Hi all,
I have recently bought a 14 plate Metropolis SD4 automatic. I jave noticed that the 'Distance to empty' on a full tank shows around 360 miles, and seems to be fairly accurate. My previous car was a 14 plate Jaguar XF 2.2 auto (basically the same engine) which seemed to give around 550 miles to a tank.
Is my 360 miles accurate (I realise that, aside from the engine, these are very different cars), or is my MPG high and therefore something I should have investigated?

What size of fuel tank had the jaguar compared to the Freelander?
My Sd4 averages around 33mpg according to the trip computer. Never really look at what it does per tank. Try a brim to brim measurement which will give you the most accurate consumption Landrover - turning owners into mechanics since 1948

2014 Orkney grey Freelander SD4 GS.
2004 Zambezi silver Discovery 2 Td5 (Gone)
1963 Surf blue Morris Mini Minor Super de Luxe (my little toy)

The range shown is based on the average consumption over the last 30 miles or so. So if you’ve been on an economy drive and then fill up you’ll see a range above 500 miles (I’ve seen 600). If you’ve just spent the last 30 miles in stop start traffic you’ll see a much lower range. My ancient 2007 TD4 averaged an actual 33 mpg over the last 12 years I owned it.

As already said fill up the tank. Then what I do is on the back of the receipt write down all the trip data. Once you have done that then reset the trip meter. Repeat for the next lot of fuel. Ideally do it 3 times. Best to reset the trip meter each tank full to stop rounding errors.

The Freelander has the finesse of a fly brick. It you have wider or all terrain tyres it will up the fuel consumption a bit.

On the Nullarbor plains on various trips with a tailwind 7.8L/100km & with a headwind 12L/100km. Someone with a Freelander with even stronger headwinds was 16L/100km. Usually we stop for the day as a 1000km of headwinds one may not reach the next petrol station.

At 140kph the car uses twice the amount of fuel as 90kph & that's with no headwind.


Today it is a crosswind north to south.
https://www.windy.com/?-30.879,127.869,5 Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

Thanks guys. I hadn't considered the potential difference in tank sizes. Currently the MPG is showing 21.7 after a reasonable run (country lanes & dual carriageways and certainly more than 30 miles), which is a little alarming!
I'll work a few things out and see how the figures come out over the next few weeks.
If it is high, are there any obvious causes? The car seems to be running well and I haven't noticed excessive smoke from the exhaust.

That seems low to me. I’d have to be really going for it to get that poor an mpg. Have you checked your tyre pressures? Have you checked them with another gauge, preferably one that has been certified to confirm that your gauge is correct. Is the gearbox behaving and the clutches within it locking up correctly? I’m not an expert on auto boxes but I’d expect a given gear to give a consistent speed at a given rpm. Do all the wheels run freely. Is a brake binding slightly, a disc will be hotter than the others, use a heat gun rather than your fingers!

Thanks BossBob. I don't think I have a gearbox problem. I'm no auto expert either, but it seems to be reasonable smooth and consistent. I have noticed that, despite having had a service before I collected it, the fuel filter isn't new. I have also read another post describing how to use injector cleaner directly into the engine. So my plan is to check tyre pressures and replace the fuel filter, priming it with injector cleaner to see if that helps. I also strongly suspect I have a leak in the intercooler (a small leak of oil accompanied by a hissing sound). This will be affecting fuel economy, but not to that extent I wouldn't have thought. It's going back to the garage I bought it from next week to have the intercooler sorted.

If replacing the fuel filter I would strongly recommend that you use a genuine Land Rover part LR001313 or least a Purflux FCS604 as the OE filter is made by Purflux non genuine have been reported on the forum to cause various issues so best stay genuine to ensure no problems.

A slipping clutch will give the appearance of a smooth drive as it will dampen out rapid changes in engine speed. The intercooler leak is not good especially if you can hear it. A dirty fuel filter normally gets you into limp mode with a resulting loss of power. I agree with getting a genuine fuel filter, they contain a temperature sensor that redirects fuel.

Have a look at the air filter & see if it is new.

I use LR filters, even down under they are not that expensive. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

I'd be checking the brakes for binding. Anything under 25 MPG is bad, my own ancient TD4 gives between 29 and 33 MPG, depending on the roads I'm driving.
Doing duel carriageway driving sees the MPG climb to high 30s, and about 600 miles range shown after filling up. Hyundai Ioniq 5 Ultimate. The family car.
2009 Rimini Red SE TD4. Gone.
2006 Tonga Green i6 HSE. Gone.
Audi A5 convertible, my daily driver.
1972 Hillman Avenger GT, the project.

Thanks again all,
I had already checked the air filter & it is new.
So now I have replaced the fuel filter (not OEM - I didn't see the further posts until after I'd done it), primed with injector cleaner. Put it all back together and the car started and continued to run without missing a beat. Checked & adjusted the tyre pressures at a local Shell garage, reset trip B and went for a drive. Covered 42 miles on dual carriageways, A roads, a stint on the motorway and a bit of town driving. Average MPG now showing 35. It got to around 38.5 on the motorway, 36 on the A roads and 34 in town, so a decent result I would say - and still with the faulty intercooler. That'll be fixed next week and then I will hopefully have even better MPG and probably a bit more power too!

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but this was pointed to in a new thread, so didn't want to start another.

I'm in the same boat as the OP and get terrible MPG on my 2014 SD4. Brakes have all been checked/replaced so no binding. No leaks anywhere, just been serviced. I looked at the service receipt and noticed they had used a MANN & HUMMEL oil filter (HU711/51X) which from looking at the manufacturer website, is marked as suitable for the Freelander. However there's no mention of a temp sensor. Reading this thread would suggest it makes a big difference - is that the general consensus?

Also, for 19" wheels what are people using for their day to day PSI? I've been using the door markings of (I think) 35 all round.

Cheers FL2 TD4 GS 60 reg Facelift - so many issues
2019 DS. Terribly unreliable.
Sold DS for a 2021 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Fingers crossed....
Sold Outlander for a 2014 SD4 SE Tech because I’m mental
Now greatly regret selling the Outlander. MPG of the FL2 is atrocious and so are the fuel bills. Fun though 😎
Couldn’t afford the fuel bills so back to an older Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Significantly better than I remembered it to be…

The discussion relates to fuel filters, not oil filters. Non OE fuel filters are known to cause running issues so most stick to genuine LR or Purflux who are the OE manufacturers.

Tyres, I have 18"s and run them at 36 psi. Landrover - turning owners into mechanics since 1948

2014 Orkney grey Freelander SD4 GS.
2004 Zambezi silver Discovery 2 Td5 (Gone)
1963 Surf blue Morris Mini Minor Super de Luxe (my little toy)

So it is! I’ll need to check what my fuel filter has been replaced with. Assuming it has been…

Edit: hasn’t been changed in the last service despite it being a big one.

Edit 2: checked online service history - fuel filter hasn’t been changed since 2022. FL2 TD4 GS 60 reg Facelift - so many issues
2019 DS. Terribly unreliable.
Sold DS for a 2021 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Fingers crossed....
Sold Outlander for a 2014 SD4 SE Tech because I’m mental
Now greatly regret selling the Outlander. MPG of the FL2 is atrocious and so are the fuel bills. Fun though 😎
Couldn’t afford the fuel bills so back to an older Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Significantly better than I remembered it to be…