Just bought a 2008 HSE auto and seeing26 mpg! Hope I develop a lighter foot or use cruise control more when it permits

You had better get used to it................... 10MY (Sept 09) TD4 HSE Auto in Stornoway Grey (Now Gone)

08 FL2 TD4 SE Manual in Rimini Red (Now Gone)

Well having owned many defenders; numerous discoverys and range rovers I am well used to worse MPG

air con on or off makes a massive difference on my MY13 SD4. i tested it on 2 x identical journeys Birmingham to York averaged 44mpg with AC off and 36mpg with it on. roughly the same speed/traffic levels.

A lot of myths about air con & its affect on mpg.
Most car salesman will tell you it makes no difference. Most technical people will tell you it does (IMO).

Apart from yesterday when it reached 13 degrees I have not needed my air con to cool me down (only had car 2 months) so cannot comment on my Freelander and its affect on mpg.

With previous cars I have owned I would say that an mpg drop when using air con would be in the region of 10% therefore your figures are quite high especially as air con has less of a negative effect at motorway speeds (which I assume your journey was for the majority) than it does at town driving etc.

My general rule is if its hot, wind the windows down in town and only use air con on higher speed journeys. LR Freelander 2 2014 metropolis SD4 auto in Loire Blue.
LR Freelander 2 2011 facelift HSE SD4 auto in Firenze Red + Premium pack & cold weather pack (affectionately known as Eve) Sadly written off in an RTA Insurance write off December 2022😢.
Vauxhall Astra 67 plate
Subaru Impreza 2008 (Sold 2016)
Vauxhall Adam 1.4 Glam 2015 (sold 2017) (affectionately known as Adam)

I leave mine on permanently. I thought it was bad for the compressor to be off for lengthy periods. I also find AC more useful when it's raining - no more steamy windows

air con also dehumidifies the car as well as cooling in summer

so if its raining like mad and the windows steam up in winter, put your air con on, blowing warm/hot. Air dries out and no more steamy windows

le bouch wrote:

I leave mine on permanently. I thought it was bad for the compressor to be off for lengthy periods. I also find AC more useful when it's raining - no more steamy windows

Yes I have got to that age as well.  FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

Anything attached to the engine will result in reduced mpg, it's simple physics and why when car manufacturers quote horse power figures they are for stripped down engines on a dynamometer with no water pump, alternator, air con, gearbox or anything. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

Just home from a great night away in Liverpool . From Hamilton to Liverpoo and back home againl both journeys got 41mpg , I think that's pretty good. Do it now ! Your a long time dead !!

Variable mpg depending on driving / traffic:

- home to school (x4 people) and back (just the driver !) which is a 30 mile trip with an urban / semi-urban cycle in rush hour traffic - tends to be around 35 - 36mpg

- several runs to recylcing tip with small trailer on back - say 4 trips there and back covering 15 miles per cycle - gently driven gives 41mpg which is great with a trailer full of stuff !

- fuel fill, zeroed odometer and longer journey with some limited urban and then slower A roads for a 50 mile trip we got 41 mpg again, not bad.

Statement of the obvious = depends how the FL2 is driven, heavier right foot tends to demolish the mpg, lighter and gentler ....

I've had my FL2 nearly a month now and am loving it but have been really surprised how low the MPG is I'm getting on my first tank. So far I'm at 25.8 mpg. I admit that most of the miles have been short journeys between 2-5 miles in general but was hoping to get closer to the urban figures. All said though I only do 6-7000 miles per year normally so not the end of the world

My old driving instructor back in the 70's once said that there are two important pedals on the car,
1. The accelerator which is for wasting the fuel that you have already paid for
2. The brake pedal which is for wasting the fuel that you have already paid for and burned.

He also said that the clutch pedal was a device for wearing out clutch plates. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

Had my Freelander a month now and very surprised at mpg thought it would be worse, My trip to work is 17 miles each way on A roads and averaging 40mpg with aircon on all the time.

According to the dash readout I'm getting 32mpg, thats a few short round town type trips a week and the occasional long run out (normally about 1hr round trip, motorway & some country roads), maybe once a week, twice at most. I don't think thats too bad, i got it up to 37 when I did a long run a few weeks ago (reset the average before I left)