Last November I took delivery of a new Freelander 2 Auto which I thought would make an ideal tow car. Having now covered 2,500 miles I am somewhat disapointed with the fuel economy. So far my driving has been very gentle rural driving and motorways with several long journeys included in the total, the best I have managed is 29.9mpg. As this is far short of manufactures claims (combined 35.9) I dread to think of the return I'm going to get when I start towing. Has anybody else managed better than this?
Freelander 2 - Fuel economy
- Thread starter GrahamF.
- Start date
This seems to be a common complaint right across the range of cars. The official fuel return figures seem to have very little connection to reality. I have never bettered 28-29 mpg in my Sorento, despite driving in old granny mode. Heavy weight automatic 4x4s, are never going to be very fuel efficient, but the official figures certainly mislead. I know they are only for comparison one model with another, but one cannot help being influenced by these phoney figures.
Steve W
Steve W
My father has a 2009 Freelander HSE auto, and seems to return 32-35 knocking about, and 22 ish towing. On long runs it has returned upper 30's but not that often.
Regularly check your tyre pressures with the old-style mechanical type of gauge - modern LCD gauges can be somewhat inaccurate.
It's all down to driving style - most people can't get that near to the Combined figure let alone the Extra-Urban one. Many drivers do shorter journeys in winter so consumption shoots up.
Perceived wisdom is that modern diesels need 10,000 + miles to loosen up and give optimum economy. My b-i-l tows with a manual FL2 and gets low to mid 20's, his cars are never "run in" as he changes them every 6,000 miles (L-R management scheme).
It's all down to driving style - most people can't get that near to the Combined figure let alone the Extra-Urban one. Many drivers do shorter journeys in winter so consumption shoots up.
Perceived wisdom is that modern diesels need 10,000 + miles to loosen up and give optimum economy. My b-i-l tows with a manual FL2 and gets low to mid 20's, his cars are never "run in" as he changes them every 6,000 miles (L-R management scheme).
I have the Freelander 2 HSE Auto and have covered 16K since new. About half of that mileage was towing 1300 kg. Towing at around 55 - 60 mph the car turns in 25 mpg. 60 - 70, it drops to around 23 mpg. Solo local runs with the engine cold return about 26 mpg. On a run to the NEC this week, the 300 mile round trip achieved 35 mpg (Calculated on refilling the tank) and I rarely dropped below 70 for much of the journey. The manual box is more economical but we prefer auto and are prepared to pay the premium.
i have never failed to get the official figures, with any car i have had, by that i mean urban for local driving, and combined for a run. My driving varies depending on my mood.
i would suggest that your car would benefit from a professional tune up, or remap, i don't mean a performance enhancement, but as each engine is slightly different i think yours would benefit from a personalised tune up. With the cost of fuel it would quickly pay for its self. I would think 33/35 local is realistic.
i would suggest that your car would benefit from a professional tune up, or remap, i don't mean a performance enhancement, but as each engine is slightly different i think yours would benefit from a personalised tune up. With the cost of fuel it would quickly pay for its self. I would think 33/35 local is realistic.
Ive done 30,000 miles in mine now and general driving around town I get a constant 30mpg which I don't think is to bad. On a long run driving solo at speeds 70-85 around 32mpg. Towing 1500kg with a fully laden car + roof box in France / Spain at 60-70mph anything between 19 - 23mpg depending on wind strength and direction. Certainly not the best economy tow car I have owned, (which was a BMW 3 series 2ltrs diesel which returned +35mpg towing the same van), but definately the most stable.
At 2500 miles your engine is nowhere near run in to optimum economy, our S-max has done nearly 60k miles and is still getting more economical, it had done at least 15k and some towing before we started to get mpg figures near those quoted.
When it had done less than 5k we got better mpg in 5th gear than 6th as there was so much "leakage" past piston rings and valves, ie in higher gears there is lower rpm and higher cylinder pressures so "leaky" cylinders run less efficiently than when running in lower gears at higher revs with lower pressures.
With 60k on the clock, 6th is now the most economical gear and we have acheived 60mpg travelling solo at caravanning speeds.
When it had done less than 5k we got better mpg in 5th gear than 6th as there was so much "leakage" past piston rings and valves, ie in higher gears there is lower rpm and higher cylinder pressures so "leaky" cylinders run less efficiently than when running in lower gears at higher revs with lower pressures.
With 60k on the clock, 6th is now the most economical gear and we have acheived 60mpg travelling solo at caravanning speeds.
Graham F
I concur with Garfield in that your engine is nowhere near run in yet. My FL2 took about 15k to really loosen up and for the fuel consumption to settle down. It has now done 31k and solo mpg varies between 30-38mpg and towing a 1500kg van about 26ish.
I concur with Garfield in that your engine is nowhere near run in yet. My FL2 took about 15k to really loosen up and for the fuel consumption to settle down. It has now done 31k and solo mpg varies between 30-38mpg and towing a 1500kg van about 26ish.
Hi There
I have a Freelander 2 Se Auto, now covered 61,000 miles getting about 32mpg solo and betwee 15-20mpg towing 2008 Senator Wyoming. Tows like a dream so not too worried about the mpg. Has anyone else noticed how the magazine quotes incorrect kerb weights for the Freelander 2 HSE they have on test? Kerbweight of my car is 1950kg and they are quoting 1770kg. This makes a huge difference on what you can tow if you use the 85% guideline.
David
I have a Freelander 2 Se Auto, now covered 61,000 miles getting about 32mpg solo and betwee 15-20mpg towing 2008 Senator Wyoming. Tows like a dream so not too worried about the mpg. Has anyone else noticed how the magazine quotes incorrect kerb weights for the Freelander 2 HSE they have on test? Kerbweight of my car is 1950kg and they are quoting 1770kg. This makes a huge difference on what you can tow if you use the 85% guideline.
David
In my V5, the 'Mass in Service' i.e. the vehicle with its bodywork, is shown as 1970. The weight used to calculate the 85% rule, I beleieve, also includes half a tank of fuel and an avaerage driver. Thus the kerbweigth of the F2 is in excess of 2 tonnes?
I've had 10 new cars to date, and to be honest i haven't noticed any increase in economy with mileage, performance yes, but sometimes that's electronically managed.
The Audi petrol i had was tight up to 7k, but i got no extra economy over that, while performance was electronically managed for the first 1000 miles.
The main thing i notice with age is the car gets looser, suspension etc, rattles appear, tyres wear etc.
The Audi petrol i had was tight up to 7k, but i got no extra economy over that, while performance was electronically managed for the first 1000 miles.
The main thing i notice with age is the car gets looser, suspension etc, rattles appear, tyres wear etc.
The area you live in can also affect economy, we live in the N. York moors wher the car uses a lot of fuel to get up the hills but due to bends or speed restrictions you cannot "let it run" downhill to recoup the fuel used on the up, when touring Norfolk, we got 25% better results
I KNOW that people will not believe me BUT my 3.0 JEEP Diesel Grand Cherokee is giving me the same if not better MPG than some of you are quoting here.
Two weeks ago a solo run up to the Highlands in Scotland at a steady ( not snail) pace and i got 29.8 PROPERLY CHECKED.
Last week with an Elddis Odyssey 544 on the back i got 23.6mpg
Around the dooors i get 25 mpg.
This car has 215bhp, is heavy and is quick so what is the Freelanders excuse?
Two weeks ago a solo run up to the Highlands in Scotland at a steady ( not snail) pace and i got 29.8 PROPERLY CHECKED.
Last week with an Elddis Odyssey 544 on the back i got 23.6mpg
Around the dooors i get 25 mpg.
This car has 215bhp, is heavy and is quick so what is the Freelanders excuse?
I also have a Freelander 2 se auto and tow a van 1400kgs fully laden. Obviously tows fantastically well and returns 25mpg at 55mpg on motorways reducing to 22/23mpg at 60mph when towing.
Solo the average is 30mpg over all types of journeys. I tried driving very carefully, no hard acceleration and gentle braking but this drove me crazy and only improved the mpg to 33. 35mpg on motorways at the legal limit is about right,i think.
It might be my imagination, so please don`t sue me ,but I seem to get 2 or 3 less mpg if I use supermarket diesel. Has anyone else noticed this ?
With regard to the kerbweight my V5 also shows the "mass in service" weight as 1970kgs. Is this the same as kerbweight ? Why do Landrover show the kerbweight as only 1770kgs ? As you say it makes a big difference whe using the 85% rule.
Any comments will be welcomed.
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