S60 D5 which one is best?

[Limpet]

I'm about to opt out of our company car scheme, and want something comfy and reliable to last me around 6-9 months of mostly motorway use until a new lease scheme gets announced. Having had a petrol S60 before which I loved, I'm really keen on a D5 version.

My problem is I'm confused which engine to go for. I'm looking to spend around 2k which seems to give a reasonable choice of facelift 2005/6 examples with around 120-130k on the clock. Although I'm likely to stick 10-15k on it in my ownership, the petrol one I had had 160k on it when sold and still drove like a car with a fraction of that mileage. I reckon if I buy the right car, it will be fine.

I know the later 185 engine has a DPF, and internet wisdom says DPFs are best avoided where there's a choice, but how much of a problem is this likely to cause me bearing in mind the car is going to get plenty of long runs? I like the idea of a facelift car, and limiting myself to the older Euro III 163 engine gives quite a narrow production window. Also I am guessing the extra 20 bhp might come in handy occasionally, although in the real world I don't know what the difference is on the road.

I plan to get a manual car, whichever engine it is.

Any advice or tips welcome.

Cheers in advance.

Edited by Limpet on Tuesday 8th November 20:43

[Limpet]

That's good to know, thanks. I've run newer diesels with DPFs and haven't had an issue, so unless there are any DPF related issues that are likely to arise with age and miles, that sounds promising.

[Limpet]

I had the same thing on a Renault. The big downside of concentric slave cylinders. Thanks for the heads up though

Bet your car goes like the clappers with 220 bhp.

[Limpet]

confused_buyer said:

The 185 engine doesn't just have a DPF but also has swirl flaps, different EGR, throttle body and a few other changes. It also has a 6-speed rather than 5-speed gearbox.

The injectors and electrics are also different.

What impact does that little lot have on reliability?

Barring any known issues with this setup, the DPF itself doesn't concern me as the car will do regular motorway runs of at least 30 miles, 2-3 times a week. The rest makes me a little nervous. But for obvious reasons there are more E4 facelift cars around than E3s.

What I'd like to do is look for a nice example within my budget rather than a specific engine. If it's a E3 or E4, so be it, but I'm not sure if this is the right approach.