Quote:
Originally Posted by Arragonis
Yep, thats what I thought. Just like Honda, Toyota make Diesels for Europe (D4-D - although the one that used to be in the Aygo was from PSA) which are pretty good so its just really a fitting thing. Here in the UK we have Corolla (or whatever the new one is called) Diesels as well as the Prius and the MPG differential is favouring the conventional car.
BTW (read the thread again) - I believe that Diesels have a lower redline because Diesel burns slower than petrol, hence also the longer stroke normally found in Diesel motors.
As for smoothness, a dual mass flywheel (DMF) smooths out the stronger pulses too, so it could be made to work IMHO.
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Diesels don't always have a lower redline. It's a matter of how they're produced. Diesel engines inject fuel as the combustion stroke is going on, from just after TDC (technically at or before, but bare with me) until some point about 50% of combustion stroke, or ~45* of crank rotation in a 4 cylinder.
Long stroke engines, gas or diesel, will have a higher torque rating than their short-stroke counterparts. The higher compression engines are capable of extracting more power from the fuel than lower compression engines, and tend to burn cleaner as well. Shorter stroke engines have the advantage of higher RPM, and thus higher HP figures.
Long stroke engines inherently don't rev extremely high, as the rod/stroke ratio wouldn't allow for it without damaging parts eventually. Also, the parts in diesel engines tend to be very heavy compared to those in gas engines, and more rotating mass means more inertia, which means more stress on parts, which means lower redline.
I hope that helps.