Scania 142ML-6X2

The number after it is engine output in horsepower. An R 450 has 450 hp, an R 500 has 500. Read together, the designation is cab plus power — unlike MAN or Mercedes, where the first number means gross vehicle weight. Anyone comparing offers across brands should know this difference, or they will be comparing weight against power.

A suffix such as A4x2NA or B6x4HZ often follows. The first letter gives the body type (A = tractor unit, B = platform chassis), the digits the axle configuration, the final letters the suspension — N for air, H for leaf springs on the rear axle. That suffix often says more about a used vehicle's suitability than the horsepower figure does.

Important when searching: two vehicle generations share the letter. The R-series of 2004 was followed in 2016 by the next generation, developed internally as the New Truck Generation. Both are simply called R in listings. Two vehicles with identical designations can therefore be twelve years of development apart — what decides is first registration and emissions standard, not the letter.

Further back, Scania trucks carried plain numbers: 113, 143, 164. There the first digit stood for displacement in litres and the last for the series, so 113 meant eleven litres from the 3-series. That reading no longer applies to the R — but it explains why both systems appear side by side in used listings.