1 MODERN TURBO-DIESEL ENGINES
WHAT sets today’s 4x4s most apart from those of not just 60 years but those of even 20 years ago, is the modern turbo-diesel engine and its outstanding trifecta of performance, economy and refinement. This revolution in engine technology was born 30 years ago in Europe off the back of EU government policy that favoured diesel-engine development over petrol engines due to a diesel’s lower production of carbon dioxide, so-called greenhouse gas. Yes, there was a time when diesel engines were at the forefront of being ‘green’.
Before the diesel revolution arrived, if you wanted decent performance in your 4x4 you had a petrol V8 or a big (plus 4.0-litre) petrol six. If you wanted economy, you had a diesel. Trouble was the big petrol motors were thirsty and the diesels were dead sluggish if naturally aspirated and only modest performers if turbocharged, while the popular mid-sized petrolV6s of the time were excellent on neither count.
The new-tech diesels increasingly meant that you could have both performance and economy, as they were simply much better at extracting every last morsel of energy out of every drop of diesel fuel, thanks largely to very precise high-pressure common-rail diesel injection and evermore sophisticated turbocharger technology, including the use of multiple turbos.
This revolution didn’t arrive all in one hit, but if there was one engine that signalled the bold and brave new world of performance diesels had arrived in Australia it was the 3.0-litre BMW straight-six that was offered in the thennew third generation Range Rover in 2002.
