The car market in the US has spoken: mass adoption of EVs is still a ways away.
The inconvenience of public charging in many areas combined with the still-unknown long-term reliability of EV batteries (not to mention higher upfront cost) has forced manufacturers to pull back or slow down EV release plans.
A lot of everyday people and car enthusiasts still yearn for the more analog feel and sound of a combustion engine. The freedom that being able to go anywhere, anytime, without having to plan charging stops and wait in charging queues means the ICE will be with us for at least a handful of more years.
We’ve seen hybrids now become the most prized type of vehicle, able to balance flexibility with gas savings. In addition, diesels give excellent fuel economy on the highway, which America has a lot of. Granted, Americans have rejected diesels outside of full-size trucks for many years. Volkswagen’s dieselgate was the nail in the coffin. However, personally, I still yearn for the torque-rich feel and deep grumbles of a diesel.
BMW has made some excellent diesels in the past decade or so – X5 35d, 335d, 328d, and 535d. These have all been gone for at least 5 years.
BMW currently offers some hybrids (outside of the 48V mild hybrids), like the X5 50e and 330e. These are both excellent vehicles, and in the case of the 330e, not really more expensive than the gasoline-only version. These plug-in hybrids offer a small but usable electric-only range, instant torque, and better combined fuel economy. The only real downside would be added weight.
Why can’t we get something like the 550e, which Europe gets? It seems Europe always gets the cool models, as they are not as burdened by emission standards and testing. Europe does pay significant sums for such models, whereas in the US, it seems price gets in the way of solid offerings.
For all the models that German brands offer in the US–the X5 has the 40i, 50e, M60i, and M Competition, and the previous E-Class had 5 different engine options–it seems we should be getting more diesels and hybrids.
How cool would an X3 with a turbo inline-6 diesel and 48V mild hybrid be?
A man can dream.