Land Rover Defender running costs and mpg

26 October 2020 by Lawrence Cheung

Parkers overall rating: 4.5 out of 5 4.5

Miles per pound (mpp)

Petrol engines	4.7 - 5.4 mpp
Diesel engines	5.9 - 6.5 mpp
Plug-in hybrid petrol engines	15.3 - 18.2 mpp

Low figures relate to the least economical version; high to the most economical. Based on WLTP combined fuel economy for versions of this car made since September 2017 only, and typical current fuel or electricity costs.

Based on "Weighted" mpg; figures depend on the proportion of miles driven in pure electric mode and may vary widely

Fuel economy

Petrol engines	22.0 - 25.1 mpg
Diesel engines	29.3 - 32.2 mpg
Plug-in hybrid petrol engines	71.7 - 85.3 mpg

Don't expect any to be cheap to fuel
...until the hybrid version arrives
D200 is the one to have for running costs

The Land Rover Defender 110 isn't going to be cheap to run, but in 2.0-litre diesel (200 or 240hp) form and driven reasonably gently, it has the potential to reach 37.2mpg on the 'real world' WLTP test. In the real world, we were seeing between 25-30mpg on the trip computer, but will report back when we get the opportunity to drive it further.

The 2.0-litre diesels offer the lowest running costs - but the six-cylinder versions aren't too bad considering the performance (on paper) on offer. There are no hybrids yet at launch, but expect those to surface by late-2020 or early 2021, depending on how the launch has been affected in the 2020 Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.

There are two diesel engine options available, encompassing the 200hp low-emission 2.0-litre producing 199g/km of CO2 and averaging 37.2mpg combined. The higher-power D240 is also available, see table below.

Land Rover Defender 110 mpg and CO2

D200: 37.2mpg, 199g/km CO2
D240: 37.2mpg, 199g/km CO2
P300: 28.5mpg, 227-228g/km CO2
P400: 29.4mpg, 220g/km CO2

Reliability

The old Defender sets a low bar to improve upon
Land Rover promises this one is much more reliable
Based on interior quality, they could be right

This is a large, sophisticated 4x4 and the Land Rover Defender 110's reliability will hopefully be better than existing models - especially in terms of overall dependability. Land Rover's build quality has improved immeasurably in recent years, and the company continues to work hard in this respect – but the flashy new tech in this car might take time to bed in.

The company does rank well in customer satisfaction surveys and generally Land Rover’s cars are seen as being robust - particularly engines and the 4x4 systems. Good customer service by dealers on the whole (some notable engine failures aside) also provides additional confidence.