Petrol vs diesel

[Balga]

Hi there,
I have had my 06 disco 3 v6 for a year, the car was well maintained by the previous owner and drives like new despite the 220k km on the clock.
It is insane however how bad the fuel economy is 19 around town and 24 when towing.

Thing is I am planning to use it more for longer trips, and I’m a bit worried about spending money on a car with so many km, is the car a ticking wallet bomb? Should I sell the car and get a diesel? Which of the two is more reliable long term in average? By long term I mean to make another 100k km

[DieselLSE]

Too many variables, Balga. Selling a good 06 D3 for a good 2014+ D4 diesel will cost, I dunno, a net $40k I suppose. That pays for a lot of petrol. It also depends on the type of touring. If grey nomadding in settled areas where fuel is readily available, then the relative simplicity of a petrol engine is an advantage. But if you'll be travelling in remote areas and planning on installing a second fuel tank, then diesel makes sense.
In any event, you need to have confidence in your car. Nothing wrong with a well maintained older vehicle, particularly if you undertake your own maintenance and repair. Carry essential spares and a few select tools. If not, get it thoroughly checked by a good Indie at least six months before travelling.

[Aussie Jeepster]

I have a V6 petrol, and I love it!
We tow a 16" van and I'm ok with the economy - I didn't but it to be cheap to run!
It gets serviced every 6 months, and having just had a service, it is running like a dream
On country runs, I get 13 - 15 l/100k and towing is around 19-20.
I don't use it as a daily driver so the city fuel consumption is not an issue for me, but I wouldn't trade it for anything at the moment.

[TerryO]

If I buy another Disco to replace my dead 2.7 D3 it will only ever be a petrol powered one. I have no desire to own another diesel Disco. Nothing wrong with a V6 petrol D3, yes they do use lots of fuel but they tend to be reasonably reliable.

[Balga]

Too many variables, Balga. Selling a good 06 D3 for a good 2014+ D4 diesel will cost, I dunno, a net $40k I suppose. That pays for a lot of petrol.

Yes, most likely. I only paid mine $8k, and then immediately spent about $4k in a serious service, but still overall cheap compared to anything similar running that good.


It also depends on the type of touring. If grey nomadding in settled areas where fuel is readily available, then the relative simplicity of a petrol engine is an advantage. But if you'll be travelling in remote areas and planning on installing a second fuel tank, then diesel makes sense.

overall range is a bit of a concern, so I'm definitely looking into a second tank, or at least a way of carrying a few jerry cans.


In any event, you need to have confidence in your car. Nothing wrong with a well maintained older vehicle, particularly if you undertake your own maintenance and repair. Carry essential spares and a few select tools. If not, get it thoroughly checked by a good Indie at least six months before travelling.
I guess that the thing that worries me the most is the reliability of the air suspension, I had to change the two front struts and that left me wondering how much life the air pipes in the system have got left.


Aussie Jeepster][/COLOR]
On country runs, I get 13 - 15 l/100k and towing is around 19-20.

Closest I got in a country run was 15.5, but I guess the big muddies don't really help with fuel economy. What kind of tires are you running?

[INter674]

Our D4 SC V6 was 10k cheaper than an equiv diesel...petrol is cheaper atm and we love the 250kw of power esp when towing.

Sure range is an issue but we don't tour in it. Towing is a breeze. Worst fuel 15.8...best 12.8..ave is @14.5 but we live in the hills.

Much simpler engine to maintain albeit the SC needed a coupler and water pump fix but no belts. Plugs might be costly to do tho.

[josh.huber]

If you get serious about the second tank I think I know where there is one looking for a new home. Just pm me.
The diesel will be better on fuel per k. But maybe if you costed a petrol D3 compared to a diesel D4 over say 50,000 ks the petrol might be closer then you think.
I love diesels. I love my diesel.
The whole crankshaft thing, "is what it is" in my head. But inlet manifolds, hpfp, timing belts, oil cooler leaks, water junction (thermostat housing that isn't a thermostat) are all real items that cost owners. The hpfp not as often, but you read about it quite a bit.
With buying a 2014 you'll likely get something that's approaching these k's. If you're happy with the rest of your car I would add a tank and do some good trip planning. That'll leave you with plenty of coin saved from change over for maintenance you may require or better a longer holiday.
With the air suspension nothing to be afraid of with the lines. They are static and don't give any trouble if treated correctly when working on them. Trucks for example are covered in them and wind the clocks over multiple times on factory fitted lines.

[Fatso]

If i had my time over i would have gone petrol .

[TerryO]

Our D4 SC V6 was 10k cheaper than an equiv diesel...petrol is cheaper atm and we love the 250kw of power esp when towing.

Sure range is an issue but we don't tour in it. Towing is a breeze. Worst fuel 15.8...best 12.8..ave is @14.5 but we live in the hills.

Much simpler engine to maintain albeit the SC needed a coupler and water pump fix but no belts. Plugs might be costly to do tho.

Agreed petrol engines in Disco’s are so much easier and cheaper to maintain and the reliability of the petrol engined Disco’s has proven to be impressive in comparison.
Over 90% of people who buy these vehicles will never tour and of those that do the vast majority will only ever go where petrol is freely available, so owning a diesel is for many a choice more than anything else. We love our V8 D4, on the highway it averages 11 litres per hundred at around 115kph, at around 100kph it averages just under 10 litres per hundred.
Having towed a large box caravan sized 3 ton tandem axle trailer at the speed limit several times it averaged around 17 litres per hundred, which to us is no big deal either.

[DiscoDB]

Back when I was doing up to 45,000 kms a year, a diesel was the only choice for me. Now that I do around 5,000 kms a year - I would consider getting a V8 petrol if buying again.

The TDV6 is still a great engine and coming from a Td5 D2 I have not even felt the need to re-map the D3 yet. It never feels lacking for power and is easy to drive around town (secret is to use sports mode as it makes it more responsive and gets better fuel economy).

Great to see Ford continuing to give the TDV6 an extended life in the F-150, the new Bronco, and even potentially coming to the next Ranger and the VW Amarok.

[TFromT]

Anything with ~200k km+ on it already and, wanting another 100k km out of it: petrol for reliability and therefore, petrol to save money (and that includes the additional litres of petrol you may use...).

Now that the L319/320 have been out and about so long, the petrol variants (both V8 and V6) have shown that they give way less trouble over the long term. All of the 'restricted performance'/go-slow/crawl home events I had over 5 yrs/~100k km (there were a lot) were related to common TDV6 issues - EGR's, turbo/wastegate, never ending fuel system issues, gearbox/torque converter...

Yeah, the TDV6 goes alright, and it's not bad on fuel, but the restricted performance events get very tiring. These are on top of the other normal stuff that need attention like front end bushings, tailshafts, handbrake, wheel bearings, compressor, CANBUS etc etc. that you still have to deal with on the petrol models.

I'm currently looking to get back into the L319/320 thing, but it won't be a TDV6.

[scarry]

A lot of those diesel issues relate to the 3.0L or the D3.

The D4 2,7 has been the least problematic of any of them,uprated from the D3, with very few if any issues at all.
Whether it has fewer issue than the petrols,who knows,but it would go close.

And with a BAS tune it certainly gets along well,and the EGR’s will never have an issue.
But as others have said the rest of the vehicle is pretty maintenance hungry,and loves to empty the wallet.

[sharmy]

I have a V6 petrol, and I love it!
We tow a 16" van and I'm ok with the economy - I didn't but it to be cheap to run!
It gets serviced every 6 months, and having just had a service, it is running like a dream
On country runs, I get 13 - 15 l/100k and towing is around 19-20.
I don't use it as a daily driver so the city fuel consumption is not an issue for me, but I wouldn't trade it for anything at the moment.
About the same economy I get with my rotten (dpf equiped ) BT50

[WhiteD3]

I had 2007 D3 SE V6 for 4 years and 100,000k. Loved the car but yes, thirsty. The thirst was offset by the 64k drive away price I paid vs the then $82k for the TDV6. I retaught myself how to drive and after a year or so could average 14's combined. On sand it'd easily be over 30 [bigsad] I do remember it running out of puff close to 100 kph; couldn't pass a dodgy curry at that speed.

The TDV6 D4 was much better all around. The SDV6 a step up again.

[INter674]

About the same economy I get with my rotten (dpf equiped ) BT50

Yeah check out Dash off-road re towing a 3 tonne van with a Navara vs his old Y62. He says don't do it for safety and economy which goes to over 20l/100ks plus towing up hills is dramatically slower...so journey time is vastly longer.

Lady with a TDV8 rangie tows a 3 horse float and gets worst figures of 18l/100klms which is way better than her old 200s. On highway not towing she got 9s.

That car/engine privides the best of both worlds re power/economy☺

[Aussie Jeepster]

Closest I got in a country run was 15.5, but I guess the big muddies don't really help with fuel economy. What kind of tires are you running?[/QUOTE]

I've got Pirelli 255/60/18 ATR+ tyres, and just got home from Burra, in the mid north of SA - averaged 11.5 to 12.6 on the 400km trip there and back, sitting on 102-105kph.

[scarry]

Lady with a TDV8 rangie tows a 3 horse float and gets worst figures of 18l/100klms which is way better than her old 200s. On highway not towing she got 9s.

That car/engine privides the best of both worlds re power/economy☺

Dash read out or worked out actual?
There is usually quite a difference,particularly with LR’s.

[INter674]

Dash read out or worked out actual?
There is usually quite a difference,particularly with LR’s.

From memory actual. He also notes the rpm is high when towing and seldom gets out of 4th gear. I tend to agree with comments that the claimed 3.5t tow capacity is more a product of marketing than engineering in these vehicles.

[Balga]

Closest I got in a country run was 15.5, but I guess the big muddies don't really help with fuel economy. What kind of tires are you running?

I've got Pirelli 255/60/18 ATR+ tyres, and just got home from Burra, in the mid north of SA - averaged 11.5 to 12.6 on the 400km trip there and back, sitting on 102-105kph.[/QUOTE]


alright, time to dump my muddies then.
I guess another thing that influences fuel economy are the big roof racks that came from factory, but they are so cool I can't possibly get rid of them.

Thanks everyone for the input, I guess I'll stay with the petrol if I can somehow manage to bring down the fuel consumption.


Does anyone know if long range fuel tanks for the petrol exist?

[ChookD2]

Yes they do but you need to get the spare out from under and onto a carrier as that is where the aux tank goes.

163467

I don't have one but fitted this to make life easier if need spare in bush. Will probably get an aux tank later.

[Balga]

Yes they do but you need to get the spare out from under and onto a carrier as that is where the aux tank goes.

163467

I don't have one but fitted this to make life easier if need spare in bush. Will probably get an aux tank later.

that looks cool, where did you get it from?
does it work well with parking sensors?

[ChookD2]

that looks cool, where did you get it from?
does it work well with parking sensors?

Rijidij Off Road (https://rijidijoffroad.com.au/)

Not sure if I'm allowed to put up links like that but Murray is a vendor here. No issues with parking sensors.

[twr7cx]

You see some D4 V8's at absolute bargain prices. So much car included for the money. I'd certainly consider that...

[josh.huber]

You see some D4 V8's at absolute bargain prices. So much car included for the money. I'd certainly consider that...

I've been seeing lots of D4 at bargain prices lately. It's depressing

[twr7cx]

I've been seeing lots of D4 at bargain prices lately. It's depressing

Not for those of us acquiring... :D