Diesel or Petrol?

Do you really want to spend £££££ on a car that feels sluggish and underpowered, and were you need to use kick down at higher speeds in order to get any noticeable acceleration, when for around 10% extra and a few mpg less you can get a vastly superior engine and driving experience.

The petrol will cost a lot more in fuel, but the 5 litre v8 is supposed to a peach of an engine, so might be worth trying one out, first and then you can make up your mind if it's worth the extra fuel costs
 
I had a comparable, but not really the same quandary.

In the Discovery, real world economy showed that the petrol wasn't far behind the diesel, and in reality, running costs were very close.

The Petrol was chain driven, the diesel was belt. Within my ownership the belt would need doing, and cost circa £800.

The Petrol had no known major issues, the diesel had all the EGR, Injector, Turbo etc woes.

For me, it just didn't make sense to buy the diesel. In real world, in a Discovery 3 Auto, the diesel (Abit a 2.7 TDV6 engine) only gets around 22-23 on the combined. Some people claim up to 30 on a run, but I'd imagine this is fluke/downhill/reset when up to temperature etc.

The petrol also cost a useful amount cheaper than the diesel, which in itself buys a lot of fuel.
 
I got a petrol Range Rover (4.4 V8, 2005) for a few reasons;

The fuel economy really isn't that much worse once you factor the much cheaper cost of petrol.
The engines are simpler and known to have very few issues, unlike the diesel.
The petrol is smoother and quieter.
The petrol actually sounds rather good if you do decide to put your foot down unlike the diesel.

The diesel doesn't really have any upsides as far as I am concerned.
 
The TDV8 actually really suits the Range Rover well. It's got a load of torque and is actually quite pleasant sounding being a V8. At the 06-07 though you're looking at the 3.6 TDV8 and not the much nicer 4.4 TDV8.
If you're looking at 06-07 models than I'm guessing that budget is around the £15k mark. At this money I'd be looking for an AJV8 4.4 or a 4.2 SC. The 2.7 TD6 is woefully slow and is mated to the horrible GM 5-speed automatic rather than the ZF 6-speed in the petrols. If you do go for the TD6, then keep a couple of grand free for new torque converters as they like to lunch them.

For my money, I'd go for an AJV8 4.4 petrol with the facelifted (terrain response) interior from 07 onwards.
 
Is the 0-60 time really the primary requirement to base the buying decision of a near 2.5 tonne SUV on?

Yes.

You're talking about 0-60 times and worried about ~ £1k over a year when looking at a very uneconomical commuting vehicle anyway.:confused:

I was brought up not to waste money. If there is a perfectly sensible way of saving a £1000 then do it. I will keep this whether I have a £5 to my name of £5,000,000..there is absolutly nothing wrong with weighing up costs.

I got a petrol Range Rover (4.4 V8, 2005) for a few reasons;

The fuel economy really isn't that much worse once you factor the much cheaper cost of petrol.
The engines are simpler and known to have very few issues, unlike the diesel.
The petrol is smoother and quieter.
The petrol actually sounds rather good if you do decide to put your foot down unlike the diesel.

The diesel doesn't really have any upsides as far as I am concerned.

What's your avareage MPG Jez?

If I was considering either of those cars then fuel cost wouldn't be part of my consideration.

It is with mine.
 
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What's your avareage MPG Jez?

It depends how I use it, but it will do 18-19mpg on very local mixed usage, and 22-23mpg on a motorway run. My usage is biased toward extra urban so I find I average 20-21mpg.

Not once have I considered the Range Rover to be a waste of money. I wouldn't want to drive anything else, totally worth the high running costs.
 
If performance is important, whilst I don't know for sure with the tdv8 units, the petrol units are a good 3 seconds quicker to 60 than the tdv6 on the LR3.
 
I was getting 17mpg average and about 22mpg on the motorway out of my 2006 4.2 Supercharged.
You don't buy a Ranger Rover for it's economy. Mpg was irrelevant to me. I bought it for it's unmatched comfort and load-carrying capability.

The SC was extremely good fun off the lights. People don't expect 3 tonnes of metal to accelerate that quickly.
 
I've just driven my LR3 4.4 N/A V8 Petrol back home, and from inner city Bristol to my front door I got 24.7 MPG, with no real effort to achieve that. I'd imagine I might get a shade higher, but not much more, oil was already up to temperature.

It has a surprising turn of pace all things considered, but the SC Rangie is obviously significantly quicker.

The best bit is noise. Barely any at a 60MPH cruise, and a lovely rumble when you put your foot down :D
 
I was only doing 60 on the motorway as the rain was absolutely torrential, and it seems the windscreen was coated in lard. I'd imagine we'd have a significant drop off at 70.
 
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