The diesel Jeeps are coming. Diesels are no longer the slow, smokey, loud, and unreliable engines people associate with '80s GM trucks, Mercedes cars, and other makes of the era. Today's diesels run almost as cleanly as a gas engine and are nearly as quiet. Plus, they have the capability of making more power than their gas counterparts and are doing it with 30 percent less fuel. In fact, Diesel Power Feature Editor Trevor Reed told me he was able to run a 16.18 in the quarter-mile with a completely stock 3.0L CRD Grand Cherokee. I remember the 4.7L Grand Cherokee WJ only pulling a mid-17s run on the exact same track a few years earlier. So why do we currently only have one diesel Jeep model available? Sadly, there are many reasons. Among other things, clean diesel technology is currently under lots of changes, and it's still relatively expensive. Add to it the fact that much of America's mindset is stuck in the '80s as far as diesels are concerned, and we're not getting anywhere fast.
So what diesel will eventually come in the Wrangler and when? The 3.0L CRD option currently found in the Grand Cherokee is a fine Mercedes powerplant. Problem is that it's too refined, complex, and expensive for the likes of a Wrangler. Even though it's the choice for overseas Wranglers, the old Liberty 2.8L CRD is too antiquated and would require some reworking to become clean enough for the states. Yes, I've seen the swaps using the Cummins 4B yanked from Frito-Lay trucks. But don't hold your breath for this performance slug to find its way under the hood of a production Jeep. It's slow, heavy, low-revving, smokey, loud, and vibrates like the bed in a cheap Las Vegas hotel. However, I do think that Cummins will be the logo on the diesel powerplant under the Jeep Wrangler hood.
Late in 2006, Cummins and Beijing-based Beiqi Foton Motor signed an agreement to form a 50/50 joint venture company to produce Cummins 2.8L and 3.8L high-performance clean diesel engines, which will meet stringent on-highway and off-highway emission standards worldwide. These engines will primarily be used in light-duty commercial trucks, pickup trucks, multipurpose, and of course, SUV applications. The engines are scheduled to be produced in 2008.
Interestingly, Jeep had a strange introduction of a Cummins Wrangler (that actually had a 3.0L CRD under the hood) at the SEMA show in November 2006. What's even more interesting is the diesel was pulled and a 3.8L gas engine was put back in a few months later. The builder of the Jeep claimed a diesel was going to be reinstalled later in the year. Clearly, it was too early to actually show the new engine, but maybe not too early to hint at what we'll likely see under the hood in the future.
Now you might think a diesel engine would fetch a space-shuttle premium price. Many of the 3/4- and 1-ton trucks have premiums that range from $5,000-$9,000 for the diesel option. But because the Wrangler would receive a smaller diesel that would be put into many other vehicles, it may not be so (the more diesel engines you build, the less expensive they are). Word on the street is that a diesel option for the Wrangler would be about a $2,000 premium. This would put a four-door diesel Rubicon in the neighborhood of $32,000 and a two-door Rubi diesel at less than $30,000. Sounds reasonable, huh?
About a year ago, I was ready to bet the Wrangler would get a diesel in 2008. Now my money is on 2009.
-John Cappa