I currently have a 2003 4.4 V8 Vogue that I have managed to sell before we leave Cameroon and return to U.K. at the end of August. I had been thinking of getting a TDV8 but considering the plans that the government have in store for diesel owners (I work in London) I have decided to stick with a petrol version. Looking on Autotrader in the £8500 bracket there seems to be a choice of BMW or Jaguar 4.4s or Supercharged 4.2s.

How do the running costs compare? We intend to have a Smart For Two as a main car with a Range Rover to use at weekends and for longer journeys so the current MPG of around 17 would be manageable. I have seen that the tax on 4.4s and some Supercharged models is £305 whereas on others it is £535. Why is there a difference? I am also considering one that has an LPG conversion. Is it possible to run only on this and to keep some petrol in reserve? With the exception of not being able to go on Eurostar and in some cases either spare wheel srowage or impinging on boot spare, are there any other negatives to LPG?

Regards,

Steve

I ran LPG for years and had it on various L/R models and other cars including a 7 series BMW, had that engine in another car..

All LPG systems require petrol to start up and when the vapourisor is up to temp they then swap onto the LPG.
LPG is actually slightly less fuel efficient than petrol so expect to loose 1 or 2 mpg over the petrol figure, but the compromise is that the gas is cheaper to buy. So you will need some sort of petrol tank. I had a small custom tank on one of my Discos, so the gas tanks could be tucked underneath so I could still off road it. With the FFRR as you have said you will need to loose your spare wheel to fit a donut tank or have them mounted in place of the petrol tank. Torpedo tanks that run along the sill line used to be popular.

So you will need only a couple of gallons of petrol for starting and emergency fuel and run it on gas the rest of the time. If you fill in the correct form with the DVLA the car can be reclassified as duel fuel and save a bit more on road tax.

As for not being on the Chunnel, it's a farse! I can take my caravan with two propane cylinders in the front locker!!...😡 But you can't use your car with a propane cylinder on it!....bonkers. Current: TDV8 (3.6) RRS HSE



Past: TDV8(4.4) Vogue
Discovery 3 Commercial
TDV8(3.6) Vogue
TD6 Vogue
D2 V8 ES
D1 V8 ES
RR Vogue Classic

Repairs will be the kicker and in that regard the 4.2 will be the best of all l322 OffRoadRover.com An American Western Range Rover Off Road Blog

I love my 4.2, not many of them produced in comparison to the 4.4 so unusual problems can be difficult to sort first go. I have a problem with mine at the moment that I can't get to the bottom of and LR don't seem that clued up on them and neither do local LR specialists.

Great cars though.

cheers Alex

2018 Skoda Kodiaq vRS
2009 Caterham Supersport Race car
2007 M5 Touring
2005 Range Rover Vogue SE Supercharged
2004 SL55 AMG

After much reading my self there appears to be no advantage of the 4.4 unless its considerably cheaper in the first place. According to LR figures it should manage about 1mpg better than the 4.2 but its probably not noticeable.

I don't drive my 4.2 hard (very often!) and it sits at a claimed 20mpg or so. On a run that will climb up to 22mpg or so. In reality that works out at about 17mpg/19mpg at the pumps.

The issue with tax comes down the vehicles REGISTRATION date, if it was registered before 21st March 2006 it will be on the old "high band" of £305 or so, if its registered after 21st March 06 then it will be £535. It would have been far simpler to start that on the 1st March with the 06 registrations but sadly not. Which means there are SOME 06 plated cars on the lower tax registered in the first 3 weeks of March 2006. However anything with a 55 plate will be low tax and anything with a 56 plate onwards will be the higher tax.

If it were me I wouldn't worry about the tax and find an MY07 machine with the later interior with terrain response. Its a much nicer place to be IMHO and looks far more up to date compared to the earlier AJv8 machines which had the MY02-05 BMW interior. 2005 E60 M5
2006 L322 4.2 SC
2020 Tesla Model S Long Range
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2004 L322 4.4 Vogue, 2019 NP300 Navara, 2016 NP300 Navara, 2002 L322 4.4 HSE, 2006 (MY07) L322 S/C ,2001 330Ci Sport Track Car, 2005 650i Coupe, 2001 P38 Vogue, 2003 530i Sport Touring, 1999 P38 4.6 HSE, 2002 E39 M5, 1995 300zx TT Slicktop, 1997 M3 Evo, 1992 300zx TT Targa, 1998 323i Coupe

yeh but 2more tank fill ups with that £200 left over

Would be four fill ups for me, I fill at the half tank mark, it doesn't seem so painful that way!

Ian 4.2SC; 1960 TR6; XF Sportbrake
Previous:
Jaguar XF Sportbrake
Landrover P38 4.6 Freelander x2
Mitsubishi Shogun 3.2 x2
BMW M3 Conv x2; 840Ci; M Coupe; 325SEx2
Mercedes C180x2
Vauxhall Vectra 3.0D Cavalier & Astra Sri; Corsa
Ford Mondeo Escort Mk2
Triumph 11 owned
VW Type2
ISUZU DMAX

Avoid any JLR engine on LPG if they are done right they can be good but most engines not done correctly and they are being sold for a reason (valves starting to wear)

A nice late 55 plate with the bmw 4.4 on LPG is the way to go, you can faf about with DVLA for reclassification however you save £10 a year after you have jumped through all there hoops it's not worth the headache

Easy one this.
Get an AJV8 4.4 Jag engined pre big tax car, so either an '05, '55 or early '06.
Ran one for 18 months with no problems & genuine 18 - 23 mpg economy. Forget the LPG . . .

 Where do you go after one of these . . . ?

I've got the 4.4 NA and love it. It has quite enough power and I've never wished I had the Supercharged. I doubt there's much difference in fuel economy between them. I would look at spec and availability and not worry about the difference. When the right one comes up, take it. Both engine do very well fuel wise on long trips. Short trips (5 min) and stop/go traffic are not as good.

as a very basic level, 4.2SC will return about 15 urban, 20 cruise
the 4.4 will give a fraction more ... i think it has a little more techie gubbins in the cylinder heads which make it a fraction more refined than the supercharged.
dont bother with LPG ... the money is better spent just on petrol itself given some of the potential issues around the jag engine and saves hassles on boot space, finding fill up station based on planning journeys on 200mile range as opposed to 350-400mile petrol range, non chunnel routes etc etc. V8 or else ...