After nearly 8k miles of trouble free motoring in the Westie, the centre section of the dash lit-up this morning to my horror and fear of impending doom.....



I promptly went to the bank, arranged to re-mortgage my home and then trotted off to the nearest fuel depository!

£150 to fill the tank - .

I imagine that a restricted performance warning might have been cheaper!!

Driving like an old Grandad today, from Aberdeenshire to Ayrshire and back again, I'm very pleased to report an average fuel consumption that my 3.6 could only dream of in a free-fall condition. This included a trip through the centre of Glasgow, twice (including rush hour)!! Very happy!


 The older I get, the more I realise that people confuse wrinkles for wisdom

Squeezing just under 33mpg out of mine on a long M-Way run staying at or just under (GPS) 70mph. Noticing how much speed changes the mpg which is not surprising given the brick like aerodynamics. Anything over 70mph and the mpg nosedives and if you can do 55-65 low 40mpg is quite achievable. BTW the trip MPG over estimates by 7% which you can reset to 0% with your GAP IID tool. Still takes £150+ per tank but after 2 long trips to Scotland and Wales there really is no other way to travel. 2012 TDV8 Vogue (L322)

Yesterday was the first 'long run' I've done on motorways, and I found 62 mph to be optimal for economy and safety. Bear in mind, I also had the roof tent on, so very pleased with the figure on the dash.

Yes, 70mph+ is terminal velocity when it comes to MPG!!  The older I get, the more I realise that people confuse wrinkles for wisdom

how the hell you getting 35+mpG???

I get avge 25 on a good week (mixed driving, 75% town)

Long run at a constant speed of around 60mph. It's enough to make you fall asleep at the wheel...

If it makes you feel any better, I typically get less than 25mpg due to too many short journeys (less than 10 miles at a time) and too many mountain climbing antics!  The older I get, the more I realise that people confuse wrinkles for wisdom

Dolphinboy wrote:

how the hell you getting 35+mpG???

I get avge 25 on a good week (mixed driving, 75% town)

aw shucks guys, thanks, I feel better now. I did once get 31mpg avge going up to Yorkshire so it can do it when it feels like it.

These are pretty amazing economy figures considering the size, shape and weight of the L322 and the size of the engine. Additionally I've never felt so comfortable doing sub 70mph on the M-Way as I have in the L322 as it's got the kind of 'road presence' that lets you get away with it and also the more time spent in an L322 the better so adding 1/2 hour to a journey is 1/2 hour well spent. 2012 TDV8 Vogue (L322)

There are people who have quoted mid 30s on a regular basis and I then thought something is wrong with mine. On a run down to Stoke from Edinburgh it achieved just over 31 cruise set at 70mph and was delighted
Currently on the m8 commute to Glasgow I generally get between 27 and 28 but I’m not driving like miss daisy. So overall I think mine is doing okay given the circumstances 2016 4.4 diesel

JMC wrote:

Yesterday was the first 'long run' I've done on motorways, and I found 62 mph to be optimal for economy and safety. Bear in mind, I also had the roof tent on, so very pleased with the figure on the dash.

Yes, 70mph+ is terminal velocity when it comes to MPG!!

62mph was also the most economical speed in my Mercedes. MPG at 75mph (I mean 70mph obviously ) was around 51mpg. At 62mph, it was 63mpg.


Interestingly however, on a recent trip to Norwich and back, I averaged 33.8mpg over the 420 miles, which includes many roundabouts on the Norwich section. I drove at 70 or above (I mean 70 or below ) the entire way - the mpg kept creeping up. All I did was gently press the throttle and manually change gear, to keep it below 1,500 RPM whenever accelerating. So, you can still carry some decent speed and achieve the high mpg by accelerating more slowly. I certainly wasn't driving like a grandad. 2015 Range Rover Autobiography 4.4 SDV8

I did my first long distance drive in my L322, which was a 220 mile round trip from West Norfolk to Essex last Sunday. It was mostly free moving traffic with much of Norfolk at 50 to 60, then GPS 70ish for the A14/A12 and some spirited overtaking when my Essex roots reasserted itself. I was hoping I'd get at least 30, so I was really happy with the results, considering I don't baby it.

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