Potential Freelander Owner checking in

Hi TD4 girl

Just thought I'd give some of my own feedback on TD4 MPG. I have a 2001 MY TD4 5 door with the manual gearbox and have paid particular attention to it's fuel consumption over the (nearly) two years I have owned it. (I am slightly odd like that).

It mainly does short local trips (terrible for fuel consumption) and averages 28 MPG. If we take it on a run, it will do 35 MPG easily on a mixture of A road and motorway driving (as long as you don't cruise too quickly - it's not the most aerodynamic vehicle!). Best result ever recorded was 42 MPG average across a tank, but you have to be pretty gentle to get this. I can get it as low as 21 MPG, but this is towing a 1700KG caravan, so doesn't really count as a fair comparison!

My car is quite old and has done 110K miles so newer ones are probably more efficient, however changing the air filter made a marked improvement to fuel consumption and this will be true of all cars (clean filter much better than dirty clogged up one). I replaced he MAF sensor with a new one to, as the original was not working correctly below 2000 RPM and this has improved fuel consumption.

Overall I would say low to mid thirties is a realistic figure across a mixture of everyday driving without trying too hard to drive economically. Personally, I think that's quite acceptable for this type of vehicle bearing in mind it's wide range of capabilities (it has been great in the snow recently), but that's just my opinion.

Good luck!

Dave

Thanks for those figures Dave, I'm a little concerned about the MPG but guess I'll have to try and run it for a few months and see what it returns (I say 'it' as if I have one, dont yet but might do soon!). My friend down south reckons he gets 40 - 44mpg from his TD4 but he goes everywhere at 50mph, I'll just have to drive slowly!

If the clutch is such an issue (as I've been hearing and reading on most sites I've looked at) why didn't Land Rover do a recall? Seems a pretty bad publicity stunt to leave all these vehicles out there with a common fault having to be fixed at the owners cost.

Do the Rover ron looms give extra economy? IIRC there is an economy setting for the L-series

Any 4x4 is gonna consume more fuel than a 2wd car

The Freelander is about as good as it gets for fuel usage, and also with the Auto, just about as easy and uncomplicated as 4x4 gets
No declutching, levers to pull, diffs to lock, low range boxes to select or locking hubs to jump out and set

Otherwise, if MPG is you biggest concern buy a TD Fiesta and fill yer freezer in October

How many miles do you drive?

What is your budget?

My 2005 td4 manual does about 35/38 local and town driving ,Ive had 40ish on runs.Its pulled me through the snow up here in the hills ok.

Looking at 20,000+ a year, mixture of town, country and very rural. My lane wrecks ordinary cars on a regular basis, even in summer. I've lost count of the number of cars that need new suspension units within months of us getting them - and I drive oh so slowly over the bumps you wouldn't believe it!

buy a TD Fiesta and fill yer freezer in October

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Haha, that's what we do every year, well, don't buy a Fiesta every year but because we've lived here for 20years, we know when to stock the freezers up ;-)

Mark2 said:

Any 4x4 is gonna consume more fuel than a 2wd car

The Freelander is about as good as it gets for fuel usage, and also with the Auto, just about as easy and uncomplicated as 4x4 gets
No declutching, levers to pull, diffs to lock, low range boxes to select or locking hubs to jump out and set

Otherwise, if MPG is you biggest concern buy a TD Fiesta and fill yer freezer in October

How many miles do you drive?

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A bit like a Toureg then?

The Mad Hat Man said:

A bit like a Toureg then?

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lol - but we're back to the mpg question there

Medusa said:

What is your budget?

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Up to about £4000.

TD4girl said:

Looking at 20,000+ a year, mixture of town, country and very rural. My lane wrecks ordinary cars on a regular basis, even in summer. I've lost count of the number of cars that need new suspension units within months of us getting them - and I drive oh so slowly over the bumps you wouldn't believe it!

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With that sort of mileage and driving you should be at the reasonable end of the fuel economy ladder I would think, as long as you don't drive like a mad thing!

caravanlander said:

Hi TD4 girl


Overall I would say low to mid thirties is a realistic figure across a mixture of everyday driving without trying too hard to drive economically. Personally, I think that's quite acceptable for this type of vehicle bearing in mind it's wide range of capabilities (it has been great in the snow recently), but that's just my opinion.

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caravanlander said:

Fully agree with low to mid thirties with an auto, I have recorded every litre I have put in from day one. I could get a lot more mpg if I used the guessing methods that are often employed and a lot less if I drove it harder.

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Thanks guys, really appreciate all the advice you've given me. Will be on the lookout for a deal in the next week or so and let you know how I get on. :tea:

all these replies concern mpg.I hope you or someone you know enjoys spannering and fixing all the things that go wrong.

TD4girl said:

Thanks guys, really appreciate all the advice you've given me. Will be on the lookout for a deal in the next week or so and let you know how I get on. :tea:

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My TD4 auto does about 26MPG local 5 miles or so (bit more in summer) 31 ish on a medium mixed run and best i've had is 35 - Sheffield to London and back - 5 on board.

Probs ive had in 3 yrs (02)

Starter motor -replaced £130 did myself
Power steering pump - replaced. £80 ebay, £70 labour
Window motor - £106, done myself

Currently unable to open both rear doors - new lock and catch - outstanding.

For an 8 yr old car I dont think its too bad.

Hmmm, Wulf, I enjoy spannering - I maintain my '62 Triumph Tiger Cub as much as I can, but car mechanics are beyond me. BonnyB, was just reading about your door probs, as you say, for that age of car you come to expect things to start to fail I suppse. Funny how everyone I asked in the local garage about Freelanders just laughed and told me to stay away from them.....but if I had asked about Vauxhall/Ford/Renault/Subaru/Mitsubishi, the response would have been the same.