Mazda5 real-world Mileage numbers

[johnnieboy]

Took my 2012 Mazda5 GT on a trip from San Diego to San Luis Obispo and return: about 650 miles. I had to go get my son from college and all his "stuff." The car was loaded to the gills on the way home, but actually got better mileage because of fewer traffic delays through L.A. Gassed up on the way out on town and when arriving back home.

650.4 miles
26.235 gallons
24.79 mpg
24.15 average mpg per trip computer

Most open road driving was at 70-80 mph. My new TomTom GPS device indicated that my speedo was reading low by 1.0-1.5 mph, a result of my aftermarket 225/40-18 tires. Thus, my "actual" trip mpg was probably more like 25.2 mpg.

 

[twintrbo]

Ya know what johnnieboy? I bet some of your lowered MPG is because of the wider 225 tires and perhaps a stickier compound to boot. That being said I dont think the 2012 models get as good mileage as the 08-10 models despite what the EPA says.

 

[johnnieboy]

Yeah, I gotta say I'm not impressed with the mileage (although it IS better than the CX-9 I traded in). That said, I'll bet I could top 30mpg at a steady 60 mph. I ran into a lot of gridlock through L.A, plus running at 75-80 a lot of the time.

 

[johnnieboy]

Just finished another tank, this time around town:

198.7 miles
13.198 gallons
15.055 mpg
15.2 mpg per trip computer

 

[twintrbo]

I continue to be amazed at how low your mileage is. I was the worst here on the forum until you got here I do think it got better once I crossed the 5000 mi mark but I sense you are as bothered as I was since mileage was a major factor in the purchase. I took one mostly highway trip and managed to get 28.5 mpg on the tank, so I know it can do it, it just isn't good around town (especially with the AC, it knocks about 2-3 MPG off easily).

One thing I noticed about my car was that the tranny seemed to want to lug the engine at all times and upshifted way too early, causing me to give it more pedal than it would have required if it held the gear longer instead. Not sure if the 2012 acts this way too but you might try manually shifting it and see if it helps. Getting up to speed faster by letting the engine spin a little and into cruising mode sooner should save some gas over lugging it up to speed slowly.

 

[johnnieboy]

Generally, the shift points seem to be good. I do get into the throttle more than I should, though.(laugh)

 

[coolmazda5]

One thing I noticed about my car was that the tranny seemed to want to lug the engine at all times and upshifted way too early

I don't feel that in mine, weird... LOL

Long time no posting so here we go. The last 2 tanks:
- Mostly highway, ~75MPH, hottest day of the year so far (temp reader reached 108F), no load: 28MPG
- Mostly city, decent a/c usage, hilly, kids on-board 50% of the me, spirited driving: 22MPG

 

[mpvue]

I don't feel that in mine, weird... LOL

Long time no posting so here we go. The last 2 tanks:
- Mostly highway, ~75MPH, hottest day of the year so far (temp reader reached 108F), no load: 28MPG
- Mostly city, decent a/c usage, hilly, kids on-board 50% of the me, spirited driving: 22MPG

that's usually what I've been getting too; local mixed is around 21-23, which I think is pretty good, for lots of stop and go, idling, A/C, etc.
our old '96 MPV was killing us w/ 12mpg local!

 

[twintrbo]

I don't feel that in mine, weird... LOL

Yeah, they have yet to make a tranny smart enough to figure out what you want it to do. I let my neighbor with his 5MT drive my 5AT however, the punch off the line was startling for him. Out of the hole I would rather have the AT, everywhere else, the MT. I keep telling myself I will shift myself for a whole tank and see what happens, but I get lazy or forget halfway through. In warmer weather with the AC on, I make sure its in second for turns. On its own, it will always hold third and creep along unless you poke it a little, but then it downshifts fairly aggressively and works the car harder than it should.

 

[mpvue]

I've never been very good at driving autos either; I don't like the aggressive downshifts, and that you have to basically floor it to get it to downshift (old timers called it the 'passing gear') and I can never seem to get it to stay in the gear I want. some autos hold OD too long on an uphill until you actually start to slow down and the gas pedal seems like its too hard to push.
I've been driving stick for so long it's very smooth I don't even think about it. I've had passengers in the back seat who only realize the car is stick if they see the shifter and they're surprised; they couldn't tell when I was driving that it was stick.

not braggin, just sayin

 

[flcruising]

I guess that's why they give us AT owners the ability to shift it ourselves. I think it's all about what you're used to, though.

 

[Rockin03mp5]

i use the manual feature all the time. for some reason the car doesnt like 30mph. feels like it wants to go to 5th, but then it is close to the threshold of being too low for the gear.

 

[5zoom]

Yesterday I drove 750 miles, 90 percent highway at 70-75mph with AC on the whole time in my 08 5AT. I got 29mpg on the first tank and 30mpg out of the second tank. The second tank took me to 406 miles and the light had been on for 20 miles. I'm pretty happy with that, especially considering that I climbed a few grades. I just changed the plugs and the air filter(I'm at 75k).

While on the trip I utilized my scangauge and learned that the coolant temperature gauge in our cars is buffered(it doesn't move after the car is warmed up). I know this because it was 112 degrees outside, I had the AC on, and was climbing a hill and the temp needle didn't move. However, the coolant temp reading on the scanguage moved up from a normal 190 or so to 227. I guess the needle gauge only moves to the "H" when the car is overheating??? Kinda scary...

 

[johnnieboy]

Just finished another tank around town:

202.3 miles
12.712 gallons
15.9 mpg
14.8 mpg per trip computer

Although I don't always gas up at the same station, I always use major brand
stations and always top off my tank at least twice after the auto shut-off.

 

[twintrbo]

MPVUE, I hear ya, I've been driving stick for over 20 years now and will always have a car with a manual if I can help it. The last 2 models I had only came as sticks, AT was not an option Not all autos are created equal though, the newer smarter ones are getting better at predicting behavior and some even "learn" how you want it to shift. My sister had a 2000 Maxima and that thing loved to downshift, as soon as you stepped on it, it downshifted and went. Sadly the 5 does not react that way and its tuned for fuel mileage so it will upshift ASAP and is reluctant to kick down, I wish there was a way to remedy that........

Johnnie, my last tank was 13.30 gallons and 265 miles for 19.92 MPG. It worth noting that topping it off will throw your average off slightly. It would be difficult to ensure you topped it with the same amount each time. Theoretically, the pumps should all be shutting off with roughly the same amount every time. Of course thats theory, not reality, YMMV.........

 

[DKaz]

I'm not a good automatic driver either. Very jerky starts from a stop and jerky downshifts.

 

[twintrbo]

I'm rusty on stick when I take it out lately. I forget to shift and go all the way to redline, then I have no choice but to grab the next gear and dump the clutch (drive2)

 

[mpvue]

...My sister had a 2000 Maxima and that thing loved to downshift, as soon as you stepped on it, it downshifted and went. Sadly the 5 does not react that way and its tuned for fuel mileage so it will upshift ASAP and is reluctant to kick down, I wish there was a way to remedy that........

my '00 MPV was like that; I was excited when we bought it new that it had a 5 speed auto, but it would downshift if you even looked at it funny. it was hard to cruise on the hwy and keep it in overdrive. I wound up being very self conscious about it, concentrating/obsessing over mileage and trying to be as efficient as possible.

 

[coolmazda5]

Just finished another tank around town:

202.3 miles
12.712 gallons
15.9 mpg
14.8 mpg per trip computer

Although I don't always gas up at the same station, I always use major brand
stations and always top off my tank at least twice after the auto shut-off.

Yikes, that is actually a bit worse than my Honda minivan (city)

 

[Sounbwoy]

27.9 mpg calculated after a 4 hour drive (round trip) on Monday, plus the regular work commute (60 miles round trip) on Tuesday and today.
The Monday trip was driven at 75mph going with some terrain changes (but few downshifts) with A/C (front & rear) on. The return trip was slower because of heavy rain. If the amount of rain on the road increases rolling resistance, then maybe that's a factor.
The work commute is 65mph for as much as possible.
The pump stopped at 14.207 gallons when I filled up today.