Mazda -- Most Fuel Effieient Automaker

As a kid I had a '87 Nissan Maxima that weighed around 3300 lbs with a 153HP V6 and 173lb ft torque... it was plenty of power for me and is close to what the 2.0L CX-5 has. I would have been fine with that.

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I lol'd because you'd get about that much body roll In a stock cx-5 if you changed a lane like that
 
Actually the Mirage is epa'd at I think 44mpg. But many owners on the forum are reporting 55+.
 
Mine had the manually adjustable suspension.... put it on soft and it would float around like a floundering whale. :-)
Man that's actually pretty nice; my dad used to have an Opel Senator (GM v8) when we lived in Germany... that thing would do 160+mph easy and had electronic suspension. It was a legit sleeper. Also, I currently have adjustable suspension, manual though :). If I put it on too soft setting at my ride height I will rub on bumps
 
We just returned from a 2300 mile vacation. We drove through a blizzard averaging 35 mph with 40 mph cross winds for several hours to extended 80, 75, 70 and 65 mph legs. Lots of driving in the Black Hills and a little "city" driving. Milage definitely suffers at higher speeds but one 40 mile trip of long, lazy downhill grades and curves averaged almost 45 mpg. The last very long leg at 65 mph averaged 30 mpg. Total mpg from whole trip was 27 right on the nose. These averages were all the cars calculations so take that into consideration. Temps ranged from cold to very cold the whole time so that might affect things too.
 
No need to kill for good mpg, just get the 2.0L motor! (thumb)

But I REEEEALLY wanted the Crystal Blue Mica and it only came with those parchment colored seats . . . and the OCD in me would have been rabid with cloth seats in that color (dog, kids, etc). So I had to go the leather route . . . and the 2.5L. Guess I'll just have to dream of 32.4 mpg (cryhard)
 
Just pulled into a Chicago IL sub from Naples Fl. 1350 miles with a fully loaded CX-5. Average speed was 62.5 MPH. 90% of the time was spent between 76 and 80 and the CX-5 delivered 25.9 MPG. Its a good road car and I am happy with the mileage considering the load and the speed.
 
Conclusion, don't drive 80 mph and expect to achieve the EPA highway number in a CX5. Shocking isn't it!
 
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Conclusion, don't drive 80 mph and expect to achieve the EPA highway number in a CX5. Shocking isn't it!
A bit shocking as we have to drive close to 80 mph on interstate highways for 75 speed limit; but other cars or CUVs we have, although they are older and less efficient, can easily beat their EPA highway estimates!
 
One look at the CX-5 huge grill should tell you its not aerodynamic.
Expect 27mpg at 70mph, and less if you go faster.
Expect 32mpg at 50mph on twisty mountain roads.

The engine is remarkably efficient for given conditions.
I'd bet the Mazda3 2.5L hatchback gets 40mpg at 80mph.
 
A bit shocking as we have to drive close to 80 mph on interstate highways for 75 speed limit; but other cars or CUVs we have, although they are older and less efficient, can easily beat their EPA highway estimates!

I would be very surprised if any broad scale testing or owner surveys showed models that consistently beat their EPA ratings at 75 mph.
 
I would be very surprised if any broad scale testing or owner surveys showed models that consistently beat their EPA ratings at 75 mph.

Well,here is the Grand Jeep Cherokee like what I owned, except the 2010 was the year I had...a little more efficient motor than the 2008.
http://www.fuelly.com/car/jeep/grand_cherokee/2008

You will note that the AVERAGE MPG seems to be around 17, and another peak appears at 21.

The vehicle was rated at 13/19 (15 combined). Seems like Fuelly supports my observations on my Grand Jeep Cherokee...it beats EPA ratings in the real world.

Now let's check out the 2011 Z06 I owned...

... http://www.fuelly.com/car/chevrolet/corvette?engineconfig_id=61&bodytype_id=&submodel_id=659

Looks like 20mpg is about the average of the average. 15/24 (18 combined) is what it's rated....looks like in the real world...IT BEATS THAT. Just like I said.

So what about my Trans Am I owned?

2001 6-speed...
... http://www.fuelly.com/car/pontiac/firebird?engineconfig_id=19&bodytype_id=&submodel_id=746

Resoundingly, 21mpg. What's it rated? Well, I could not split the auto and manual on Fuelly, but the auto is rated 16/23 (19), and the manual 17/25(20)
Again...most users reported BETTER THAN EPA RATED PERFORMANCE.

So what about the CX-5? Looks like 27mpg is the number.
http://www.fuelly.com/car/mazda/cx-5/2015?engineconfig_id=53&bodytype_id=&submodel_id=

Again, you cannot separate AWD from FWD, so we don't know how skewed it is, but... 25/32(27) is the FWD's numbers, and 24/30(26) is the AWD numbers.


Users failed to better EPA estimates.


So you can see here, that in relation to other vehicles I have owned, the Mazda comes up short in outperforming the "by the book" EPA estimates, perhaps even under-performing slightly. SO basically, what I am saying seems to be resoundingly accurate: I'm used to getting more than I bargained for with a vehicle. With this Mazda...there is nothing extra. It was made to "play the EPA game" and not for real-world users. My previous vehicles had drivelines that consistently outperformed their EPA ratings in the real world. The Mazda does not. I don't know how to make it any more clear than the above, so people will stop snivelling when I say my vehicles MATCHED EPA highway estimates when I was doing 75mph...they simply outdid that BS paper-world of the EPA in the REAL WORLD. The above is proof that it's NORMAL for those vehicles
 
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A bit shocking as we have to drive close to 80 mph on interstate highways for 75 speed limit; but other cars or CUVs we have, although they are older and less efficient, can easily beat their EPA highway estimates!

Yep! And I promise you, my 2010 Grand Jeep Cherokee was no lawn-dart in the aero dept, lol!
 
One look at the CX-5 huge grill should tell you its not aerodynamic.
Expect 27mpg at 70mph, and less if you go faster.
Expect 32mpg at 50mph on twisty mountain roads.

The engine is remarkably efficient for given conditions.
I'd bet the Mazda3 2.5L hatchback gets 40mpg at 80mph.
I agree, the engine is great, but Mazda gamed the EPA stuff and neglected the real world. I'm used to the real-world being awesome and the paper world not being so great.
 
Well,here is the Grand Jeep Cherokee like what I owned, except the 2010 was the year I had...a little more efficient motor than the 2008.
http://www.fuelly.com/car/jeep/grand_cherokee/2008

You will note that the AVERAGE MPG seems to be around 17, and another peak appears at 21.

The vehicle was rated at 13/19 (15 combined). Seems like Fuelly supports my observations on my Grand Jeep Cherokee...it beats EPA ratings in the real world.

Now let's check out the 2011 Z06 I owned...

... http://www.fuelly.com/car/chevrolet/corvette?engineconfig_id=61&bodytype_id=&submodel_id=659

Looks like 20mpg is about the average of the average. 15/24 (18 combined) is what it's rated....looks like in the real world...IT BEATS THAT. Just like I said.

So what about my Trans Am I owned?

2001 6-speed...
... http://www.fuelly.com/car/pontiac/firebird?engineconfig_id=19&bodytype_id=&submodel_id=746

Resoundingly, 21mpg. What's it rated? Well, I could not split the auto and manual on Fuelly, but the auto is rated 16/23 (19), and the manual 17/25(20)
Again...most users reported BETTER THAN EPA RATED PERFORMANCE.

So what about the CX-5? Looks like 27mpg is the number.
http://www.fuelly.com/car/mazda/cx-5/2015?engineconfig_id=53&bodytype_id=&submodel_id=

Again, you cannot separate AWD from FWD, so we don't know how skewed it is, but... 25/32(27) is the FWD's numbers, and 24/30(26) is the AWD numbers.


Users failed to better EPA estimates.


So you can see here, that in relation to other vehicles I have owned, the Mazda comes up short in outperforming the "by the book" EPA estimates, perhaps even under-performing slightly. SO basically, what I am saying seems to be resoundingly accurate: I'm used to getting more than I bargained for with a vehicle. With this Mazda...there is nothing extra. It was made to "play the EPA game" and not for real-world users. My previous vehicles had drivelines that consistently outperformed their EPA ratings in the real world. The Mazda does not. I don't know how to make it any more clear than the above, so people will stop snivelling when I say my vehicles MATCHED EPA highway estimates when I was doing 75mph...they simply outdid that BS paper-world of the EPA in the REAL WORLD. The above is proof that it's NORMAL for those vehicles

And the fuelly data you provided are all at 75 mph? No. You did notice that stipulation, right?
 
And the fuelly data you provided are all at 75 mph? No. You did notice that stipulation, right?

Well if the CX-5 can't better EPA ratings during average driving conditions, it sure as hell won't beat it doing 75! however, the other vehicles all trumped their EPA ratings by 1-3mph...which means...that they might just do it at 75mph, considering that on some occasions my CX-5 comes within 3mpg it so of 30 when on road trips.

My main point was, the CX-5 is the only vehicle I have had that won't beat its EPA ratings unless you hypermile it. My other vehicles beat them in daily driving. Example, above. Now when you have a sample size as large as mine, with data, let me know. Until then, I rest my case that the CX-5's fuel economy is a paper tiger.
 

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