Hi , I got my 2010 4.4 TDV8 in April . I had looked at getting one around 2 years ago and was put off by reliabllity concerns.
I ended up having 3 cars ,BMW M3, mercedes estate for work and a Mondeo at my house abroad. Driving the M3 to Bulgaria was nice but the fuel costs were huge and a small tank was irritating, my merc estate was ok once on the motorways but struggled pulling a trailer up the mountains and i got snowed in my village in January and couldnt leave for a week !
I hate airports , especially Stansted so I had to get one car that would meet all my needs in UK and abroad .After looking at many 4x4 estates, and D3,s i kept coming back to a FFRR,
So i got my car mid April and then loaded up my trailer and headed to Bulgaria, My hope was that I could make it on 3 tanks of fuel 1850 miles door to door. It was close and if i wasnt pulling a trailer ,held up for hours at a time in German road works i could of made it,I had to do splash and dash in Romania ..total 335litres....i am happy with that.
On the return journey , I left Bulgaria last Sunday morning pulling a trailer with a snowmobile on and a fully loaded vehicle, a lot less hold ups in Germany but i got caught in the M25 closure for 4 hours and managed 327 litres
I was aiming to do each way for £400 but its nearer £500. but the quickest i can do door to door flying is 12 hours,and a cost of £600 minimum each way, with the FFRR i am door to door in 30 hours using the ferry, and I get to really enjoy the drive.
I really cannot fault the car, a good driving position which really helps when on the wrong side of the road ,quiet at speed ,the engine and gearbox work together seamlessly . On some of the long uphill sections 15km at a time ,not even a hint of losing momentum or struggling to cope with a 10% gradient!!
When I arrived at my house in Bulgaria i unloaded the car then just sat staring amazed at what a car . really impressed.
In Bulgaria i used the car for a few trips into the mountains off road, pulling trailers of dirt and rocks into my back garden that required low ratio and a couple of special programs to get in and out, and sat at 3 figure speeds on a motorway with a trailer! (kms )
Hoping to keep this for a few years,for travelling from Uk to Bulgaria pulling a car transporter trailer .
Finding this site really helpful and its easing my concerns of owning what i consider the best vehicle around.
Aaron

That’s very impressive fuel economy for towing

I need a lighter right foot

My right foot gets very heavy some times , these 2 trips were with a small trailer 500kgs max loaded up. When I was doing this journey with Discoverys and Defenders , solo vehicle 4 tanks fuel , add a roof rack and trailer and it went up to nearly 6!
Tried to keep at 130km/h on the motorways , there is a few sections that dont allow trailers in the overtaking lane so stuck with the HGVs . I really cant see me having anything else as the do it all vehicle.

Biggest trailer thread