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The export diesels (Renault, VM Motori, Mercedes)

The oil-burners Jeep sold abroad that we barely ever saw

While in the US and Argentina Jeeps were almost always gasoline, in Europe and other export markets there was a whole branch of turbodiesels that went nearly unnoticed here. Five engines, from three different suppliers —Renault, Italy's VM Motori and Mercedes-Benz— that powered the Cherokee XJ, the Grand Cherokee ZJ/WJ and the Wrangler JK.

Five oil-burners at a glance

None of these was a high-volume diesel in the US —several weren't even certified there on emissions— and in Argentina the reference was always the gasoline engines. But they complete the mechanical story: each era had its export diesel, each with more torque and technology.

You can see the evolution in one glance: from the weak 85-hp Renault of the eighties to the JK's modern common-rail nudging 200 hp and 460 N·m —more torque than any of the house's gasoline engines.

From Renault to Mercedes: the diesel handoff

The first was a Renault-AMC-era thing: the 2.1 turbodiesel J8S, a weak French four (85 hp) offered in North America only from 1985 to 1987 and in Europe through '94. When that partnership ended, Italy's VM Motori took over: first the 2.5-liter (114 hp, much more torque) in the XJ and ZJ, then the 3.1 five-cylinder in the early WJ.

With DaimlerChrysler, the WJ debuted a diesel from the German house: the 2.7 CRD (OM612) five-cylinder common-rail, with 161 hp and 400 N·m, far more refined. Years later, with the Wrangler JK, VM Motori returned with its modern 2.8 CRD, which started at 160 hp and ended, in its 2011 version, nudging 197 hp and 460 N·m. That 2.8, on emissions rules, was never sold as a diesel in the US: it was an option only outside that market.

Specifications