Back in 2010, federal regulations mandated the sale of Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) fuel in the United States for use as a highway fuel. ULSD is a cleaner-burning diesel fuel containing 97 percent less sulfur than the previously mandated low-sulfur diesel (LSD).
ULSD fuel enables the use of cleaner technology diesel engines along with the employment of advanced emissions control devices, resulting in significantly improved air quality. Running on this fuel, this list of 2014 diesel cars represents the cleanest burning diesel passenger car fleet ever offered in this country. In fact, many of them run cleaner than gasoline fueled automobiles.
Diesel engines are also both more powerful and fuel-efficient than similar-sized gasoline engines. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, they are typically 30 to 35 percent more fuel-efficient. They also generate more low-end torque, which gives their host automobile improved acceleration off the line. Compared to the diesel engines of the past, these contemporary designs, along with their new noise- and vibration-damping technologies, have made diesel engines both quieter and smoother. Cold-weather starting has been improved also.
Europeans have known and embraced this for quite some time. Paying between six and ten dollars MORE per gallon than we do, fuel-efficiency has been an issue over there for a very long time. For this reason, you’ll find every vehicle on this list of 2014 diesel cars—save one—hails from European manufacturers.
BTW, the 2014 model year ushers in the broadest array of diesel-powered automobiles ever offered in the USA.