Good news, wagon fans! BMW has officially announced that its legendary diesel sports wagon, the 328d xDrive, is headed for showrooms Stateside this fall.
BMW unveiled the new 3 Series diesel wagons for Europe last year and ever since, we’ve been chomping at the bit with anticipation for their North American debut. Finally that day has come, according to Motor Authority.
The 328d Sport Wagon will be powered by the 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder engine, which produces 180 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque. Mated to BMW’s eight-speed automatic transmission, the 328d will hit 60mph from a dead standstill in just over seven seconds.
There is some bad news, however. When we had envisioned the diesel BMW Sports Wagon of our dreams, it came with a manual gearbox and rear-wheel drive. The U.S.-bound 328d wagons will only be offered with BMW’s xDrive all-wheel drive system. This is a downside for a few reasons: increased cost, increased weight, and decreased over-steer.
On the upside, however, the wagons should achieve similar fuel economy levels as their sedan counterparts, which are rated at 32 miles-per-gallon city, 45 mpg highway, and 37 mpg combined.
The 328d xDrive Sport Wagon will hit showrooms in the fall as a 2014 model. Pricing has not been official yet but look for a significant markup over the standard sedan model.
For those eager to spec out a diesel sport wagon, the options list will include Luxury, Sport and Modern Lines as well as an M Sport version.
