Best speed to drive on motorway?

When my 200tdi had 235 A/T's on it, I sat doing 50mph and I averaged 38mpg on a 160 mile run, and there were a few 40 zones on the way, no joke, It's not what you drive, it's how you drive it

56mph - any more and the wind friction becomes markedly more of an issue

discomikey said:

get this.
the series 3 does 35MPG at 65. about 32MPG at 75

i choose the 32MPG usually.


and no the door tops dont want to flap

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The only way I would ever have been able to get 75 mph and 32 mpg out of my series 3 would have been to drop it of the back of a plane! It would just about do 70 on the flat, and I was lucky if I got 22 mpg from it at any speed, never mind 32.

he's probably talking s3 w/ a tdi engine

What's a motorway?

Trewey said:

What's a motorway?

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Something they don't have here in Dorset.

55-60mph - there is a reason trucks do 56!

I know it's a different vehicle and the gearing is different but my friend can get 41mpg on a cruise control run of 450miles.

These engines are actually pretty good when driven carefully.

Consider sticking a discovery transfer box in to get higher gearing - therefore less rev's, less fuel - my 300tdi 90 has a disco box and it's quieter and give better economy.

Driving along the motorway at 56mph is grounds for slitting your wrists.....

65mph feels about right to me!!

50 mph in lane 1.

The motorway is too far away - 105 miles to be precise

Landy doesn't like the wide roads anyway.....!

Only go on motorways when I absolutely have to and then it will be with my other vehicle and then the best speed is _blank_ (don't want to incriminate myself Guv)

martin1512 said:

The only way I would ever have been able to get 75 mph and 32 mpg out of my series 3 would have been to drop it of the back of a plane! It would just about do 70 on the flat, and I was lucky if I got 22 mpg from it at any speed, never mind 32.

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it has a TDI and really nicely geared

I sit at around 60-62 mph on the motorway.....she like this speed and my wallet is a little happier :O)

In the 110 I find that on dual carriageways and motorways, there is very little difference between the MPG at 60 mph and 75 mph. It is only when I get to about 80 mph that I start to notice any real difference.

lightning said:

Is your Lotus Elan the classic one or the new version?

Here's my Lotus! Different driving experience to the Defender....but they are both great fun.

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It's the new one. I thought I must be the only one to own both a Land Rover and Lotus, but it seems I was wrong!

A few years ago someone worked out that at 75mph has nearly two tons of air pressing on that flat front, twice as much as at 50mph so mpg will drop off at higher speeds much sooner than with more streamlined vehicles.

60/65 for me, best for fuel economy and hearing protection.

wow 2 tons. im surprised the wings could stand anything near like that. it probably explains the fact that the windscreen feels like it wants to fold itself in at about 100

I did a 2000 mile round trip last summer to the UK and back from the South of France. I found keeping my 110, 200tdi at 60/65 MPH I was getting 29mpg. as soon as I went up to 70mph it dropped dramatically.

discomikey said:

wow 2 tons. im surprised the wings could stand anything near like that. it probably explains the fact that the windscreen feels like it wants to fold itself in at about 100

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It is not as much as it sounds. 2 tons spread over the entire frontal area of the land rover is only about 1.5 Psi

Had a 220 mile trip on the M5 doing 65 MPH, and 60 miles local driving.
280 miles out of the tank 28mpg
N reg Defender 300tdi disco transfer box / 265-75-16 MTs