Realistic Land Rover MPG?

[crofty1984]

OK, I was thinking about getting a Landy. Possibly a Mk3 and was wondering what MPG you get out of the 2.5 diesel engine?
Possibly an early defender is on the cards as well. Petrol would be LPG'd if I can find one.
Any advice? It would probably be a daily driver with occaisional towing/offroad use.

[The Wookie]

Somewhere in the region of 17-22 I'd imagine. Unless you've got a stinking great V8 that's the region most of them gravitate towards for normal driving!

If you're looking at the n/a Diesel then I'd recommend setting your watch half an hour fast when you buy it.

[garethj]

crofty1984 said:

Possibly a Mk3

You mean a Series 3?

I had a V8 Stage 1 and it gave around 12mpg through town on short runs and 20mpg on long runs. Overdrive helped.

The diesels are pretty slow unless it's had a 200Di conversion

[R6dug]

I would save up a bit more and get a tdi. The original N/A diesel and turbo diesel were painfully slow. They weren't much better on fuel as there petrol counter parts.
The TD is not a very reliable engine.

[Marcellus]

I'm getting about 34mpg from a TD5 at the moment...

[v8will]

crofty1984 said:

OK, I was thinking about getting a Landy. Possibly a Mk3 and was wondering what MPG you get out of the 2.5 diesel engine?
Possibly an early defender is on the cards as well. Petrol would be LPG'd if I can find one.
Any advice? It would probably be a daily driver with occaisional towing/offroad use.

The Series III Diesels are slow in epic terms, You are talking about a realistic 50mph cruising speed and maybe 65 flat out and an ice age to get there. Also if you haven't driven one they are bouncy, draughty, leaky, offer zero comfort or security etc. The 2.25 Petrol and Diesels are also 20MPG thirsty. You buy on condition and nothing else - bulkheads, footwell, seat boxes and chassis' rust (well the bits that haven't been protected by oil leaks!) Original V8's, the stage 1 are getting uber rare and are easily delimited from the standard 90BHP or so that LR thought sensible for a leaf sprung vehicle with drum brakes. Most V8's you see will be home conversions. Even with LPG expect real world 20mpg running costs. Oh and although they are rated to tow 2000KG, forget it! The 60BHP or so that the smaller engines offer struggle enough without a trailer

Basically you need to get out and drive one first before seriously considering buying one. You will either hate it immediately or find it immensely charming.

If you really want an all round workhouse that will transport you, your family and related pets, stuff etc and still be good craic off road and a sensible daily choice for any journey over 10 miles then don't look past a good condition discovery. £2000 will get a really decent 300TDI (price of an Ok-ish Series III) and as they are based on an original range rover coil sprung chassis it'll go anywhere. They'll tow 3.5 tonnes without much difficulty as well. It'll still sound like a tractor but won't drive like one

[phib]

I have a 300tdi defender and get 25ish to 28 on normal tyres and 20 to 22ish on mud tyres

Phib

[lescombes]

aim for around 26 average fella...

[300bhp/ton]

crofty1984 said:

OK, I was thinking about getting a Landy. Possibly a Mk3 and was wondering what MPG you get out of the 2.5 diesel engine?
Possibly an early defender is on the cards as well. Petrol would be LPG'd if I can find one.
Any advice? It would probably be a daily driver with occaisional towing/offroad use.

Could you clarify year and model. Land Rover have never made a MK III to my knowledge.

If you ate talking Series as in Series III which was built unitl the early 80's these used either a 2.25 petrol or 2.25 na diesel. The petrol is faster and quieter than the diesel although both are
slow and noisey. Mpg wise the diesel should see mid low 20's and the petrol more likely in the teens and worse off
road. Many people swap in V8's these will return similar mpg to the 2.25 petrols but with double the HP.

However Efi or carb, exact model and gearbox and tyres (off road ones or not) can make huge differences. With the right gearing and EFI a V8 should average 16-18mpg and manage over 20 on a run.

Early and military 90's and 110's used 2.5 na diesels. Same engine as the older one pretty much but with 5hp more. And similar mpg. Mid late 80's 90's used the 2.5 TD diesel engine. Expect
mid 20's and better performance than the na version. 1989 saw the introduction of the Tdi engines. Much more
power and pretty capable even today. Drive. Gentely they'll manage around 30mpg driven them hard and it'll be more like 23mpg. I have a modded on in my Disco it seems to do around 20-22mpg
at the mo. Tdi's are used in classic Range Rovers, Discoverys and Defenders.

The V8's in the Disco/RR are quicker but will be in the teens.

The Td5 is found in the Disco II and Defenders or that era. Driven hard they can drink as much as a Tdi down in the low 20's but they are capable of over 30mpg. A remap and they can be even better. A better engine than the Tdi IMO and more powerful.

Current Defenders use the DOHC 2.4 Ford puma diesel. No more power than the TD5 but probably better mpg. Disco III's the current ones use the PSA 2.7 V6 diesel. A very nice engine and loads of power. And depsite the extra weight they can return 33mpg on a run. Although round town or drive hard expect mid 20's.

[mister.t]

You are looking at late teens for both, perhaps early twenties for a diesel Series 3. Try get a later Series 3 with the 5 bearing engine - More reliable and better during day to day use.

My 2.5 Petrol Ninety (1986) averages about 14mpg (just on petrol, no LPG) on the roads with 235 MT's. This engine is a worked-over 2.25 Petrol unit from the Series 3, and I much prefer it to the diesels offered within the same period, though a V8 is always mighty tempting...

Edited by mister.t on Sunday 13th December 20:39