What sort of fuel economy for defender 90 towing.

[Woodworks]

We are running an old (J reg) but very low millage Defender 90 almost always towing on short hilly trips so I realise economy wont be great but what would you expect to get from one?

[Chris Sheppard]

My 90's a little newer on a P reg (so 300 tdi) and has a little over 300,000 miles on it. Typically it's returning 28-32 mpg without a trailer and 25-28 towing a decent load with something like the tractor on the trailer.

[Woodworks]

My 90's a little newer on a P reg (so 300 tdi) and has a little over 300,000 miles on it. Typically it's returning 28-32 mpg without a trailer and 25-28 towing a decent load with something like the tractor on the trailer.

 

Thanks Chris

 

So about 17mpg is indeed sh1te

 

Don't really know whats wrong with it. It has been properly serviced by a specialist who said it was great. I have checked the tyre pressures which frankly are a bit too high and I drive like an old man

[detritus21]

Driving like an old man may not help. Mine is an h reg tdi and am returning 25mpg loaded and towing. I'm also not that light with my foot. Learn to anticipate the need for gear changes to keep revs optimum. Btw 17mpg does seem low

[treequip]

Thanks Chris

 

So about 17mpg is indeed sh1te

 

Don't really know whats wrong with it. It has been properly serviced by a specialist who said it was great. I have checked the tyre pressures which frankly are a bit too high and I drive like an old man

 

I wish, last 90 I ran was a 300tdi towing 2.5 to 3.5 in the hilly Pennines on serous of road tyres and I recon that was into single figures at times. It was doing a lot of work though so I didn't begrudge it the fuel.

[Woodworks]

Driving like an old man may not help. Mine is an h reg tdi and am returning 25mpg loaded and towing. I'm also not that light with my foot. Learn to anticipate the need for gear changes to keep revs optimum. Btw 17mpg does seem low

 

Ye I did try driving it harder on the advise of the garage but it made no noticeable difference.

 

We are in a hilly area and most of the miles are around the lanes so no nice open main roads. Trips are short say 10-15 mile around trip from cold. Weight wise I would estimate with trailer at 1400kg for half the trip and 700kg for return (delivering logs) but still think it should be doing better.

[detritus21]

17 may not be as bad as you think then. Narrow winding lanes ain't the best for fuel economy. Mine is a mix of road types.

[Woodworks]

17 may not be as bad as you think then. Narrow winding lanes ain't the best for fuel economy. Mine is a mix of road types.

 

This what I am afraid of. Hoping for a magic answer to improve economy but may have to except things as they are

[armchairarborist]

Hi Woodworks, what engine is in the 90? I had an old H-reg hi cap with the 2.5td 'thirsty-slug' engine, it was abominable on fuel, the 200tdi one i'm currently running is so much better.

[Chris Sheppard]

Ye I did try driving it harder on the advise of the garage but it made no noticeable difference.

 

We are in a hilly area and most of the miles are around the lanes so no nice open main roads. Trips are short say 10-15 mile around trip from cold. Weight wise I would estimate with trailer at 1400kg for half the trip and 700kg for return (delivering logs) but still think it should be doing better.

 

I still reckon it seems quite low as it's not like it's on it's knees with that sort of weight.

 

Do you ever get it out on normal roads? If it was still really low on normal roads then maybe there's some underlying problem?

 

Out of curiosity, is it still running the tiny standard wheels and tyres (205/16)? That does make them very low geared - Mines on 265/75 and I swapped the speedo drive to the right one to suit the bigger tyres.