XC90 T5 or D5
 

Hello everybody,

I am new to this forum. Have Honda Accord now, but looking to buy used XC90 T5 or D5 around 2017-2018, up to 50k miles. What engine would be better in terms of durability, less problems and maintenance - T5 or D5? I've made a test drive of T5 and looked powerful and fast enough to me, I haven't tried the D5 yet though. I am not looking for sport fun driving, just looking for big luxurious family car, which is however powerful and fast enough. Or should I be looking at T6?
Are there any specific points to check when buying such car that need to be checked in, possibly by service mechanic, any particular weak spots?
And then in terms of mpg obviously is clear D5 is much better, but I would be driving around 10k per year, and without many long highway trips, so is the D5 worth it? Realistically what is the difference in mpg between the two?

Thank you.

My last car was a v60 cc T5 MY20 and the T5 was pretty damn thirsty tbh. Assuming you are doing anything more than a small mileage I would look at the D5. The new petrol b5 is a lot better on mpg by all accounts

You surprise me. My MY19 V60 T5 has returned nearly 40mpg over the 11k miles I have had it. Obviously short journeys around town are more fuel thirsty.

How that would translate to the larger heavier XC90 I don't know

.

My XC90 T5 (almost 2-yr old now):

First 12,400 miles, Volvo on Call reports 31.3 mpg average. Mostly Shell V-power 99, sometimes Costco 97 - around 6,200 miles and £1,200 a year fuel cost.

Daily 20 miles trip: 5 miles of 70mph, 4 miles of 50mph, the rest 20-40mph:
27 - 30 mpg, dreadful winter morning stuck in traffic 23-25. And during lockdown, 30+ due to quieter roads.

5-min local runs, 21 in summer and 17 in winter.

Motorway long trips App reading 32 - 36mpg (comfort mode 70 - 80mph cruising, heavy load and roofbox only reduce 1-2mpg).

BTW, I notice there is a 10% offset compared to brim-brim data (see attached screenshots).

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1601119222

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1601119222

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1601119222

If you're only doing 10,000 miles per year, and no long runs, then I'd avoid diesel. Modern DPFs on diesels need a good run to get to temperature to burn the soot off to work reliably. The Volvo system is pretty reliable (in my experience anyway), but for your mileage I'd go with petrol. Just be prepared for it to be thirsty.

The D5 is very agricultural and gearbox is not a good match. Also IMOP the turbo is too large (should have been a twin scroll or a bi) and it makes it too laggy at urban speeds - though I have not tried the new electric assisted. It only makes sense if you need to tow. The racket is the opposite of luxury. If you are after saving fuel D4 is less laggy because of smaller turbo.

T5 is perfect match for the gearbox. If you can put up with lower economy (make sure to allow for fuel price difference not just mpg comparison).I tried those three in xc90, v60cc and xc60 respectively - they are not too dissimilar to make enough difference. Out of all those I would go for t5 for comfort.
Also t5 warms up way quicker in winter for heating.

I heard of t6 being a bit lumpy as well (not laggy but lumpy). Unless you found t5 underpowered don’t bother.

Agree.

Test-drove XC90 T6, had XC90 D5 and V90 D4 R-design as courtesy cars

T5 is slower than T6, but in Dynamic you still get catapult feeling

More relaxed and confident out of a roundabout, and much quieter than D5 and even D4.

Yes thirsty - £1200 annual fuel cost compared to £800 from my previous Skoda 2.0TDI (cheapest diesel + 46mpg).

I went for T5 as I didn’t want the diesel clatter and was worried about anti diesel sentiment/ bans in certain cities.

It’s working fine for me. Sure it drinks more fuel but with petrol being cheaper than diesel the difference per mile is not enough to bother me relative to the total cost of ownership. Diesel will give you a wider range of cars to buy. Neither is a wrong choice FWIW.

Thanks for the replies.
Seems like T5 is the more logical choice for me at 10000 miles per year.
Seems like realistically it is about 30 mpg in city, and 35 mpg on motorway? Officially I found:
Fuel economy in city is 9.5 lt/100km, Fuel economy in highway is 6.5 lt/100km and combined fuel economy is 7.6 lt/100km, which is about the same. I think I can live with this.
Any weak spots to looks at when buying 2-3 year old car at around 50000 miles?

When was T5 launched In XC90- may not have been until MY19? There will be older, cheaper D5 and T6 around?