Just curious

[Dippydog]

When it comes to the Volvo diesels I used to think that [for example]the D5 referred to the car being a diesel with 5 cylinders,obviously this is not the case as you can now get D4s D3s etc. so what does the number after the D stand for?

[rxtian]

It's just a power ranking - it doesn't really mean anything on it's own - only in comparison to the other 'D' numbers made at the same time.

[ThomasG]

And also model specific.

A D5 of let's say XC90 is not the same motor as D5 of V70 or XC60.

[cheshired5]

Originally Posted by Dippydog

When it comes to the Volvo diesels I used to think that [for example]the D5 referred to the car being a diesel with 5 cylinders,obviously this is not the case as you can now get D4s D3s etc. so what does the number after the D stand for?

On the original D5, D was for diesel and 5 was for the number of cylinders.
Now D stands for diesel and that's where the logic ends with Volvo.
They have 5 cylinder D4s and D3s and 4 cylinder D5 which should be enough reason to not try to work out the Volvo naming structure at all.
It's now a hierarchy within a given model range is one of the simplest ways of looking at it.

Originally Posted by ThomasG

A D5 of let's say XC90 is not the same motor as D5 of V70

XC90 and V70 shared the same D5 for several years so it's more nuanced than that.

[ThomasG]

Originally Posted by cheshired5

XC90 and V70 shared the same D5 for several years so it's more nuanced than that.

Pre-2009(or somewhere around it)- yes.
After that all the logic was shot.