Mazda5 real-world Mileage numbers

It's to the point where for any lights on my route (very few) that I know will be long, I'll shut the car off as well.
 
Got 398 miles on 13.19 gallons. Wonder if the increased MPG has anything to do with the bottle of Red Line SI-1 fuel system cleaner that I poured into the tank 1000 miles ago.
 
Got 398 miles on 13.19 gallons. Wonder if the increased MPG has anything to do with the bottle of Red Line SI-1 fuel system cleaner that I poured into the tank 1000 miles ago.

One tank doesn't show a trend.


On the other hand, after tracking our mpg with acar (droid) for months now my wife's typical driving nets around 20.5mpg. That's a huge improvement over the 14.5-15 our old 2001 Chrysler van got for the same driving pattern. With gas @ $3.90/gallon that's over $70/month savings for us.
 
30.4mpg on straight, flat highways between Raleigh and Greenville, NC. Running at about a constant 72mph on cruise in light traffic.
I think that's my best for the five speed manual I've got. I'm usually around 24-26 in town, and 28 on this same highway.
 
I bought a 2012 Mazda5 GT (5-speed auto) two months ago and have averaged around 17 mpg (US). My driving is about 80/20 city/freeway, and a lot of hills. I've been trying to drive very conservatively to see how high I can get the mpg.

Is 17mpg really possible under these conditions or is it more likely my car or computer are malfunctioning. Drivability seems normal.
 
80% city driving is automatically grounds for high gas consumption. Remember, 150+ HP for 3500 pounds is not a good ratio. that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I do 80% HIGHWAY and I routinely get 27 0r 28..I'm sure the longer the trip, the better..
 
I bought a 2012 Mazda5 GT (5-speed auto) two months ago and have averaged around 17 mpg (US). My driving is about 80/20 city/freeway, and a lot of hills. I've been trying to drive very conservatively to see how high I can get the mpg.

Is 17mpg really possible under these conditions or is it more likely my car or computer are malfunctioning. Drivability seems normal.

the largest single contributing factor to MPG is THE DRIVER. mostly local driving w/ hills? yeah, your MPG is about what I would expect.
 
Don't rely on the computer, do you own calculations. How many miles and how many gallons? If you have a lot of hills, try to reduce the speed going up and let it coast going down.
 
Don't rely on the computer, do you own calculations. How many miles and how many gallons? If you have a lot of hills, try to reduce the speed going up and let it coast going down.
As I said, I've been driving very conservatively, which includes what you suggested. The 17 mpg I quoted above is based on actual gallons/miles calculations - - the dash gauge has generally been 0.5-1.0 mpg pessimistic.
 
The most meaningful measure of MPG for any given car is to compare it against another/previous car. Following the same driving habit (daily routine), you can get a better sense of what the car can do for you. Never compare with someone else and using best and worst case scenarios are meaningless -to me.
 
...the dash gauge has generally been 0.5-1.0 mpg pessimistic.
So the 2012 dash gauges come with real-time and avg MPG display? <2010 have discussed to see if there was a way to 'unlock' like some Mazda3 were capable of -without success. Can you confirm if the owner’s manual has any instructions on the MPG display?
 
more meaningful to ME than MPG is MPD (miles per dollar)! it used to cost about $29-31 to fill up, now we're over $45!
 
So the 2012 dash gauges come with real-time and avg MPG display? <2010 have discussed to see if there was a way to 'unlock' like some Mazda3 were capable of -without success. Can you confirm if the owner’s manual has any instructions on the MPG display?
Yes, my 2012 Mazda5 GT has a dash gauge (computer) that reports real-time and average mpg, among other things. Whenever I fill up, I reset (zero-out) the average calculation so it will just reflect my current tank of gasoline. Of course, I also reset one of the trip odometers for the same purpose. Not sure what you mean by 'unlock' or what info you are trying to get. Can you clarify?
 
more meaningful to ME than MPG is MPD (miles per dollar)! it used to cost about $29-31 to fill up, now we're over $45!
How about MPP (miles per person), in theory a less efficient car carrying more passengers is more efficient than a very efficient car with fewer passengers :D Hey, it takes two cars to carry 6 people ;) but we have to bow down to the almighty mini/cargo vans!
 
we fit 9 people in a saturn ion before...

probably not legally.

it was a short trip, and not on "public" roads.
 
Not sure what you mean by 'unlock' or what info you are trying to get. Can you clarify?

See here. http://www.mazda3club.com/showthread.php?t=44448

All of the data points exist in the car. There is just no software/firmware to do the calculations. It looks like some of the earlier Mazda3 factory head unit had this –just not enabled. This was discussed before here and folks have tried without success. BUT we have found different messages. You'd have to look up the thread.
 
See here. http://www.mazda3club.com/showthread.php?t=44448

All of the data points exist in the car. There is just no software/firmware to do the calculations. It looks like some of the earlier Mazda3 factory head unit had this –just not enabled. This was discussed before here and folks have tried without success. BUT we have found different messages. You'd have to look up the thread.

Maybe I'm just being my usual dense...it looked like that thread was to figure out how to cycle through the various trip computer modes. Am I wrong? The "INFO" button on my steering wheel cycles through the modes, and depressing it for three seconds zeros out the average mpg calculation and the average speed (mph) calculation. The other two modes are instant mpg and miles to empty.
 
I live in Vancouver BC, which is cool 8 months of the year, we get about a week of below freezing temp in the winter, and July and August are as hot as Los Angeles. I average about 8L/100km hwy which is to say high 20s mpg. Is anyone aware of a mod chip or tuning that reduces performance but increases mpg?

I have another question: When I start the car cold, as I drive down the street, just as the car shifts from 1st to 2nd, it hesitates, almost like a misfire or a fuel flooding. It recovers at the next stroke, and only ever does this once per cold start. No idiot light has ever come on for any reason. Anyone else experience this? I can never get my mechanic to reproduce it.
 

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