5 or 6 cylinder diesels.
Discussion
ferrariF50lover said:
jamieduff1981 said:
I have a Volvo derived I5 diesel in my Ranger. Smoothness isn't something particularly noteworthy about it.
It's broken.HTH.
Seriously though, you'd get a spectacular S60 D5 for that. Get a Euro III with 163bhp and the 5 speed box. It's geared quite short, but the whole rev range is usable. Unlike the one mentioned above, it is an extremely smooth piece of engineering.
The D5 in my car is super smooth unless pushed when it becomes a bit more vocal, but in a pleasant off beat way, and is a superior engine in every way compared to the VW PD130 I had previously. It has also been very reliable.
Thanks guys. I was thinking of the S class as I thinking it would be nice and comfortable and well specced.
My driving isnt all motorway, its also A and B road and town town driving.
I want an auto as my M5 is a manual plus I want to give my left knee a rest. I want a big car as I move kit around as well, but do not really want an estate if I can avoid it.
What is the 3.0 diesel like in the Vectra? I'd go for a petrol but it would need to be 5 or 6 cylinders, but I need reasonable fuel economy.
My driving isnt all motorway, its also A and B road and town town driving.
I want an auto as my M5 is a manual plus I want to give my left knee a rest. I want a big car as I move kit around as well, but do not really want an estate if I can avoid it.
What is the 3.0 diesel like in the Vectra? I'd go for a petrol but it would need to be 5 or 6 cylinders, but I need reasonable fuel economy.
TheAngryDog said:
Thanks guys. I was thinking of the S class as I thinking it would be nice and comfortable and well specced.
As a lover of big wafty, comfortable and well specced cars the S-Class is great, you could also look into the older 7 series - when I was looking I didn't think I'd be doing many miles so was looking at the larger engined models but they were very cheap for what you got...My only concern with the S-Class/7-Series and even the Range Rovers I was looking at was that while they were the same price as the Volvo/BMW/Merc mid segment cars, the running costs were likely to be premium car sized
Perhaps one of the important things that hasn't been said is if you want a comfy ride, avoid larger wheels, even dropping from 17 to 16 inch wheels when I went from V70 to XC70 made far more difference than the increased suspension travel
powerstroke said:
No you don't you have the dreadful transit engine with an extra cylinder nailed on
the volvo d5 is a great engine if looked after...
It's a pretty good engine if neglected and abused too. It's not as smooth and refined as the various 6 and 8 cylinder diesels but it's miles nicer than a 4 and has a surprising amount of character. I'll go out on a limb and say with both in stock form it makes a nicer noise when pressing on than the 5 cylinder petrol in my T5 too.the volvo d5 is a great engine if looked after...
the_lone_wolf said:
powerstroke said:
jamieduff1981 said:
I have a Volvo derived I5 diesel in my Ranger. Smoothness isn't something particularly noteworthy about it.
No you don't you have the dreadful transit engine with an extra cylinder nailed onThe engine in the Ranger is a Ford Duratorq unit, nothing to do with Volvo, and having owned a Duratorq unit in the old Focus I'm not surprised bolting on another cylinder hasn't made it anything like the Volvo D5
It sounds as though both of you know close to zero about engineering but "nailing a cylinder" on to a Transit engine is not exactly a technique, whereas borrowing someone else whom you own's cylinder geometry for your own version is common place.
Sure, Volvo can soften their injection timing to reduce knock a bit compared to a truck engine as well as wrap in in more foam, but it still vibrates much more than any of the 6 cylinder engines.
The D5 isn't great in the XC90 either and is pretty laggy. I realise that Volvo drivers can be fanatical, but really your D5 is nothing much to write home about.
jamieduff1981 said:
Given Ford owned Volvo I don't find it that surprising at all.
It sounds as though both of you know close to zero about engineering but "nailing a cylinder" on to a Transit engine is not exactly a technique, whereas borrowing someone else whom you own's cylinder geometry for your own version is common place.
Sure, Volvo can soften their injection timing to reduce knock a bit compared to a truck engine as well as wrap in in more foam, but it still vibrates much more than any of the 6 cylinder engines.
The D5 isn't great in the XC90 either and is pretty laggy. I realise that Volvo drivers can be fanatical, but really your D5 is nothing much to write home about.
Regardless, the I5 in the Ranger is not related to the D5 in any way whatsoever barring the 5-cylinder inline layout. It's a variant of the Puma diesel engine as fitted to the Transit, mk3 Mondeo, X-Type and Defender. It sounds as though both of you know close to zero about engineering but "nailing a cylinder" on to a Transit engine is not exactly a technique, whereas borrowing someone else whom you own's cylinder geometry for your own version is common place.
Sure, Volvo can soften their injection timing to reduce knock a bit compared to a truck engine as well as wrap in in more foam, but it still vibrates much more than any of the 6 cylinder engines.
The D5 isn't great in the XC90 either and is pretty laggy. I realise that Volvo drivers can be fanatical, but really your D5 is nothing much to write home about.
I should know - I worked on the project at Dagenham Diesel Centre in the late '00s.
jamieduff1981 said:
It sounds as though both of you know close to zero about engineering but "nailing a cylinder" on to a Transit engine is not exactly a technique, whereas borrowing someone else whom you own's cylinder geometry for your own version is common place.
'Cylinder geometry'? 'Soften their injection timing'? I think your remark about how it sounds like others know close to zero about engineering could just as easily be directed into a mirror.
Anyway I seem to remember powerstroke being quite knowledgable.
Dapster said:
For £2.5k I'd go for a petrol. An S class diesel for that budget would be on 150k + miles with big bills on the horizon. You could get a decent S320 or even an S500 for that much with literally half the miles.
22 mins to suggest a petrol when diesel was specified, slacking a bit around here..jamieduff1981 said:
The D5 isn't great in the XC90 either and is pretty laggy. I realise that Volvo drivers can be fanatical, but really your D5 is nothing much to write home about.
I've owned a V70D5 (163bhp) for 12 years now and I like it enough that I've stumped up for new clutch and various bits of steering gubbins over the last 24 months. It's a great engine mated to a 5 speed manual gearbox, isn't hampered by a DPF and has decent mid-range punch to nip past people.I added an XC90 as our family MPV last year and I love it, but it's a very different car. It drinks more (30-31 mpg instead of 48-54mpg) and for some weird reason doesn't handle as well. It's got the 200bhp D5 which sounds great when it's warmed up and makes for a relaxed motorway cruiser, but it's not what the OP is looking for.
I'm not remotely fanatical, but the V70 has outstayed 2 Octavias, 1 Mondeo and 1 Alhambra so far - although the Alhambra is the only one I've actually regretted buying.
kapiteinlangzaam said:
TheAngryDog said:
Looks like the D5 may be the one to go for....
The D5 is a great engine, in any of its forms.The original 163 euro3 is probably the one to go for though (no dpf etc) and if you want a bit more ooomph a simple remap will yield a solid and reliable 200bhp.
They sound good, make good power, are reliable and can be very economical. Above all else, theyve got character
I'd definitely recommend one of these, great value.
I had an E39 M5 and S60 D5 for a year or so and was quite happy choosing the Volvo for longer more boring trips just for the seats and stereo. They're quick enough, economical and I only changed fluids in the 40k I covered in mine. Nothing went wrong with it at all. Sold it for £600 so certainly in budget!
OP, it mught be worth considering an LPG conversion if you want the fuel economy of a diesel. Also have a look at your employer's car scheme rules and expenses policy, make sure you're claiming every penny you can from either them or HMRC - and make sure it's insured for business class use as well
dme123 said:
......... I'll go out on a limb and say with both in stock form it makes a nicer noise when pressing on than the 5 cylinder petrol in my T5 too.
The Volvo T5 sound wipes the floor with the D5. 
. Ford did Volvo no favours.The Volvo D5 (163 -215bhp) does sound well for a oil-burner and suits the S60/V70 really well. Someone asked over S80 - great value for money car as somewhat unloved compared to Germans in this sector.
Collectingbrass said:
OP, it mught be worth considering an LPG conversion if you want the fuel economy of a diesel. Also have a look at your employer's car scheme rules and expenses policy, make sure you're claiming every penny you can from either them or HMRC - and make sure it's insured for business class use as well
I get paid a mileage allowance of 45p a mile. I don't want lpg as there are no log stations near me, I would have to travel 20 miles to the nearest one and I don't want to lose boot space as I lug equipment around. I want to maximise that 45P hence the diesel. My M5 is insured for business use, wasn't that expensive either.
TiminYorkshire said:
Isn't the D5 engine derived from the Audi 5 cylinder used in the Audi 100/early A6 - the same basic unit used in the VW T4 transporter?
Nope - the D5 was a completely new clean-sheet design in 2001 by Volvo and Ricardo, notable for being one of the first alloy-block diesel engines on the market. I can see where the confusion came from though - prior to having their own engine, Volvo bought the VW Group 2.5 5-cylinder unit in, and it was fitted to the 850, phase 1 V70 and early phase 2 V70s and S80s.
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