The 10 Best Diesel Engines Ever Made By European Automakers

After Rudolf Diesel started a revolution in the world of the internal combustion engine with his self-titled engine technology, the automotive world took a little while to catch up. Eventually, we started seeing diesel engines crop up in any and all manner of passenger vehicles. Even American automakers gave the diesel engine a hand, though the idea that the results were wildly unsuccessful would be quite the understatement. However, North America went on to embrace diesels to a certain extent.

If there's any region of the world that loves the diesel engine and knows how to put one together, it's Europe. European diesel engines are some of the best on offer, due to their mostly excellent dependability and strong performance. As someone who grew up with all kinds of different diesel cars, I've seen some of the best and some of the worst.

Not all European diesel engines are created equal, and some are less reliable than others (looking at you, Jaguar-Ford-PSA AJD). However, for every stinker, there was a standout engine. Throughout the years, European automakers have put together some of the finest oil burners the automotive world has ever seen.

Before the vintage Mercedes owners chime in and explain that the OM617 five-cylinder is the best diesel engine since sliced bread, let me explain. The OM646 is pretty uncommon in North America, but in Europe, it's one of the most common Mercedes powertrains. In Eastern Europe, you're very likely to find a 15-year-old Mercedes taxi carrying the 220 CDI badge on the back, and that means we're talking about the OM646.

The 2.1-liter four-cylinder diesel first appeared in 2002, and as mentioned previously, it has found itself on any and all manner of three-pointed star vehicles that have a 220 CDI badge. As the C implies, it's a common rail design, and all of them had turbochargers.

Thanks to the smaller displacement, cylinder count, and overall much simpler design, the OM646 is a surprisingly dependable powertrain. Those aforementioned taxis in Eastern Europe? They frequently cross 300,000 miles and still chug along like new. This just goes to show that not everything that came out of Mercedes in the 2000s is a ticking time bomb.

If there's any manufacturer we can thank for making us fall in love with the inline-five cylinder, besides Audi, it's Volvo. Before Volvo was occupied with building electric crossovers with sub-four-second 0-60 times like the EX30, the five-cylinder Modular engine has gone on to define Volvo models for a lot of people. It's one of their signature traits, similar to the 2JZ in the much loved Toyota Supra.

2001 saw the release of Volvo's diesel five-cylinder, displacing 2.4 liters. This engine went on to power another decade and a half of Volvo models, and it found a home in literally every single model that was a part of the lineup between 2001 and 2014.

Like almost all of Volvo's well-known engines, the D5 is completely bulletproof. While not as commonly seen as a taxicab in Eastern Europe, I've personally spoken to a cabbie with a D5-powered V70. The car had well over 310,000 miles and it was still pushing. In fact, it's very difficult to find a D5-powered Volvo with less than 250,000 miles, because they just refuse to die. Frankly, it's a huge shame this powertrain never came to North America.

Hear that? That's the sound of all the haters and the German car lovers making fun of French cars and how unreliable they are. I will admit that French cars are perhaps a little too well-known in the electrical department for having notoriously faulty and short-lasting electronics. However, the French have also made some cracking powertrains, especially those of the diesel variety. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the PSA Group's DW10 2.0-liter HDI diesel.

The engine displaces 2.0 liters and comes in a variety of tunes. It made an appearance in a variety of vehicles carrying Peugeot and Citroën badges. As it turns out, if you take care of this engine, it'll last way longer than you might expect.

300,000 miles is easily possible if you take care of it properly, and some PSA Group vehicles have exceeded this mileage considerably. As long as you take proper care of your DW10, and, for your own sanity, the electronics as much as possible, the DW10 will last a very, very long time. Just try to avoid the automatics, as they can ruin everything (writing from experience here).

All the vintage Mercedes lovers can now breathe a collective sigh of relief as it's time we talked about one of their favorite engines in the three-pointed star's history. The OM617 is a 3.0-liter inline-five diesel that first appeared in the late '70s. It was available with or without a turbocharger, and to this day, it remains one of the only five-cylinder engines that Mercedes has ever made.

The OM617 is so special and well-known for its reliability that it's one of the many things people think of when they think of an engine or a car that is impossible to kill. No matter what you do with the OM617, how much power you squeeze out of it, or how you drive it, it'll just keep going. It's also one of the only automotive engines in history that has the distinctive ability to cross seven-figure mileages with relative ease. It's one of the many reasons why Mercedes of this vintage are so popular in and around the Balkans.

It's also very easy to squeeze extra power out of it, as we've seen plenty of times on the internet, and again, it still can't be touched. If discussing this era of Mercedes, practically all their engines were bulletproof. However, the OM617 added more layers of bulletproofing for one of the ultimate historic diesel engines. If you fancy a classic Mercedes, just get one of these.

As well as the famous 1.9 TDI (we'll get to that), Volkswagen also released a 2.0-liter TDI in the late 2000s, putting out 140 horsepower. While the eight-volt version is pretty solid, the 16-volt had quite a few issues, per my conversations with an independent Volkswagen expert. Volkswagen set out to iron out all these issues in time for the MQB platform cars of the early 2010s, resulting in the EA189 diesel.

Like the preceding one, the EA189 is also a 2.0-liter unit with a turbocharger (sometimes two), and it puts out 150 horsepower in most forms. In a lot of ways, it was similar to the previous 140 horsepower version, but all of the major issues of the 140 horsepower unit were ironed out, resulting in one of the best modern engines to come out of the VW group.

These units are known to pass 200,000 miles with no real issues and still behave like new even after some good miles on them. Skoda Superbs with this engine are very popular as taxicabs all around Europe, and for good reason. If you take care of it, it will return the favor. It's just a shame the effects of Volkswagen's emissions cheating scandal are still being felt today.

Don't be confused by the name; the 1.6 turbodiesel from the PSA Group did not include any sort of electrification or mild hybrid component. The 1.6 was offered in the group's larger vehicles, but it was primarily intended for all the compacts and subcompacts. The Peugeot 207, the Citroen C4, the Peugeot 208, that kind of thing.

This engine makes anywhere from 90 to 116 horsepower, and it's one of the finest examples of diesel engines to come from the French. Peugeots and Citroens with this engine are very common around most of parts Europe, and with the proper care, they can last forever. This is further proven by the fact that it's one of the most popular engines for the group's small commercial vehicles like the Peugeot Partner and Citroën Berlingo.

One reliability asterisk to look out for with the e-HDI are the oil leaks, as well as the DPF system in the later models, though the latter is common with most modern diesels. Still, the 1.6 HDI is a, pardon the pun, tour de force for such a small, not very powerful engine.

Yep, we're going there. Fiat and Alfa Romeo are almost always mentioned when the time comes to discuss unreliable cars and engines, right up there with Land Rover and a few Fords here and there. Aside from the amazing Busso, it's true, the Italians did make a few stinkers in their time, but there was one almighty diesel that stood out above the rest: the 1.9 JTD.

JTD stands for Jet Turbo Diesel, "jet" being what the Italians call direct injection. Various different vehicles from the Fiat umbrella ended up receiving this engine, including the Punto, the Stilo, the Kinder egg-shaped Croma wagon, and some Alfa stuff like the 147, 156, and 159. Even the Brera.

To put the dependability of the engine into perspective, here's a quick story: A few years ago, I hitched a ride in an Alfa 156 taxicab. Needless to say, I couldn't help but question the driver on his decision. To say that I was surprised to hear that the 1.9 JTD in his particular 156 is practically bulletproof definitely surprised me. Indeed, 1.9 JTD powered Fiats and Alfas, especially those that have been well-maintained, are still kicking even today. Just be careful of the DPF issues in the later cars.

While it is sometimes fun to mock BMW engines for all the check engine lights, oil leaks, VANOSS systems, and all the other issues they're infamous for, they're not all like that. Sometimes, when the Bavarians can make a super reliable powertrain. This is evident in the M57 diesel.

The M57 made its debut in the late 90s, and it went on to feature in a good handful of BMW models of the time, from the E39 5 Series to the first generation X5. Amazingly enough, BMW was able to keep it going until 2013. While it started out with 148 horsepower, later versions have up to 282 horsepower.

While most BMW experts tend to warn potential buyers of known issues with the powertrains, the M57 is pretty trouble-free in comparison. It does require regular and scheduled maintenance, but if you take care of that, it's a super reliable powertrain that will last way longer than any other BMW engine is known to last. If you take care of the maintenance properly, you might also prevent common old diesel issues like clogged injectors and bad turbochargers. It's a shame this powertrain wasn't really common in North America, but swapping is always an option. It's actually reliable enough to be one of the go-to powertrains to swap into the notoriously unreliable Land Rover Defender.

It's finally time. You didn't think I'd forget one of the most sought-after diesel engines in the automotive world, did you? The 1.9-liter TDI turbodiesel I4 made its debut in the '90s, and it went on to appear in just about everything under the VW umbrella right up until 2010 or so: Golfs, Passats, Jettas, and also Superbs, A3s, Leons, Octavias, and pretty much everything else you can think of.

The 1.9 TDI lineage is split into two parts: the A-series, which are considered the most reliable and were used from the '90s to the early '00s, and the B-series, which first appeared in the mid-'00s. While the B-series 1.9 TDIs are excellent in their own right, the A-series are the preferred ones.

It doesn't matter what time of year it is or what temperature it is outside. It doesn't matter how many miles and how clogged or dirty the injectors are. It doesn't matter how high quality or low quality the fuel itself is. The 1.9 TDI will just keep going and going and going, and it's one of the best-known automotive engines that can crack seven figure mileages, as well as one of the only diesels that can start up in below freezing temperatures with no real issues. Having personally owned and daily driven a 1.9 TDI, with good care, it'll never, ever let you down.