Mazda5 real-world Mileage numbers

[flcruising]

That's what the new 'High Speed' test is for.

The EPA eliminates the unique conditions that we ALL drive, and gives a baseline mpg figure.

 

[Sounbwoy]

In reading many of the threads, it seems that the fuel economy for the 5 is a sore point for many. For me, I say, what are people expecting? With a curb weight of 3500 lbs. and only 153 hp-148tq and gearing to get to the powerband, I just think anyone expecting 30mpg on the regular, is seriously over-reaching in their expectations.
Granted, driving conditions and style are variables, but that will only get one so far.
I got consistent 23 to 25mpg with my 2007 Magnum with the 3.5 V6 and 18 gallon tank and that car weighed over 4000lbs, and running at 80mph, the engine was turning at MAYBE 2500rpm's. The 5's turning almost 2800 at 75mph.
Any less and it would REALLY have to be flogged which would have resulted in worse fuel economy. As everyone has said (but many forget) YMMV.

 

[twintrbo]

In reading many of the threads, it seems that the fuel economy for the 5 is a sore point for many. For me, I say, what are people expecting? With a curb weight of 3500 lbs. and only 153 hp-148tq and gearing to get to the powerband, I just think anyone expecting 30mpg on the regular, is seriously over-reaching in their expectations.
Granted, driving conditions and style are variables, but that will only get one so far.
I got consistent 23 to 25mpg with my 2007 Magnum with the 3.5 V6 and 18 gallon tank and that car weighed over 4000lbs, and running at 80mph, the engine was turning at MAYBE 2500rpm's. The 5's turning almost 2800 at 75mph.
Any less and it would REALLY have to be flogged which would have resulted in worse fuel economy. As everyone has said (but many forget) YMMV.

I think the root of the problem is the EPA ratings. Lets face it, with it rated 21/27 most people are expecting to get mid 20's no problem. When it returns 17-18, and youre not driving a rocket, its dissapointing. I personally dont drive enough to really consider fuel mileage( ~5000mi per year). But I know gas is due to go up in price again so I bought something that I felt would give me great mileage. In the end I am dissapointed by the mileage but I love the car so I dont dwell on it. For comparison, my other car is a 1993 Mitsu 3000GT VR-4. Its highly modified and produces over 500 crank HP and 400+ to the wheels. Its also full time AWD and 3800 lbs but it gets 16 MPG in the city compared to around 18 in the Mazda. Frankly, Ive thought often about trading up to a Land Rover LR3 but I just cant swing it financially at the moment.

 

[SuperJETT]

I compare it to my current and previous vehicle, a 2000 Accord 2.3l 4cyl auto and a 2003 Element 2.4l 4cyl 5-sp. In my normal driving, I get around 24-25 with the Accord and the Element got around 21. The Accord is shorter, slightly lighter than the 5 and the Element is boxier/taller and almost the same weight, so I'd expect the 5 to get somewhere in between them if I were driving it.

On the highway, I get around 30 in the Accord and the Element got around 24, so again I'd expect the 5 to be somewhere between, I'd be happy with 27 and I'm pretty sure it will do that.

 

[Sounbwoy]

It will. I just think asking a 3500 pound vehicle with 153hp to get over 20mpg in CITY driving is asking too much. Just my opinion.

 

[Rockin03mp5]

i dont think i have gotten worse than 22 mpg. i dont drive all city ever though.

 

[jeffc]

just did a long trip on the highway with the 5. Going down was kinda weird, its about 535 km trip one way but it seemed like I was only going to get 450 km or so on a tank. Coming back, tank was definitely full, got about 600 km on the tank or about 400 miles.

 

[SuperJETT]

We finally had a roadtrip this weekend, though none of the fillups we did were over 6-7 gallons so the accuracy isn't that great. Our Worst was ~24 and best ~28, about what I expected.

Our worst was better than the best our old van ever made on a trip.

 

[jandyp]

Trip

Just filled up after a weekend trip. On the way back, filled up 8.969 gallons after 237 miles for a 26.4 mpg. Pretty good, especially considering that I wasn't able to use cruise control much of the way due to icy driving conditions. Although the road conditions did make me go more slowly than I would normally drive, which likely improved my mpg.

I don't have stats on the way there, as my wife filled up the car, so I don't know how many gallons went in!

 

[markuszoom5]

2010 Mazda5 Sport AT - getting about 20mpg mostly city driving and average 15 Fahrenheit weather here in upstate NY.

 

[5for3]

I am getting my worst mileage ever. A few weeks ago I put some new 205/50/17 Sumitomo HTR Z tires on my 5 and now I am getting 18.2 - 18.6 mpg. I have the air pressures at 34psi all around, I live in San Diego, CA. so it's not very cold temperatures here. I have always gotten well above 20 mpg usually around 22 for 100% city driving, so I am losing a lot of mpg's now. Could it be the tires? Maybe they are really bad at rolling resistance. I remeber previous winters my low was 21 mpg.

 

[flcruising]

Could be your tires. Not to be the bearer of bad news, but they have a horrible UTQG rating compared the manufacturer's other tires. If you have the HTR ZII, you more than double the treadwear, but the HTR Z looks like it will wear much faster than you probably were expecting when you purchased.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Sumitomo&tireModel=HTR+Z

My only suggestion is to run them closer to 38-42 PSI (cold pressure). The downside is that the ride may become harsh.

 

[DKaz]

I hate winter gas and can't wait to get my all season tires back on! I'm going to be riding on Pirelli P4 All Seasons for the next two summers.

 

[5zoom]

I'm in San Diego as well and am running Michelin Exaltos. I'm getting about 24-28mpg, with the occasionally 30+ for highway driving at speeds below 72. My only explanation for the poor mpg might be the defroster, which automatically turns on the A/C. Once my windows are clear, I immediately turn off the defroster.

 

[5for3]

Thanks for the replies. Ya, the Sumitomos definately have a poor UTQG but I new what I was getting as far as tread wear goes, it's like 180 I think. But the price was right for my current situation, so no choice. As far as the defroster, I haven't had to use the defroster yet and I haven't used the A/C for over a month. So, it looks like my initial up front savings on cheap tires will cost me dearly in the long run. Luckily they will probably only last 10,000 miles with a 180 rating (I hope).

 

[twintrbo]

The UTQG treadwear numbers are not life expectancy of the tire. They only correspond to tires from the same company.

That being said, 4 MPG is a lot so what about:
Sunroof or windows open more often
Bad alignment
Bad caliper
Different gas station or brand of gas
Added a rack

Any of these ring a bell?

 

[5for3]

Good ideas twinturbo, I should have my alignment checked. Though nothing seems outa whack with the alignment it's sure worth checking out. I will have them check the calipers, too. As far as brand of gas I almost always use the same station by my house (90% of the time) unless I am traveling and other brands are readily available. As far as windows down, actually not to often at all as the weather isn't really permitting for my comfort. No sunroof or rack on this one. Yes, 4mpg is crazy scary big difference from what I usually get. So I checked other websites and found that some people (very very few)with other brands of cars have experienced worst mpg's when changing makes/ models of tires. But only like 1 - 2 mpg's differnce, so I will book an appointment with the dealer and have it checked out.

 

[twintrbo]

Its worth checking it. I had my VR-4 aligned when I got my new Bridgestone S-02's. The car tracked fine and was otherwise normal, at about 2000mi I went under to look at something unrelated and the front inner edges of the tires were bald, almost to the cords! I went back and they tried to talk me into believing I drove the car hard. Long story short, the tires were prorated and they realigned the car, it was way out of whack and the new tech said "I dont know why they let that guy do alignments, hes awful."

 

[thaxman]

I personally dont drive enough to really consider fuel mileage( ~5000mi per year). But I know gas is due to go up in price again so I bought something that I felt would give me great mileage. In the end I am dissapointed by the mileage but I love the car so I dont dwell on it. For comparison, my other car is a 1993 Mitsu 3000GT VR-4. Its highly modified and produces over 500 crank HP and 400+ to the wheels. Its also full time AWD and 3800 lbs but it gets 16 MPG in the city compared to around 18 in the Mazda. Frankly, Ive thought often about trading up to a Land Rover LR3 but I just cant swing it financially at the moment.

Hey, twintrbo, how long are your trips for you to be putting so few mi on the 5 annually? I ask this b/c I used to have a CRX 5MT that got 29 mpg city when I drove it like I stole it. Bought a replacement car, and put it up for sale. Only drove it occasionally, mostly distances <1mi, and I burned through a 1/2 tank @ something like 12 mpg. Turns out I parked it, would move it to put advertise it for sale, let it sit, then came back for it, parked it, drove it to the store & back, etc. I don't think the car ever reached operating temps that entire 1/2 tank.

 

[twintrbo]

Very short, I only go 4-5 miles round trip sometimes, longer trips are about 20. I know my driving habits kill the mileage but this is how my life is arranged right now. I walk whenever I can but I cant go grocery shopping for the week on foot I did notice the 5 takes an unusually long amount of time to warm up though.