FuelFacts

1996 Land Rover Discovery MPG & Specs — Real-World vs EPA, All Trims

Every gas trim of this model takes premium.

14
MPG combined (13 city / 15 hwy)
$5,014
est. fuel / year (today's prices, 15k mi)
Premium
gas type

Is the 1996 Land Rover Discovery good on gas?

At up to 14 MPG combined, the 1996 Land Rover Discovery is worse than average for a Special Purpose Vehicles — that class averages about 16.8 MPG across 1,455 EPA-tested versions, so it's on the thirsty side for its size.

Real-world MPG vs the EPA number

The EPA figures above come from a standardized dynamometer test, not the open road — real-world MPG typically runs a bit lower depending on your driving, climate and terrain. That's true of every car on this site, old or new.

This 1996 model was originally EPA-tested under the pre-2008 2-cycle method, which didn't account for highway speeds over 60 mph, air-conditioner use, or cold starts. When EPA overhauled the test for model year 2008, city ratings fell by about 12% and highway by about 8% on average industry-wide — and EPA retroactively adjusted every 1984-2007 rating to the stricter standard so old and new cars could be compared fairly. The MPG above is already on that modern scale — the window sticker on this car when it was new likely showed a higher, pre-2008-method number.

At today's AAA national average price — $4.68/gal for premium gas as of 2026-07-05 — the most efficient trim runs about $5,014/year (roughly $418/month, about $33.43 per 100 miles) at the EPA's assumed 15,000 miles/year, using an estimated 1,071 gallons a year. We don't estimate a cost-per-fill since exact tank size isn't in the public EPA dataset, but the per-100-mile figure scales to any tank. Current national average gas prices →

1996 Land Rover Discovery trims & fuel economy

Trim (engine / transmission)FuelMPGFuel/yr (today's price)
4.0L 8-cyl, Automatic 4-spd, AWDPREMIUM14$5,014
Where the EPA lists premium, that’s the fuel the maker specified for the mileage test — many such engines run on regular with slightly less power/MPG. Whether premium is required or just recommended is an owner’s-manual detail the EPA dataset omits, so we don’t guess it.

1996 Land Rover Discovery specs

What the EPA test-car listings record for this model year — every combination sold is a row in the trims table above.

Engine options4.0L 8-cyl
TransmissionAutomatic 4-spd
Drive typeAWD
EPA body classSpecial Purpose Vehicles
FuelPremium

Other years of the Land Rover Discovery

2019 Land Rover Discovery2018 Land Rover Discovery2017 Land Rover Discovery1999 Land Rover Discovery1998 Land Rover Discovery1997 Land Rover Discovery1995 Land Rover Discovery1994 Land Rover Discovery

Similar cars (Special Purpose Vehicles)

1996 Chevrolet Lumina Minivan 2WD1996 Buick Funeral Coach/Hearse1996 Plymouth Voyager/Grand Voyager 4WD1996 Ford Bronco 4WD1996 Land Rover Range Rover 4.01996 Land Rover Range Rover 4.6

Cars that take premium · Cheapest cars to fuel · Where fuel grade depends on the trim · Fuel guides

1 trim(s) · EPA FuelEconomy.gov data retrieved 2026-07-24 · fuel prices AAA national average as of 2026-07-05.