What Do Engine Names Stand For?

Ever wondered what those letters attached to your car mean? Have you ever been in traffic and wondered what on earth is the difference between a CDTI and a TFSI? In this blog, we take a look at the meanings behind various engine names and what the acronyms stand for.

Related Article: British Car Manufacturers

Alfa Romeo/Fiat

JTDM

An initialism for Jet Turbo Diesel Multijet, JTDM is a common rail direct injection turbo diesel engine by Italian manufacturers Alfa Romeo and Fiat.

TBi

Standing for turbo benzina injection, TBi is the petrol turbo engine. ‘Benzina’ is Italian for petrol.

You can find a JTDM and the TB engine in Giulia, Giulietta, and Tipo, among others.

Also Read: Are Alfa Romeo Cars Reliable?

Citroen/DS/Peugeot

Bluehdi

HDI stands for ‘high-pressure direct injection', and is essentially just their name for a turbo diesel. It's common in most Citroen, DS, and Peugeot cars.

Audi/SEAT/Skoda/Volkswagen

Most cars from the Volkswagen Group (VAG) (Audi, SEAT, Skoda) share the same engine and more or less keep the same acronyms.

TFSI/TSI

TFSI stands for Turbo fuel stratified injection - essentially a petrol engine with a turbo.

TDI

TDI stands for turbocharged direct injection - a turbo diesel.

Dacia/Renault

Dacia and Renault share the same technologies and platforms which include engine technologies.

SCE

Smart control efficiency is the name for their economical petrol engines. There is no turbo present. Smaller hatchbacks such as the Sandero and the Clio use SCE, among others.

TCE

Turbo Control Efficiency. This is the name of Renault’s turbocharged, economical petrol engines. TCE engines are present throughout both ranges including the Captur and Duster.

Blue DCI

DCI stands for diesel common rail injection - a diesel turbocharged engine.

Ford

Ford shares their engines with a few manufacturers but keeps the acronyms unique.

TDCi

Ford's Duratorq TDCi engine stands for ‘turbo diesel common rail injection’ - a turbo diesel engine. A common engine used throughout the range including the Fiesta and Focus.

Honda

Honda builds unique engines and this translates into how they name them, too.

i-VTEC

i-VTEC stands for ‘intelligent valve timing electronic control’ and can be a turbo and non-turbo petrol engine. A common engine found throughout the range including the Civic.

i-DTEC

This stands for ‘intelligent diesel technology electronic control’.

Hyundai/Kia

Hyundai and Kia share technologies and therefore naming standards for their engines.

GDI

A type of Hyundai "Gamma" engine. GdI stands for gasoline direct injection and is used to describe Kia and Hyundai’s naturally aspirated petrol engine. Found in the i20 and up for Hyundai and the Kia Rio.

TGDI

Another of Hyundai's "Gamma" engines. TGDI stands for ‘turbocharged gasoline direct injection’, and is Kia and Hyundai’s turbocharged petrol engine. You can find the TGDi in the Tucson and Kia Optima.

CRDi

A part of Hyundai's "U" engines. CRDi stands for ‘common rail direct injection’, usually paired with a turbocharger. Common among most Hyundai and Kia models.

Jeep

GSE

GSE is an engine made by the Fiat/Chrysler partnership and seen in newer models of Fiat 500X and Jeeps such as the Renegade. It stands for Global Small Engine and is a naturally aspirated 1.0 3 cylinder indirect injected petrol engine.

Land Rover

ED4

Land Rover's eD4 engine is the Ford TDCI engine rebadged and is Land Rover's 2WD turbocharged diesel engine. The 4 stands for the number of direct fuel injectors. One can assume that ED4 could stand for Economical Diesel (4). Most common in the Range Rover Evoque.

TD4

The TD4 BMW-sourced4 engine is a more powerful and perhaps more rugged diesel engine. It stands for Turbo Diesel. Can be seen in the Discovery Sport among others.

Si4

Si4 is Land Rover's 4 cylinder turbocharged petrol engine. The "S" stands for sequential, the "i" presumably means injection, and the 4 references the cylinders.

SDV6

SDV6 stands for Sequential diesel V6 and is Land Rover's more powerful diesel engine typically found in the Range Rover Sport, Range Rover.

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MG Motor UK

VTI

VTI means variable valve lift and timing injection and is MGs naturally aspirated and economical petrol engines. It's from the Rover K-Series and not the same engines as the PSA group although it is extremely similar.

TGI-Tech

TGI stands for Turbocharged gasoline injection and is MG's turbo petrol engine. It's a rebadged GDI engine.

Mitsubishi

DI-D

DI-D stands for Direct Injection diesel. Common in most models including the Outlander.

Nissan

IG-T

IG stands for Injected Gasoline Turbo and is Nissan's economical petrol engine variant. It is the same engine as the TCe. Common in smaller Nissans such as the Micra.

DCI

DCI for Nissan is the same as Renault’s diesel common rail injection engine. Jukes make good use of this engine.

DiG-T

DiG-T stands for Direct Injection Gasoline Turbocharged and is Nissan’s more powerful but still economical petrol engine. Popular with Qashqais.

Toyota

VVT-I

VVTi stands for variable valve timing injection and is a common engine type for small petrol hatchbacks such as the Yaris.

D4-S

The D4-S engine is a Toyota GT86 specific engine that stands for Direct-injected 4 cylinder swept displacement.

Vauxhall

CDTi

CDTi stands for common rail diesel turbo injection and is common in most Vauxhall models such as Astra, Insignia, and the Crossland X.

Plenty of the models available on our special offers page have these engine names written into their titles, why not have a browse of our latest car lease deals and make use of this guide to better understand the engine within the cars that catch your eye!