Its Torque Trashes Any V-8: Daimler AG's 3.0L DOHC V-6 Turbodiesel

We wish we could just bring this engine to your house to let you try.

Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz 3.0L V-6 turbodiesel is that engine.

If you haven't yet been fortunate enough to experience what we call “new age” diesel, there's only so much we can do to verbally translate how the inexorable turbine surge of 400 lb.-ft. (540 Nm) of torque at a stupefying low 1,600 rpm can change your life.

You push the throttle, this engine just shoves and shoves — it's how warp drive will feel in a few hundred years.

Mercedes has more than a little history with diesel, and currently is casting some of the world's best examples.

This tidy-displacement, 72-degree V-6 is the perfect example of why contemporary high-tech diesels are so right for the times. The monstrous torque delivers all the on-the-road performance you could reasonably desire. How can you argue with torque that trashes any V-8 that comes down the road?

ENGINE SPECS

Engine type: 3.0L DOHC 72° V-6 Turbodiesel

Displacement (cc): 2,987

Block/head material: aluminum/aluminum

Bore × stroke (mm): 83 × 92

Horsepower (SAE net): 210 @ 3,800 rpm

Torque: 400 lb.-ft. (542 Nm) @ 1,600-2,400 rpm

Specific output: 69 hp/L

Compression ratio: 18:1

Assembly site: Stuttgart, Germany

Application tested: Mercedes E320 Bluetec

EPA fuel economy, city/highway (mpg): 23/32