Opel introduces new 1.5L diesel on Grandland X; Euro 6d-TEMP compliant; up to 4% lower consumption
27 April 2018
Opel is introducing a new advanced diesel in the Grandland X compact sport utility vehicle (SUV). The new 1.5-liter, four-cylinder, turbocharged diesel is more powerful and more economical than the engine it replaces. The new powertrain is designed to meet strict future emissions requirements through the use of an innovative oxidation catalyst/NOx adsorber coupled with Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR).
Opel is bringing the new 96 kW/130 hp diesel to the market in the Grandland X with a six-speed manual transmission (fuel consumption urban 4.7-4.7 l/100 km, extra-urban 3.9-3.8 l/100 km, combined 4.2-4.1 l/100 km, 110-108 g/km CO2). (WLTP measurements converted to NEDC values for comparison purposes.) Maximum torque is 300 N·m at 1750 rpm. The new engine is equipped with fuel-saving Start/Stop.
In comparison to its predecessor, the 88 kW/120 hp 1.6-liter diesel with six-speed manual transmission (NEDC diesel consumption urban 4.9-4.7 l/100 km, extra-urban 3.9-3.5 l/100 km, combined 4.3-4.0 l/100 km, 111-104 g/km CO2), the new 130 hp 1.5-liter engine in the Grandland X delivers fuel economy improved by up to four percent.
This has been achieved through the reduction in displacement and friction, the optimized combustion system with patented piston geometry and the increased exhaust gas recirculation (enabled by a high-efficiency heat exchanger).
The cylinder head with integrated air intake manifold and the crankcase of the new 1.5-liter diesel are made of lightweight aluminium, while the four valves per cylinder are activated by dual overhead camshafts. The common rail direct injection system operates at up to 2,000 bar, with fuel entering the combustion chambers through eight-hole injector nozzles. The new engine is equipped with a turbocharger featuring variable geometry turbine vanes (VGT), which are activated electrically.
For optimum exhaust after-treatment, the emissions reduction system—consisting of a passive oxidation catalyst/NOx adsorber, AdBlue injector, SCR catalyst and Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF)—is grouped together as a compact single unit, as near as possible to the engine.
The NOx adsorber acts as a cold start catalyst, reducing NOx emissions at temperatures below the SCR light-off. With this innovative technology the new 1.5-liter diesel meets the strict Euro 6d-TEMP standard for NOx.
The future-oriented design of the new diesel reduces weight and offers significant potential for the future, with the compact dimensions allowing integration in cars of various sizes and in the most compact engine compartments. This give designers more freedom in terms of styling.
Eight-speed automatic. The new engine is also available with an advanced new eight-speed automatic transmission that not only offers seamless shifting, but due to its low friction design also further reduces fuel consumption and emissions (fuel consumption urban 4.5-4.4 l/100 km, extra-urban 4.0-3.9 l/100 km, combined 4.2-4.1 l/100 km, 109-108 g/km CO2).
With the new 1.5-liter power unit and the newly introduced 130 kW/177 hp 2.0-liter engine (fuel consumption urban 5.3-5.3 l/100 km, extra-urban 4.6-4.5 l/100 km, combined 4.9-4.8 l/100 km, 128-126 g/km CO2) Grandland X customers can now choose from two powerful, yet very fuel efficient climate-friendly and pro-environmental diesels, which both comply with the strict Euro 6d-temp standard that will become mandatory for newly registered cars in September 2019. Therefore, they are not affected by potential urban diesel bans.
By 2020, Opel will also offer the Grandland X as the brand’s first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV).
This must be the new PSA (Peugeot, Citroën & DS) 1.5-liter engine, since Opel is now part of the PSA group. This engine has previously been certified according to Euro 6d-TEMP in several PSA vehicles. Presumably, this would indicate very low (NOx) emissions.
Posted by: Peter_XX | 27 April 2018 at 07:01 AM
I wonder does this use the new Bosch technology ?
It is funny how, once the gun is put to the head, the diesel people seem to be making good progress with NOx.
Still, it is nice to give electrics a run for their money.
And no reason not to (mild)hybridies this (except for the cost).
Posted by: mahonj | 27 April 2018 at 08:00 AM
Proving that diesel car makers could have done much more toward pollution control had they been pushed to do it.
Even though I find diesel technology interesting, this I hope is the end.
Posted by: Lad | 27 April 2018 at 03:20 PM
I found this picture of the Peugeot 308 engine that should be very similar. They use an NSC catalyst and SCR on DPF. Nothing new, really, except that the combination is not (yet) so common.
https://goo.gl/images/n3KwqQ
Posted by: Peter_XX | 29 April 2018 at 11:43 AM
This is a mere 4 kW less than my 2004 VW 2.0 TDI, out of just 75% of the displacement. I'm frankly amazed at how the tech has progressed in just 14 years.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 30 April 2018 at 07:27 PM
It slipped my mind that the VW engines introduced in Europe (later generation than the ones they used in the USA when caught cheating) in fall 2013 basically used a similar concept as this one (PSA, Ford, Opel, etc.) but also the Bosch article. However, VW also had an option with NSC catalyst for smaller cars. The one in discussion here is usually referred to as "SCR" but it also comprises an NSC catalyst, which I had forgotten. Detailed information about that VW engine can be found in a paper in the MTZ journal of June 2013. In the previous generation of the PSA-Ford 1,5/1,6-liter engines, no NSC catalyst was used, at least as I am aware of. They also refer to higher urea consumption than the previous generation, which indicates that they control the engine/aftertreatment in a better way than before. This must be in response to the RDE regulation, since the old engine was not that clean in on-road measurements.
Posted by: Peter_XX | 01 May 2018 at 10:13 PM