IntelliChoice looked at 19 clean diesel vehicles that cover eleven models and four brands, all of which are from German manufacturers. Among the clean diesel models are the Volkswagen Jetta TDI sedan and wagon, Audi Q7 TDI, BMW 335d and the Mercedes-Benz R350 BlueTEC.
The following table indicates that every clean diesel vehicle (except the Mercedes-Benz GL350 BlueTEC) has a higher MSRP than its gas-only counterpart. In 2009, 11 of 12 clean diesel vehicles had a lower total cost of ownership, but in 2011 only 11 of 19 have a lower total cost of ownership. The principal reasons for this change is the lack of a federal tax credit and because clean diesel models do not have as big of an advantage in retained value as they did previously.
IntelliChoice also researched maintenance and repair costs and found that nothing has significantly changed since our first clean diesel study. Clean diesel vehicles have similar maintenance and repair costs as gas-only vehicles in the first five years of ownership.
Diesel Vehicle |
Comparison Vehicle |
Cost of Diesel over Comparison Vehicle |
5-Year Cost of Ownership Difference |
Fuel Cost Difference |
2011 Audi A3 2.0 TDI |
2011 Audi A3 2.0T (Auto) |
$1,500 |
-$1,621 |
-$2,987 |
2011 Audi Q7 TDI quattro |
2011 Audi Q7 3.0T Premium quattro |
$5,200 |
$3,635 |
-$1,181 |
2011 BMW 335 d |
2011 BMW 335 i |
$3,050 |
-$1,494 |
-$2,098 |
2011 BMW X5 xDrive35d |
2011 BMW X5 xDrive35i |
$5,500 |
$4,051 |
-$1,733 |
2011 Mercedes-Benz E350 BlueTEC |
2011 Mercedes-Benz E350 |
$1,500 |
-$5,382 |
-$3,030 |
2011 Mercedes-Benz GL350 BlueTEC |
2011 Mercedes-Benz GL450 |
-$1,000 |
-$5,994 |
-$2,989 |
2011 Mercedes-Benz ML350 BlueTEC |
2011 Mercedes-Benz ML350 4WD |
$1,500 |
-$2,241 |
-$2,601 |
2011 Mercedes-Benz R350 BlueTEC |
2011 Mercedes-Benz R350 AWD |
$1,500 |
-$3,285 |
-$2,746 |
2011 Volkswagen Golf TDI (Auto) |
2011 Volkswagen Golf (Auto) |
$5,530 |
$2,270 |
-$1,375 |
2011 Volkswagen Golf TDI (Auto) |
2011 Volkswagen Golf |
$5,530 |
$2,545 |
-$1,375 |
2011 Volkswagen Golf TDI (Manual) |
2011 Volkswagen Golf (Manual) |
$5,530 |
$2,237 |
-$1,272 |
2011 Volkswagen Golf TDI (Manual) |
2011 Volkswagen Golf |
$4,430 |
$1,473 |
-$1,375 |
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI (Auto) |
2011 Volkswagen Jetta SE (Auto) |
$4,800 |
$1,126 |
-$1,375 |
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI (Auto) |
2011 Volkswagen Jetta SE |
$2,350 |
-$921 |
-$1,375 |
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI (Manual) |
2011 Volkswagen Jetta SE (Manual) |
$4,800 |
$1,060 |
-$1,272 |
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI (Manual) |
2011 Volkswagen Jetta SE |
$1,250 |
-$1,855 |
-$1,375 |
2011 Volkswagen Touareg Executive TDI |
2011 Volkswagen Touareg Executive VR6 |
$3,500 |
-$498 |
-$2,143 |
2011 Volkswagen Touareg Lux TDI |
2011 Volkswagen Touareg Lux VR6 |
$3,500 |
-$407 |
-$2,143 |
2011 Volkswagen Touareg Sport TDI |
2011 Volkswagen Touareg Sport VR6 |
$3,500 |
-$399 |
-$2,143 |
