The Hindu Business Line : Diesel myths dispelled, Mercedes-style

After the India Trail test drive of a range of Mercedes Benz diesel cars, we came out even more convinced that diesel can be the primary choice for car buyers. After all, Mercedes Benz has been at the forefront of ‘dieselisation’ of passenger cars.

— S. Muralidhar

Wet and yet in control — some of the Mercedes Benz test cars in rain-soaked Goa.

When carmakers and buyers in the world’s most advanced automotive markets are celebrating the possibilities that new diesel engine technologies have thrown up for them, it is unfortunate that there is still a negative perception about diesel prevailing amongst many of us in India.

Aged, abused and under-maintained private passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles and public transport buses are the most visible diesel-engined vehicles that we get to see. Buses and trucks overloaded and groaning, belching out so much smoke that it would seem like we are experiencing a solar eclipse during noon is a common sight in many Indian cities.

Flawed perception

It does seem like much of the public opinion against diesel is being shaped by the old technology in use in these kinds of vehicles. But diesel engines can be clean and, in fact, in some cases cleaner than the average petrol engine currently in use.

Adapting the fuel to make the passenger car meet new emission norms has its limitations.

But if the fuel inherently has unique, positive attributes that make it a better option than its counterparts, then innovating to improve the technologies that are used in the engine and exhaust systems to cut down emissions is a much more viable option for carmakers.

This is clearly the case with diesel as the fuel option. There are so many positives when diesel is the fuel being used in the car that going to unusual lengths to meet the most stringent emission norms in European countries and the numerous states in the US is still worth it.

More combustible

Diesel is inherently a more combustible fuel at high pressures than petrol, which is why most diesel engines don’t need the assistance of a spark plug. During times of high oil prices, like is the case now, it is also extremely relevant that, on average, diesel vehicles offer higher fuel efficiency compared to similar sized petrol engines.

This is simply the reason why so many passenger car manufacturers are attempting to develop new, in-house diesel engine technologies that will allow them to tap into the advantages that the choice of this fuel offers, even as they meet current emission norms.

And in Europe, where much of the latest diesel engine advancements have taken place during the last few decades, the same technology is applied to commercial vehicles too.

Benz in the forefront

Mercedes Benz has been at the forefront of the ‘dieselisation’ of passenger cars. Starting from the Mercedes-Benz 260D, the world’s first production passenger car with a diesel engine launched in 1936 to the first diesel car to feature the new common rail direct injection (CDI) technology in the year 1997 model of the C220 CDI, this German company has been a pioneer of many diesel engine technologies.

So, naturally it is an ally of this fuel, turning on its head the common perception (at least in India) that only low-end cars choose diesel engines to lure the fuel-economy-conscious buyer.

Currently, even as we go to print, Mercedes Benz is running a fleet of seven of its cars on an all-India drive, including one that runs on Jatropha-derived bio-diesel. Called India Trail, the drive will traverse through nearly 10 States and cover about 40,000 km.

We test drove all the seven cars — the S-class 320 CDI, the E-Class 380 CDI, the three C-Class C220 CDI (manual, automatic and bio-diesel), the M-Class SUV – ML 320 CDI and the eight-seater van Viano 2.2 CDI during the first leg of the drive.

Starting from Mercedes India’s Pune headquarters to Bangalore, via Goa and Belgaum, through the journey we hopped from one diesel car to the other getting to experience the uniqueness of each car despite the fact that many of them shared engines, transmissions and other features.

The purpose of the drive was clearly to showcase the variety and versatility of Mercedes’ diesels, starting from the entry-level C-class sedan to the ultra-luxurious S-Class saloon.

And, despite being diesel these cars do not move away from the core strengths of each of their brands and emission targets. They are also capable of delivering better fuel economy than their petrol counterparts.

The Mercedes test drive also reiterated that though the diesel combustion process is more explosive and prone to higher noise and vibration levels, current engine technology for this fuel can make diesel cars almost as refined as their petrol-engine counterparts.

For example, the S 320 CDI, E 280 CDI and the ML 320 CDI, all share the same-sized engine and seven-speed automatic transmission, but they are all endowed with different performance characteristics that are suited to their specific brand positions.

The perfect and imperfect

For much of the 1400-km test drive that we were part of, the weather was perfect — the much romanticised monsoon all along the Konkan coast. But, unfortunately, many parts of the highway and sections of the winding roads leading up the Western Ghats were not so perfect. Rain soaked, riddled with potholes and poorly lit, the roads presented some of the best conditions to put the Mercedes cars to their ultimate test.

Apart from the usual flat tyres that these kind of road conditions tend to throw up, all the seven Mercedes Benz models, including the low-slung M-Class, came off as winners, handling some of the toughest driving conditions, and actually aiding the driver all the while, cosseting him in luxury like a typical Mercedes Benz.

We came away from the India Trail drive even more convinced that the diesel can frankly be the primary choice for most car buyers. They are not anymore expensive to maintain or own than their petrol counterparts.

Modern diesels are almost as refined and best of all they can be much more fuel-efficient and cheaper to run, thanks to the fuel price differential compared to their petrol counterparts.

The fact that some of the world’s biggest car manufacturers who have never before dabbled with diesel engine technology (like Honda), but are now on the verge of breaking new ground with fresh, cutting edge diesel engine technology is a clear pointer to the attractiveness of this fuel’s strengths.

In the years to come, diesel can actually turn out to be the preferred choice of fuel among car buyers worldwide.

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