Land Rover wants to prove diesel is not a dirty word. For 2016, the maker of some of the most rugged SUVs on the market is offering the Range Rover Td6, a 3-liter turbo-diesel, across its lineup for the first time in the United States.

Although some have shied away from the D word in the wake of the Volkswagen emissions scandal, diesel still boasts some advantages over regular gasoline. One of these is a high proportion of torque, making it ideal for towing and tackling the outdoors—just the prescriptio…