D4 SDV6 HSE - Fuel usage?

[Daz66]

Hi,

As a relatively new D4 owner (2015 build MY16 with 8 Speed trans) I have to say that I am surprised by the fuel consumption in terms of it being more than what I expected. I am only basing this on what I have read in terms of what other owners are reportedly achieving. Given the weight and performance of the vehicle, some of the numbers that I have read are hard to believe, especially the manufacturers claims.

Don't get me wrong, I don't drive around everywhere trying to save fuel, and fuel is a minor cost relative to other aspects of ownership.

I have read that D4 owners are getting 10 -11 ish litres/100 klm around town in stop start driving conditions. There is no way that this could be achieved in mine - I would say 15+ would be on the money with normal driving, not nursing it to save fuel.

I am using approx 13l/100 (measured) on a mix of city and motorway driving. Not loaded up but with added drag due to ARB bullbar, Snorkel and AT tyres (maybe this adds 1 litre/100 over standard?). Tyre pressures set at 40 psi.

Just wondering if this seems excessive, noting that the engine runs well with no obvious issues.

Cheers

Darren

[BobD]

Mine is similar to yours and I can only put it down to the 6 speed transmission, extra weight and drag of all of the extra fruit on my D4 and the fact that it is an earlier model. I got a shock with the high fuel usage when I first bought it in 2012 and drove it from Sydney to Perth to get it home. It really needs the long range tank that was on it when I bought it.

My TDV6 RRV consistently gets high 8 l/100 in most conditions and actually gets better fuel consumption than my Discovery Sport most of the time, but it is way lighter than the D4 with no mods to add extra drag, plus the 8 speed transmission which has the engine running at much lower revs on the open road. I could never understand the consumption figures that others were reporting until I bought the 2013 RRV.

My fuel consumption is always based on measured use, not the wildly optimistic trip computer of the D4, although the RRV computer is much closer to the truth than the D4 one.

My son's V8 petrol D3 actually gets around the same fuel consumption as the D4 on the open road but uses more around town. Funnily enough, his computer is also pretty accurate on the open road.

[INter674]

Where i live it's all up hill and down dale so the car D4 SE V6 SC petrol 8 speed is averaging 14.8l/100klm which is way more than the 12.9 LR cites. Worst we've had was 16.8 towing a triple horse float weighing over 3t.

However if we drive North on the highway which is relatively flatish at a constant 110kph we get 13 ish easily.

Soooo real life circumstances significantly affect fuel use.

Mate's Dodge Ram V8 can get 11l/100ks on a long run but averages 20 plus around town and 23 when towing!! Same for his 200 series.

[scarry]

Mine is an earlier 6 speed 2.7.

Around town constantly 12.5 to 14l/100
On a run unloaded,low 9’s.
On a run loaded,between 10.5 to 11.5,usually with RTT on.

That’s calculated.

[Plane Fixer]

I have the six speed SDV6 and have a spreadsheet of fuel usage since new. I have now done 216000km. The lifetime average is 11.02/100km with best down to 8.9/100 and worst 14.00/100. I do not tow and drive normally.
For the weight and power I feel it is very reasonable as I bought this car for comfort and long distance touring as I do not do much city driving.

[Petetheprinta]

Interesting...I have a 3L SDV6 6 speed festooned with all the usual bits and pieces (Bullbar, lights, roofrack, drawers full of tools etc) and it uses exactly 9.7L around town. Has done since I’ve owned it. Dragging a 3.25 ton van around Northern Australia for 3 months and approx 15,000 Klm’s returned 13.6L.

[gavinwibrow]

Interesting...I have a 3L SDV6 6 speed festooned with all the usual bits and pieces (Bullbar, lights, roofrack, drawers full of tools etc) and it uses exactly 9.7L around town. Has done since I’ve owned it. Dragging a 3.25 ton van around Northern Australia for 3 months and approx 15,000 Klm’s returned 13.6L.

Excellent economy - at what average speed towing the block?

[LRD414]

Interesting...I have a 3L SDV6 6 speed festooned with all the usual bits and pieces (Bullbar, lights, roofrack, drawers full of tools etc) and it uses exactly 9.7L around town. Has done since I’ve owned it. Dragging a 3.25 ton van around Northern Australia for 3 months and approx 15,000 Klm’s returned 13.6L.

Peter, are these figures from the dash readout or calculated by you using actual consumption & distance?

Regards,
Scott

[Odysseyman]

Here’s my most recent experience with fuel consumption.

We have a MY16 SDV6 HSE 8 speed which we bought in October last year. We have just returned home from almost 7 months away towing our AOR Odyssey camper trailer which weighs a maximum 1.8 tonnes (weight for the trip was around 1.7 tonnes).

Sorry if this strays a bit off topic but wanted to give a clear idea of the kinds of roads and terrain we covered.
We travelled through western NSW Cobar, Bourke...) and Qld including Salvator Rosa on the western side of Carnarvon NP, out to the coast at Mackay then on up to Cairns and Kuranda. Pretty much all sealed roads so far. Then we went over to Chillagoe, (the start of gravel roads) then the northern 560km gravel loop across to Normanton. From there across the Savannah Way through Burketown, Doomadgee, Borroloola and then back on bitumen to Daly Waters and up to Darwin. From Darwin we went in to Kakadu then back to Katherine and up the Central Arnhem Rd to Nhulunbuy. We returned from there back to Katherine to restock then south to the Barkly Hwy and across to Camooweal, down through Qld to Caloundra then down through central NSW back home to Melbourne.

We travelled a total of 22,581 km measured off the odometer, and used 2780 litres of fuel resulting in an average fuel consumption of 12.31L/100km. Average cost of fuel was $1.52/L.

We run standard 19” rims with Maxxis AT980 light truck tyres. We also did most of the distance with the transmission in Sport mode and running at or around the speed limit on sealed roads (much slower on gravel). We did a small amount of low range driving on sandy tracks in Arnhem Land.

I am extremely happy with that result and absolutely love the car.

cheers
David

[Barraman]

Hi,
As a relatively new D4 owner (2015 build MY16 with 8 Speed trans) I have to say that I am surprised by the fuel consumption in terms of it being more than what I expected. I am only basing this on what I have read in terms of what other owners are reportedly achieving. Given the weight and performance of the vehicle, some of the numbers that I have read are hard to believe, especially the manufacturers claims.
Don't get me wrong, I don't drive around everywhere trying to save fuel, and fuel is a minor cost relative to other aspects of ownership.
I have read that D4 owners are getting 10 -11 ish litres/100 klm around town in stop start driving conditions. There is no way that this could be achieved in mine - I would say 15+ would be on the money with normal driving, not nursing it to save fuel.
I am using approx 13l/100 (measured) on a mix of city and motorway driving. Not loaded up but with added drag due to ARB bullbar, Snorkel and AT tyres (maybe this adds 1 litre/100 over standard?). Tyre pressures set at 40 psi.
Just wondering if this seems excessive, noting that the engine runs well with no obvious issues.
Cheers
Darren

I have a similar vehicle to yours - 2015 SE 8 speed - although I think the HSE is tuned to deliver a bit more grunt than mine. I have ECB bull bar and winch, spot lights, Safari snorkel and Pirelli Scorpian AT Plus tyres. I am a lead foot and never give much consideration to fuel consumption - it is what it is!

I would not have a clue what it does around town, but on open highway cruising at 100 - 110 kph over long distances I average 10 - 11.0 L/100km. If I am towing a 2.5 T boat that goes up to 17 L/100km.

[Konradical]

I drive our MY16 SDV6 HSE 160km every working day. It's a 50/50 split of open road and stop-start traffic. It has a long range tank and I fill the car every Wednesday, taking usually about 100L, depending what I did over the weekend or if I had towed.

Since I started doing this trip, I have made sure to try and work out a general fuel usage so I can budget for it fortnight to fortnight. The worst was a 13.6L/100 which included dragging our Jayco Dove OB through the Adelaide Hills to a place past Mannum and return, the best was 9.8L/100 literally just driving the six days I worked that week.

Unfortunately for me, it's not a fixed figure every week. Working in the mid north throws a ton of other variables; stupid wind, having to overtake, hot days, cold days and rain, all of which I have noticed can change my weekly figure. The other variable seems to be service status. The figure edged up noticeably in the last 3500km but should go back to something reasonable after today's service.

On average I get about 11.2L/100.. this is with 265/50R20 Nitto's, long range tank, APT underbody stuff and the spare tyre on the roof rack. Taking the tyre off the roof has only made it a bit quieter in the cab

[josh.huber]

2011 SDV6 225,000ks, running caltex fuel. 80kph trip to work each day. 400ks per week.
11L per 100k I also add CEM CRD Enhancer because I've had it work in other vehicles. I'm using more as a preventative, have seen an improvement in milage since adding it

[DiscoJeffster]

I also add CEM CRD Enhancer because I've had it work in other vehicles. I'm using more as a preventative, have seen an improvement in milage since adding it

I prefer my trusty Peter Brock Energy Polariser. It aligns the air molecules as they enter the engine ensuring more air molecules fit into every stroke. Massive improvement in performance and economy. It’s like strapping on a third turbo!

[NavyDiver]

Mine is similar to yours and I can only put it down to the 6 speed transmission, extra weight and drag of all of the extra fruit on my D4 and the fact that it is an earlier model. I got a shock with the high fuel usage when I first bought it in 2012 and drove it from Sydney to Perth to get it home. It really needs the long range tank that was on it when I bought it.

My TDV6 RRV consistently gets high 8 l/100 in most conditions and actually gets better fuel consumption than my Discovery Sport most of the time, but it is way lighter than the D4 with no mods to add extra drag, plus the 8 speed transmission which has the engine running at much lower revs on the open road. I could never understand the consumption figures that others were reporting until I bought the 2013 RRV.

My fuel consumption is always based on measured use, not the wildly optimistic trip computer of the D4, although the RRV computer is much closer to the truth than the D4 one.

My son's V8 petrol D3 actually gets around the same fuel consumption as the D4 on the open road but uses more around town. Funnily enough, his computer is also pretty accurate on the open road.

SE not HSE for me. I had a long range tank on my first D3 (RIP2005 TDV6 SE) not my current one. With over 800km range I wont both adding the extra weight of the long range tank again which did increase fuel consumption on my first compared to my current one. (2009TDV6 SE) Bull bar and rock sliders on 2005 as well.

I am getting about 12l/100 city and 9l/100 or a little better on longer nicer country drives. I do not put my foot down that much I guess.

https://jalopnik.com/how-a-box-of-magic-crystals-brought-down-australias-mos-1822559023 [thumbsupbig] (https://jalopnik.com/how-a-box-of-magic-crystals-brought-down-australias-mos-1822559023)

[rocket rod]

I have a TDV6 but remapped to about the same as a SDV6 and the same bling as you have except I have a long range tank so there's a bit more added weight there. I record every fill up and the road type driven since new. The numbers below are averages and all outside the Metro is with a substantial load.

Metro 23,000km @ 11.5L/100
mixed City/Highway 38,000 @ 11.17
Highway 27,000 @ 11.54
Gravel 6,000 @ 12.56 Gunbarrel/Tanami
Sand 1,000 @ 13.40 Stock Route

[DiscoJeffster]

https://jalopnik.com/how-a-box-of-magic-crystals-brought-down-australias-mos-1822559023 [thumbsupbig] (https://jalopnik.com/how-a-box-of-magic-crystals-brought-down-australias-mos-1822559023)

My tongue was firmly planted in my cheek [emoji6]

[josh.huber]

I prefer my trusty Peter Brock Energy Polariser. It aligns the air molecules as they enter the engine ensuring more air molecules fit into every stroke. Massive improvement in performance and economy. It’s like strapping on a third turbo!

So if my work Hilux doesn't rattle and my mates 79 doesn't rattle and need new injectors now, and I get a measured increase in fuel economy. It must just be a coincidence? Maybe it's all in my head.
Don't use it if you don't want to.

[PerthDisco]

My tongue was firmly planted in my cheek [emoji6]

Right up there with D.K.’s aluminium cricket bat.

[DI5CO]

This is my fuel consumption using an app. MY16.5 SDV6 SE with just all terrain tyres. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191207/e62444c2bd1bcf69c36e0c50c9c97b7a.jpg

[shanegtr]

Heres my total fuel consumption - overall average 14L/100. 2.7TD D3 - its fairly heavy at 3T with full fuel tanks
156165

[SimmAus]

Heres my fuel efficiency so far.
3.0 SDV6

https://www.aulro.com/mobile-gallery/3d39c84483ccef493546cdce0f982ef2.jpg

[Petetheprinta]

Excellent economy - at what average speed towing the block?
We were in no hurry, we tried to maintain 90-95kph where practical. Fast enough for us.

[WhiteD3]

In my 86k driving the SDV6 I averaged ~9 on a combined cycle of inner city Brisbane and the M1/Bruce Highway. Never towed but always had the Rhino HD roof racks on.

[Petetheprinta]

Peter, are these figures from the dash readout or calculated by you using actual consumption & distance?

Regards,
Scott

Actual consumption after we went through receipts on return, my partner kept a cost of every penny we spent. I must admit the figures were not all that different to the readout. I think because I didn’t reset after every fill. Only reset was after 9999 Kim’s as readout stopped there.

[StewG]

My MY2013 SDV6 HSE typically gets 10 litres/100km around town and 14 l/100km towing 2.5 tonne full height off-road caravan. Best ever average figures for a trip are 7.4 (Melbourne to Seymour - tug only) and worst ever 18 towing into a stiff headwind down the West coast. Tyres are Maxxis AT980 255/55R19 at 40psi front and 45psi rear.

Incidentally, I've got 60k out of the tyres (desperately need replacing now) and have not had any trouble at all from them over the roughest roads. Probably should put 50psi in the rear tyres when towing going by the wear pattern.