Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Options
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
The last few tanks of gas have been around 16 MPG. 100% city - short trip driving.
I have not ask the dealer about it - I know they will not do anything to fix it -
My daughter is using the Mazda3 as her daily driver - last week she drove a record 65 miles - one tank of gas is lasting about 3 weeks - so its really not costing much - in total $.
In my area of the "city" (just like most others)there are stop lights every few blocks - so its not normal to drive for a mile without getting stuck either - at a red light or behind slow traffic.
Maybe this is a good example -
We just bought an Acura TL - my wife and I now use it instead of the Mazda3. Since the TL has a trip computer I can tell you this - our average speed is 24 MPH and we are getting 21 MPG - before my daughter took over the Mazda we were getting around 19 MPG. So the Mazda3 is LESS efficient that an Acura TL.
Mabye there is something wrong with some of these Mazda3's. The Dealer was of no help, and I really can't blame them. They sell cars, they do not create the sales pitch, such as 26/34 MPG, originating from Mazda themselves.
All these numbers were for automatics. Many posters here have manuals. In a city such as NY is there that big a diffeence in mileage between automatics and manuals?
We've had our car for almost 9 months now and the mileage has been abysmal. Granted, I have not checked the tire psi for a while now (which I'll do in the AM), but I don't think it can fully explain the average of about 24.5 mpg in about 65 to 70% highway driving. I mean, to not even reach the EPA mpg on the LOW end, when most of your driving is HIGHWAY with little to moderate traffic, is ridiculous. I do a 38 mile round-trip commute with maybe 8 of those as city miles. Highway speed is 65 to 70. And we got the '06 when there were unsold '05s specifically for the extra gear!
My Cooper S w/ 6-speed manual (very short gearing, no less) consistently got 27 to 28 mpg on the same circuit. And I would push that thing much harder than I do the 3.
Does anyone know of any TSBs or ECU updates for this kind of issue? I've heard a few owners have this same complaint. Could there have been a bad batch at the factory about a year ago?
During the summer, I was driving down to Baltimore once a week (about 95 miles each way) and would get about 26-27 mpg. I must admit, I'd be doing at least 70 mph just to keep safe on I-95 as most of the traffic is doing between 70-85 mph. Then, I took a trip to Connecticut Labor Day wknd to stretch the legs a little bit and went the long, round about way in the name of less traffic congestion. I couldn't touch the 29 hwy EPA rating (got 27.8) even with cruise control stuck between 65-70mph.
On the good side, the M3 drives great, handles well, for the money, it was the best I could have gotten fully loaded in its class. The MPG just simply sucks.
Another anecdote: I filled up near the highway, drove all highway miles and the gas light came on at just over 320 miles. It came out to 27 mpg. I have hit the EPA highway numbers in my MINI (32 mpg) on the same route, but couldn't come close to it in the 3 (31 mpg).
The issue for me is that I would expect to get at least somewhere in between the EPA numbers considering I do 70% highway driving at reasonable speeds. Honestly, with my circuit, I was expecting at least 26 mpg (out of 25/31 EPA). The fact that I can't reach 25 mpg is bothersome.
I think you are proving my point that the EPA numbers are not representative of actual driving patterns. In the Consumer Reports September 2006 issue they rate the Mazda3 hatchback with automatic transmission at an "abysmal" 17 city and a great 35 highway with the average at 25 mpg. The fact that you are averaging nearly 25 (i.e. 24.5) confirms to me that CR is a better source for fuel economy numbers. The EPA is not doing consumers a service by providing inflated numbers.
Mostly city driving, I'm getting about 12L/100km wich the same gas mileage I was getting with a V6 auto before.
NOT happy at all, but the car is brand new and the AC is on at all time.
I'm wondering if using a ligher oil synthetic oil would help ?
Using Consumers figures in 10K miles the difference in fuel consumption between a Civic at 28MPG and a 3S at 25MPG would only be 43 gallons which would seem to be a good trade off for the extra power of the 3S for those who don't put tons of miles on their cars.
I agree with you! All that I was suggesting is that we use a reliable source of fuel economy numbers rather than those of the EPA. That way we'll all know what to expect before we purchase. Your dismay is in part due to the expectation that the EPA numbers are not being met. If you started out with the Consumer Report numbers of 25 mpg for combined highway/city driving, you may not be any happier but you would not be as surprised as you seem.
2850 lbs car
I thought you were referring to the Mazda3 hatchback automatic which is almost 3000 lbs.
a TSX (5spd auto) ... achieves better mileage with .1L more displacement, 40 more horsepower, and 250-300 more pounds to haul around. How do you explain that?
It's a Honda/Acura, that is, one of the best engineered vehicles around. I have not checked Consumer Reports for the Acura but I'd expect that CR would agree with you.
BTW the Acura is closer to 50 more hp and 350 lbs. more weight than the Mazda3 hatch.
Really? I wasn't aware of that. Could you recommend a website that talks about this?
Honda has been in Formula 1 for a while but have not been in the winning circle that often. But, then again neither has Toyota. What I find really distressing is when an engine blows up in a race. What is the audience supposed to think then? The manufacturer/driver is testing the limits of the machine, or, these guys don't know what they're doing. I've never seen a Toyota or Honda blow up on the highway or the local mall, thank goodness.
Do you think many car shoppers say - I am not going to buy a Civic because Honda did not win at Le Mans?
Well, as it turns out Honda was using a marketing campaign along these lines recently. Honda had a promotion using a checkered race flag and telling consumers to come in fast not to miss out on the action. The campaign ran during the period of the 2006 F1 races. What do you think Honda would do if their drivers won the F1 races? One might even ask, isn't part of the purpose of F1, Le Mans or any of these races to promote the brand?
Does this marketing work? Well, that's another story. I suspect like other media messaging the answer may not always be black and white. For example, GM may have fixed many of its quality issues on its vehicles but the long held view that the product line is deficient in quality is difficult to change. Which doesn't mean that they shouldn't market the positive message, but rather that it can take a while for the message to take effect.
If NO ONE KNOWS - AND NO ONE CARES - WHY IS THIS PART OF THIS DISCUSSION?
speed automatic.
I drive conservatively. About 50/50 city-
highway driving. I get 24/26winter
time-summer time I get 27/29. Highway driving
I am up in the thirties-32/34. Average about
60 to 65 MPH.
I'm aggressive as hell with my 5-speed 2005 Mazda3 hatch, and after 29,000 miles, I continue to get 27-28 mpg commuting, and 32-34 on the highway. I am astounded to read the claims about getting under 20 mpg. Something is very wrong or you're keeping your transmission in the wrong gear.
Meade
Still don't know much about Mazda's I see :P
only 326 miles on OD, went on a Thanksgiving Day trip to visit the "outlaws" (i.e. the wife's parents). we already have our winter gas here in CT, so an increased amount of ethanol in the fuel which hurts fuel economy some.
nearly all highway. cruising speed varied, depending upon which hwy from 55mph to 65mph. did some 70mph cruising and passing.
filled 'er up at the same pump in the exact same fashion as i did before leaving on the ~260mile round trip.
28.7mpg (calculated; don't remember what the driver info center might have read) for the trip which was ~98% hwy.
first 326mi avg ~32mph according to the driver info center and avg 25.5 mpg (calculated; don't remember what the driver info center said). did a lot of non-hwy driving the first 326miles, but was otherwise very gentle with accleration (only several bursts) and braking.
Geesus. I see little has changed attitude-wise since I was here six months ago. There's little reason to stay when one post in six months results in another belittling reply from a disgruntled Mazda owner who won't just sell his car and get over it. This used to be such a friendly and open-minded place. Gone again -- bye bye!
Meade
Still lovin our 3s. Got her some new shoes last week after the wifey picked up shrapnel in the left rear shoe. Bought B. F. Goodrich Traction T/A's and am quite pleased with them. I must say, we have the best of both worlds. We have the 3s for some spitied driving & the Civic for the practical side of driving. Very happy indeed!
The Sandman
I figure, come next spring when "winter" gas here in CT goes away and things loosen up a bit more in the engine that i'll do better than the 28.7 i recorded (trip finished with under 600mi on Odo).
The Cd of the MS3 is not real good (0.32, IIRC, but don't quote me on that number as it could be 0.01 or 0.02 higher - i'm forgetting), so higher velocities will have even more of an effect on MPG than it did in my '01 Audi A6 2.7T (despite its size, it had that nice gentle curvature to its top line helping to produce very low drag - a very low 0.28 Cd).
how about hills in your case? i'm in CT and my commuting route is rather hilly with some quite steep - this is NOT what is usually envisioned as Hwy driving. Like to see how it would do in flat Florida!
just did another MPG check today over the last 238 driving miles - been getting on it quite a bit more since it hit 600miles (now just shy of 800 miles). Did a fair number of full throttle accelerations most 3rd & 4th, but three from a dead stop on up to 80-90mph. Wasn't overly gentle at other times either, keeping the revs up a bit more by not being one gear higher than i really needed to be (the wide and ample torque plateau really is forgiving if driving one gear too high) - not quite like driving an auto slush box, but as close as one can get aside from a sequential MT - in a gasoline fueled car anyways; ignoring diesels here.
So after fill up (same gas station; same pump; pumped very slow; same painfully slow pumping method in fact) avg. 24.2 mpg despite this atypical (for me, at least) acceleration behavior.
good luck with your MS3.
Got Rice? You betcha' !!
Gonna be fun to go car shopping when she's ready in about 3 years from now!
The Sandman
Once I actually filled up, I got 177.6 miles on 8.904 gallons, for 19.95 mpg. Most of these miles were in town and at less than 500 total miles clocked on the odo.
I expect the mileage to increase as I get the engine broken in. I have already travelled about 90 miles on this tank and have barley gone under 3/4, much better than it was last time, though I have clocked a bit more highway miles.
'07 hatch 2.3l 5AT
I have a 2006 Mazda 3i with manual transmission, bought 07/2006. Have approximately 8300 miles on it. Fill it up with 87 octane. I average about 30 mpg with 50/50 city-highway driving, with some fill-ups coming in at 32mpg and some 29mpg. Lowest ever for me was 28 mpg. My commute to work is all highway (10 mile commute on I-66 into downtown DC), but about half the time there's busy stop-and-go traffic.
On a recent DC-Chicago-DC road trip for Christmas break, I averaged about 34 mpg, driving around 75 mph. On one tank, where most of the driving was done in flat Ohio and Indiana, I got up to 37 mpg, still driving around 75 mph.
So, overall, I'm satisfied with my car's mpg numbers.