Are There New Non-Turbocharged Diesel Cars Or Trucks Available Anymore?

Short answer: Yes. Another short answer: Barely. First off, the reason you're looking at a Toyota Land Cruiser 70 Series in that photo is that it's just about the only non-turbocharged diesel car sold anywhere in the world as new. Toyota still sells it with the 4.2-liter 1HZ naturally aspirated inline-6, but the primary customer isn't lurkers on Bring A Trailer — it's humanitarian aid organizations, and Toyota's own language on the 70 Series sales page hypes exactly why: "The HZJ is equipped with the reliable 1HZ diesel engine, recognised for its longevity and capacity to operate on less refined fuels –- an essential attribute in isolated locations."

Clearly, Toyota touts the durability of the 1HZ — and diesels do tend to be more rugged than gas engines. Still — kind of like a camp stove that can burn white gas or kerosene, which global explorers know might be a necessity depending on what fuels are available during your remote travels — one of the reasons the 1HZ might be your rig of choice is that it's not finicky about its fuel either. However, as you sit here lusting after a sweet Land Cruiser 70 with its suck-on-any-fuel non-turbo diesel, you might want to know about a few drawbacks of owning one.

Okay, so you think a naturally aspirated, mechanically fuel-injected diesel would be niftier than a common rail diesel? How nifty do you think 129 horsepower would feel? Would it be niftier if it didn't hit that peak until 3,800 rpm? Yeah, we didn't think so, either. What you're getting here is 210 pound-feet of torque with that grunt arriving fairly early, at 2,200 rpm. Then again, that's also not great, because the 76 Hardtop with the 1HZ lump weighs nearly 5,000 pounds. A Silverado 1500 with a 3.0-liter turbocharged diesel inline-6 happens to be heavier, at 5,710 pounds, but its 305 hp more than doubles the output of that anemic 'Yota's cough, while 495 lb-ft is a 136% improvement in torque over 210 lb-ft.

So the 1HZ is the scrawny kid that gets sand kicked in its face on the beach. But at least the Land Cruiser 76 hardtop has nine inches of ground clearance. Which bests the 8.7 inches of ground clearance for the U.S.-sold version of the Land Cruiser — and loses out to the 9.3 inches you can get in a Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness. All that aside, the Silverado and its ilk are a stronger indicator of why naturally aspirated diesels are history. In fact, you can get the Land Cruiser 70 Series with a 2.8-liter turbodiesel that Toyota touts for far better power (198 hp) and 369 lb-ft of torque.

The other story on why we no longer have naturally aspirated diesels in much of the world is that they're harder to make clean(er). They're still not, oh, remotely close to EV clean, but the 2.8-liter turbodiesel in the 70 Series cuts CO2 emissions by about 30% versus its non-turbocharged, 1HZ alternative. Partly, that's due to combustion efficiency. Common-rail diesels, compared to ones that use mechanical fuel injection like what's found in the dinosaur 1HZ, enable more efficient fuel usage across the power band as well as at variable temperatures. You also get very high-pressure injection and multiple injections per cycle, which allows greater combustion and more power production. And turbocharging a diesel is particularly advantageous, because diesels require higher-pressure to trigger combustion.

Further, common-rail systems can reduce turbo lag because precision injection leads to quicker exhaust pressure, which is what spools the turbocharger. In addition, variable-geometry turbochargers are designed to adjust gas flow to the turbine that drives the turbocharger, while the common-rail adjusts fuel delivery to match intake volume for more precise combustion and power output. So, in sum, O.G., mechanically fuel-injected diesels offer poorer combustion that's less fuel efficient and pathetic at power delivery. Also, it's hard to make remotely as clean as common-rail, turbocharged diesels. The latter, sold in this market, uses urea injection, and a device you probably know: something called an Exhaust Gas Recirculator or EGR valve. Integrating these systems requires more precise fueling and turbocharging, which leads to more efficient power production. Then again, since the only way to drive a Land Cruiser 70 Series is to consider moving to Japan, Australia, or South Africa, all of this is moot.