactiv-D:
@texturedsoyprotein probably right. Especially in smaller cars, the efficiency gap has closed dramatically. Partly because the emissions-addled diesels, while more powerful than their predecessors, aren't quite as efficient. And even moreso that some of the smaller turbo, DI gas engines are that much more efficient than old gas engines... at least on paper in the EPA test certification they are. Sometimes the real world use bears out a whole different picture, but I digress.
What is strange is the most anti-diesel place of them all, California, has diesel prices very competitive with regular unleaded on average. I know that's not the case in many other parts of the country, but it is here.
Where diesel does seem to be making a lot of sense is in the full size SUV and half ton truck segment these days. There is a lot of added expense, yes, but the gap in real world fuel economy between those 6 cylinder diesels in vehicles in that class compared to their gas engine offerings is substantial.
But then you have to wonder about the reliability and long term hassle of the complicated emissions equipment. But it's just about worth it for the drivability combined with the fuel economy. Just listen to guys rave about the torque in the Wrangler vs what the turbo 4 or Pentastar 6 make. Way less downshifting going up steep grades, less noise at highway speeds and effortless passing at highway speeds as well where you just need to squeeze the throttle just enough to not force a downshift and you accelerate surprisingly well.
Not everyone is paying close attention to such things when they test drive a vehicle to realize just how fantastic the drivability is of having well over 400 ft-lbs of torque available at low RPMs and through a good chunk of the rev range in which you use the engine in every day driving circumstances. Just feels more effortless.
On paper it may not be faster, but how you drive to obtain the best acceleration numbers on paper is nothing like how you drive in the real world... The diesel, for all intents and purposes, has better PRACTICAL power.
A PHEV system made to provide similar overall power (instead of adequate power with significantly better fuel economy) would provide the same experience, while been better on fuel. The Prius Prime is slow, just as slow as a regular prius, but it has that punch in the 0-40kph range that feels fast around town, and better combined and hybrid fuel economy. Battery probably also weights as much as a diesel engine upgrade as well.
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I remember when they announced this and my only thought was "Why?". Chevy tried this in the Cruze and Equinox, and they failed. VW sullied their name with Diesels. Hell, Jeep can barely sell the Wrangler with a diesel without heavy incentives.
It's a shame modern diesels don't sell why. I understand why they don't, but it's still pretty crazy that you could be a premium Mazda SUV in 2020 with a turbodiesel.
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