After having a new engine installed by the dealer on my 91 300D 2.5 , this rhetorical question comes to my mind all the time lately.... : Is this how the real diesels were meant to be ?

When starting the car there is NO smoke at all coming from the tailpipe
I also had one engine mount changed too, and the car is extremely smooth when idle. I might say that it is smoother than 80% of the non-diesel cars that I have been into.
I always found my car to be very sound proof.. Now, if I have the windows shut, I can barely hear the engine running .. even when it is cold. If I turn on the radio in very low volume, I can not hear the engine at all ... Acceleration is great (it wasn't that bad before either)... I haven't driven my car much because I was away for a week, but the mileage so far seems to be in the high 20ies - 30ies (mixed city/highway driving) - excellent for a large car..

That's not what I thought diesels were supposed to be (and my experience prior to the engine change was such)...
among others, lots of smoke from the back when started, noisy, and when stopping at the traffic lights (especially when it wasnt very warm), sudden engine "chokes" that made the car shake. You could definitely tell it was a diesel ...

With my new perspective on diesels, I can now say to all ...
Own a diesel today .. You can !

my (new) $0.02 on diesels ...

-andreas