MINI Cuts Back on Consumption and CO2 with Efficient Dynamics

You may or may not have heard about the hubbub that's going

on overseasin Europe regarding the pending carbon dioxide emission law in a bid to reduce global warming. Automakers have been faced with a goal to reduce per-vehicle emissions to 209 g/mi by the year 2012, which is a task many are deeming impossible. To lend an idea about how difficult a task this is, consider that a Volkswagen GTI, with its little 2.0-liter direct injection engine, only produces 209 g/mi. Think about what would be needed to bring down the emissions of a large SUV like a Land Rover Range Rover Sport (602 g/mi), or a sports car like Porsche's 911 GT3 (494 g/mi). Gulp...

These impending restrictions haven't deterred BMW from taking immediate action to prepare itself for the day when these laws take effect. It has already launched the facelifted version of the 1-Series and 5-Series in Europe, which include its new Efficient Dynamics technologies that slash fuel consumption and CO2 output. Such features include the use of pure electric steering on the 1-Series, plusdisconnectable ancillaries such as the air conditioner's compressor and an on-demand electrical engine cooling system. The most unique feature featured on all Efficient Dynamics cars is regenerative braking, which works very similar to systems featured in hybrid vehicles, but instead of recharging a battery pack, it recharges the car's batteries to reduce the load on the alternator. Starting August, the Efficient Dynamics treatment will be applied for the first time to a non-BMW badged product, the new MINI.

The biggest gainer of the MINI range is the MINI Cooper D, which is powered by a Peugeot-Citroen supplied diesel engine. All on its own, the diesel MINI is amongst the thriftiest small cars on the market to run, averaging over 53.4 mpg, but with the addition of Efficient Dynamics, it now achieves an unbelievable 60.2 mpg during a combination of city and highway driving. Its emissions have dropped to 167 g/mi from 190 g/mi. All in all, this means it uses less fuel and produces less carbon dioxide than the Toyota Prius! The regular gas-powered MINIs also fare better; they drink up to 3.9 mpg less and emit up to 24 g/mi fewer emissions. In addition, the MINIs will feature an engine stop-start system that turns the motor off during idle.

Here in North America, we will see the first employment of the Efficient Dynamics technologies on the 2008 5-Series, which will be arriving in dealerships this summer. Though MINI does not have any plans to import the Cooper D model to North America, hopefully it will bring over vehicles equipped with Efficient Dynamics by the end of the year.