Diesel 3 Series puts the ?o my? in fuel economy.

We recently spent a week driving a BMW 330d in and around Detroit, and it proved to be every bit the enthusiast driving machine you?d expect, except at the fuel pump. This model of the 3 Series sedan isn?t sold here (for reasons we?ll get to), but we got our hands on this example imported for engineering tests by Honeywell Turbo Technologies, a company you may know better for its trademark Garrett turbochargers. Rated at 228 hp, the 3.0-liter, direct-injection turbo-diesel clatters only a tiny bit at cold start-up and not at all when you lift off the throttle to shift or corner. Most of the time, you?d be hard-pressed to notice it?s a diesel, except for the abnormally low redline of 4800 rpm (the last 800 rpm of which doesn?t see much use).