2008 Sport's first looong roadtrip

[jujube]

Finished a week-long roadtrip in a new 2008 Sport Auto.; odometer at start of trip 420 miles. length of trip 2900 miles: Silicon Valley to Lubbock, Tx and back.

Some thoughts/comments:
1. Trip average mpg was 25. About 1800 miles of the total trip was through AZ and NM (Interstate 40, from Barstow to Amarillo); altitude about 4000-6000 feet, external temp between 94-101 F. Average speed was 85-90 mph, aircon always on.

2. 3 adults, 2 kids in booster seats. Sufficient space for luggage for all (5 rollaboards), and three grocery bags full of snacks. Vision in rear not obstructed.

3. Seats very comfortable, much better than the 2004 Camry and 98 Protege I own. Only complaint is that second-row seats won't slide enough forward if the headrest is up and seatback is reclined. Makes it difficult for 3rd row adult pax to exit.

4. Stock tinting on driver window was good enough that my left arm never felt overheated/burning.

5. Hood is short and steeply sloped so never had problem with glare from the hood surface.

6. Sand interior stayed cool, even when parked in sunlight while in Lubbock. Our host's BMW and Volvo has black interiors and both were very hot.

7. Cruise control above 68mph seemed to cause downshift to 4th at moderate incline. Cruise above 75 would downshift to 4th and then 3rd at moderate incline. After a few hours, got into the habit of turning off cruise in the hilly areas. Interestingly, the engine does just fine at 80mph climbing a moderate incline without downshifting. I suspect the cruise programming is too agressive.

8. Had people ask me about the 5 at rest areas/gas stations, including one guy at Buttonwillow McDonalds who asked if he could test-drive it a bit. We seem to have some very polite carjackers in Central California!

9. The other adults with me asked me stop telling everyone how much mpg I was getting because they said it makes me look poor; I told them I am raising two young kids and supporting an ex-wife and I AM POOR!



Conclusion: The trip would not have been as enjoyable without the 5. And the Asparagus Pee ("Golden Sand") exterior color has really grown on the kids and me!

FYI: Usual at-home driving (80% freeway at 65, 20% errands around town), sea level, has been yielding 28mpg.

Curious about something: Surprised that AZ, NM and TX gas stations selling 85 and 86 octane fuel; at home the lowest is 87. Would appreciate if someone could explain the reason, and the effect it has (if any) on the engine and the mpg.

 

[autoxes]

Octane is just a fuels resistance to burning, in your stock Mazda5, I'm sure the lower octane fuels have no effect, adverse or otherwise. In a car with higher compression, boost, etc, fuel with too low of an octane can result in detonation, which is the combustion of the fuel before the piston has reached the top of it's travel in the cylinder

 

[fam]

be careful that the e85 is not ethynol. Our motors arent specifically built for ethynol yet and you get really bad mileage in comparison to 87 octane.

 

[raspykart]

glad it was a pleasant trip for ya'll.... we've had nothing but smiles with ours on long long trips too. We don't usually haul butt like that, so we usually don't get less than 30mpg. I slapped a hitch on the other day in about 1/2hr, really easy on our cars.... so I plan to get a luggage carrier for long high occupancy trips.

 

[mrbwa1]

The 86 and 85 octane fuels are for "high altitude" environments. I don't know the exact cut off point, but it's 4000-5000ft in elevation. there is less air up there, effectively lowering the compression and allowing for the use of lower octane fuel.

My wife is from Southern Idaho and everything is 85 octane, so I had previously looked this up.

 

[fam]

Wowzuh, I learn something new everyday.

 

[coolmazda5]

9. The other adults with me asked me stop telling everyone how much mpg I was getting because they said it makes me look poor; I told them I am raising two young kids and supporting an ex-wife and I AM POOR!

I don't interpret that as making you look poor, you just make the rest look stupid with their huge SUVs filling up $100 a tank every 350 miles, while you do the same for $50

Back in 05 when I bought the 1st one the sarcastic comments were "Man, Couldn't you afford a real size minivan?" Now the comments are: "Wow, pretty smart buy, I don't know why people buy those massive gas guzzlers minivans and SUVs instead of something like this". Look who is grinning now (lol2)

 

[remarquian]

I don't interpret that as making you look poor, you just make the rest look stupid with their huge SUVs filling up $100 a tank every 350 miles, while you do the same for $50

Then there are the ones that bought their huge SUV last year, and have lost $15,000 in value.

 

[skyhawk]

The story is usually, they used to have a 4cyl. minivan or smaller vehicle then many years ago, they drove along the nevada desert or long steep hills and mountain climbs. To their horror, their 4cyl.. could not keep up with the flow of traffic. And worse, it overheated. This happened to my cousin who is residing in L.A. So the thinking is, we better play it safe and get at least a CRV. The husband got a dodge truck. The problem of 'lack of climbing' power is solved.

But in todays fuel prices cousin is practical too. They switched to smaller vehicle (dodge caliber), and kept the truck for special trips.

I think the problem is, with their nightmare experience of smaller vehicles in the past, It is difficult for them to imagine that today's smaller vehicles like the MZ5 can do the job without any problem.

 

[raspykart]

The story is usually, they used to have a 4cyl. minivan or smaller vehicle then many years ago, they drove along the nevada desert or long steep hills and mountain climbs. To their horror, their 4cyl.. could not keep up with the flow of traffic. And worse, it overheated. This happened to my cousin who is residing in L.A. So the thinking is, we better play it safe and get at least a CRV. The husband got a dodge truck. The problem of 'lack of climbing' power is solved.

But in todays fuel prices cousin is practical too. They switched to smaller vehicle (dodge caliber), and kept the truck for special trips.

I think the problem is, with their nightmare experience of smaller vehicles in the past, It is difficult for them to imagine that today's smaller vehicles like the MZ5 can do the job without any problem.

faith in technology

 

[opus]

I had a guy tell my kids " I guess your dad couldn't get you a real van " at a robotics competition about 18 months ago. His family was getting in their Expedition as we were getting into the 5. I would love to find out what he would be saying now.

 

[coolmazda5]

I think the problem is, with their nightmare experience of smaller vehicles in the past, It is difficult for them to imagine that today's smaller vehicles like the MZ5 can do the job without any problem.

A think is a good point, dad had a Suburban for his 4 children and everybody happy as a clam with the space and comfort. I think there it was a necessity. As per 4cyl my first car was a 1983 VW Caribe (VW Golf here) with a powerful 70+hp engine (naughty)


My comment was more focused on those owners (like at my kid's daycare) who only have one or two 2-5 year old kids, yet they drive a massive 12MPG Tahoe Z71 or a V8 Dodge Durango to the grocery store and to the school everyday. They need to basically "climb" to seat and secure the child's seat belts, completely unnecessary back in 1996, 2002 and today IMO ...

 

[perfecto]

I had a guy tell my kids " I guess your dad couldn't get you a real van " at a robotics competition about 18 months ago. His family was getting in their Expedition as we were getting into the 5. I would love to find out what he would be saying now.

"I guess you enjoy getting 12 miles per gallon?" would have been the best retort...

 

[deepfry]

I don't interpret that as making you look poor, you just make the rest look stupid with their huge SUVs filling up $100 a tank every 350 miles, while you do the same for $50

Back in 05 when I bought the 1st one the sarcastic comments were "Man, Couldn't you afford a real size minivan?" Now the comments are: "Wow, pretty smart buy, I don't know why people buy those massive gas guzzlers minivans and SUVs instead of something like this". Look who is grinning now (lol2)

I always like compact and efficient design for tools ... be it a car or a piece of equipment (of course it has to look good, too). To me it is just a natural thing but to many others it may not be. Most people that I know who drive an SUV do not care too much about the fuel cost at this point. Yes, the gas price is a lot higher now, but they can afford it and it is not going to hurt their standard of living yet. The funny thing is that the primary reason for many parents who bought one is: they don't want to be severely injured if their car is in a collision with another SUV! See the vicious cycle here?? (braindead

 

[skyhawk]

Yes, the gas price is a lot higher now, but they can afford it and it is not going to hurt their standard of living yet. The funny thing is that the primary reason for many parents who bought one is: they don't want to be severely injured if their car is in a collision with another SUV! See the vicious cycle here?? (braindead

Regarding Safety, I lived in Metro Toronto for 5 years.. during mild snow storms, driving along don valley winding highway, you can see vehicles in the ditch. Usually SUVs. It appears SUVs are habitually assigned to be driven by the inexperienced drivers in the family. ABS, Traction control, 4 wheel drive is/are believed to give margin of safety. And it does give enough safety to the passengers when the vehicle hit the ditch.