Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Mazda Protege Real World MPG
This topic is for Protege owners to share and compare their actual MPG.
"Real World" Fuel Economy vs. EPA Estimates
"Real World" Fuel Economy vs. EPA Estimates
0
Comments
Well, OK ... I don't own my 2000 Protege ES 5-speed anymore, but I did own it for five years and 91,100 miles. So ... here's what I got regularly:
Mostly city driving: 27-28 mpg
Mix city/highway (90% of my driving)" 30-31 mpg
Long trips on the highway: 33-34 mpg
Meade
I filled up with Chevron 87 octane until 50K miles, but since 50K, I've filled up with Mobil 87 octane to see if there's any difference in fuel mixture.
in all honesty, since the switch, I've been getting better gas mileage...around 28.5 MPG to be exact.
I believe that your location has to be stated, since different fuel mixtures are provided for different geographic locations, i.e., the fuel in Socal is more oxygenated than say, the fuel in Arizona. We should also consider emissions regulations...
so, as a caveat to all posters/readers, keep in mind that YMMV (your mileage may vary).
Gerard
On the freeway, it gets about 34mpg at a near-constant 72mph. I can get 38mpg if I stay around 65mph.
When I drive in a more sprightly fashion, it gets 24mpg. Ouch.
Yes, I keep the tires properly inflated, filters clean, and all the other stuff one should be doing to maintain high fuel economy. I think, though, in the end, a 2.0 liter engine is a moderately large 4 cylinder, and you're gonna have to keep the rpms as low as possible to break the 30 mpg barrier. One thing that continuously annoys me about the transmission is that highway speeds are maintained only with high rpms. 60mph equals nearly exactly 3k rpm in my car. That's just too high--and too loud! I wish the overdrive gear was reconfigured for a lower engine speed at that rate. Anyway, I usually drive about 70mph on the highway, so the rpms are even higher.
I bought the manual tranny to save money on gas--I never thought that it'd have the opposite effect. You see, it's so much fun to drive the pro5 that I find myself driving hard when I shouldn't be.
My brother's 02 civic EX gets 40 mpg--but I think the driving pleasure attained behind the wheel of my Pro5 is the edge that keeps me addicted to this car--regardless of the poor fuel economy.
What mpg were you expecting? Several years back, Consumer Reports estimated the average for an automatic at 25mpg so I would imagine a 10% improvement for the manual would be about right. Considering the spirited driving you're doing 28 mpg is pretty good.
Regarding the comparison to the Honda Civic, doesn't it have a smaller motor and deliver lower hp? Wouldn't that partially explain better fuel economy?
Other than driving at high speeds on the freeway, she usually tries to keep the engine speed low.
On my '99 LX (1.6L engine, AT), I average 31.5mpg. It gets lower with cold temps, so I'm getting about 26-27mpg now. If I drive a in a more spirited fashion, I can get my economy down to 24-25mpg when I normally get 31-32mpg.
2015 Mazda 3 Skyactive 6spd. auto 2008 Mazda Tribute S 4spd auto.
One thing I have noticed is that if you keep you heater set to any of the defrost settings or the heater setting it runs the AC at a low level. if you set it to vent or vent/heater it doesn't. I think it's for reducing moisture. Either way I find it annoying. You can tell by listening to the engine fan. If your sitting at a stop lighjt with the windows open and your engine fan comes on with it in defrost, the moment you switch to vent the fan quits. Odd that, seemed to help my MPG a little bit.
Thanks for your assistance, Howie.
I think my '99LX with AT (1.6L engine) hits around 2700-2800rpm when I drive at 65mph.
My '02 P5 A/T has 106,500 kms on the odometer, and I measure my fuel consumption religiously - almost as religiously as I check my tire pressure!
Normal consumption for me on a mix of hwy and city driving (about 60-70% city) with no use of AC would be around 8.5-9 litres per 100 km. This quickly jumps to around 11 litres mid-winter. Pure hwy driving has gotten me as low as 7 litres per 100 km. This summer I drove my dad's old beaten up '85 Corolla, and I had no problem getting 5 litres per 100 kms... Even though engine sizes are up, and cars are heavier, you'd think that car manufacturers could have put a little more effort into improving fuel consumption numbers. Here's to hoping the new clean diesels catch on real quick! A P5 with a 130 hp turbo-diesel - Yum!
I have to say I've really enjoyed this car. Very fun to drive and I have not had one single problem with it (knock wood). Still on the original Dunlop tires. Tread looks ok still, but they've lost quite a bit of wet-weather traction, so will replace soon. One of the things I really like about the car is that the first time others ride in it, they think it will be very uncomfortable because it looks so small, but they are very surprised by the amount of room once they get in. And I LOVE to take them around curves at speeds they would never consider in their cars. They are always amazed (and maybe a little scared). :P Awesome car.
The Mazda Club Chat is on tonight. The chat room opens at 8:45PM ET Hope to see YOU there! Check out the schedule
p.s. government ratings for miles per gallon in Canada are calculated differently than those in the States because of the use in Canada of Imperial gallons. US EPA figures are lower than those in Canada.
Does any one has an idea if there is any link between the timing belt and the working of the automatic transmission.
Any reply is greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
I would estimate 50/50 city/Highway with the city being fast speeds 40-60+mph but with traffic lights for commute.
I average 20mpg with normal driving and 28-30mpg on the highway at ~80mph average—I’m in San Diego—so that’s just average speed around here.
I drive it very hard however and am already on my second set of replacement tires and just had all 4 brake pads and rotors replaced.
I put on Yokohama AVS-ES 100’s and love them except for the ~12K lifespan.
The 20mpg has been consistent since my first fill up and does not change noticeably with different gas brands or octane. I have kept mileage info on every fill up since purchasing the vehicle new.
Happiest day of my life is when the OEM Dunlops wore out at 37K miles - they had awful wet weather traction. Replaced with Firestone Fusion Z-rated tires. I uprated the rubber to 205/50/16 which was way cheaper than trying to find 195/50/16 tires. The wider tire and stickier rubber reduced my mileage by 10%, but I got all of that back by slowing down.
What year?
How is everyone? I have been enjoying my 2003 Protege5 since I bought it Sept '07. It only has about 18000 original miles on it. Automatic. My question is gas mileage. I thought I would be getting over 30 mpgs with this. Not the case, I am averaging about 25 mpgs.
I drive 90% highway and drive a consistent 75-80mph. 27 miles to work then 27back. Just wondering what you guys are getting for mpgs.
Also wondering about my rpm ranges. Car seems to really rev from sixty up. My rpms are just over 3000 for 70 mph and about 3400-3500 for 80 mph. I use cruise control and was on flat highway when I documented this.
Just a touch of the peddle or a slight incline automatically adds 2-300 more rpms.
I really am not use to an automatic tranny, this is my first one in years. Last being a '69 Camaro, my first foreign. So I have no experience with their performance.
Is this consistent with the other automatics out there????
Thanks for any input,
JJBroc
Agreed. In Consumer Reports testing they found the overall mileage to be 25 mpg; exactly what you are receiving.
Mostly local driving with some stop-and-go and idling, and a light foot, I average 27mpg. If I let my lead foot get the better of me, this will drop to 24mpg.
On the highway, traveling mostly 65mph (on long trips), I get around 34mpg. Upping the average speed to 70mph, I get only 32mpg. At an average speed of around 75mph, my fuel efficiency drops to 29mpg. I avoid going faster than that to avoid 1) getting busted for speeding and 2) I can't tolerate worse fuel economy. :surprise:
I own a 2002 Protege5; 5-speed manual. When I bought it almost 2 years ago, I was getting about 27-28 mpg hwy and 23 mpg city. On the highway I drive 75-80mph just like you. I had a normal paper air filter....it was new.
I have since replaced the air filter with a K&N drop-in air filter. No difference in performance, but I now get between 25 and 27 mpg city and about 32 mpg hwy! Huge difference! Get a K&N filter immediately.
As for the rpm, the automatic is geared taller than the manual. With the manual, in 5th gear, 60 mph is just under 3000 rpm, 70 mph about 3400 rpm and 80 mph at about 3800 rpm. Fortunately, the engine is not loud so it's okay on smooth roads....on rougher roads the wand/road noise is quite loud.
Last gas was Sunoco 86 and I got 23 mpg. Worst yet.
On highway 1200 mile trip to Vermont from Ohio, I've gotten 35 mpg. I consistently get 32 mpg highway and 25-26 mpg city. The latest is something new. I'm changing the plugs, but it may be the Sunoco 86. Most times I use 87 octane (always whatever is the lower rated fuel available at the station).
I think it is well worth experimenting with fuel brands.
I've experimented with other vehicles and never could make the dollars and cents work out running high test and getting 1 to 3 mpg improvement on a trip.
When I had a Honda 50 mini motorcycle in college, I tested Shell, Amoco (white hightest), Mobil, and could get 2 miles per hour top end improvement with the good fuels (top end speed was 45-50 mph).
I think the same opportunity lies with brand research if you commute.
Gas up Monday with Brand A. Fill up on Monday with Brand B. Keep a book for 6 gas brands for six weeks, and then be loyal.
Calculate your cost, dollars per mile if your gas prices vary, and you get a real measure of which gas gives you the most miles for a buck.
ZoomOH
Hmmm, this seems like an elaborate test that may or may not prove much. I would expect that most national brands do not vary much in price or quality.
You may consider buying a K&N ...*30 bucks......U notice immediately better performance and fuel consumption.
Sure I remember the oil filter. But it takes awhile for those contaminants to get there giving those particulates plenty of time to do there damage. Don't forget that all that crud will also do a number on your oxygen sensors.
BTW, I got 35 to 37 mpg out of my automatic 2002 P5 (128,000 miles on her now)on my last trip. :P
I changed the spark plugs at 60,000 miles using factory original plug selection.
My gas mileage last gas up (in town) was 28 mpg.
I have also just recently put all season Kumho's on my steed, which doesn't help gas mileage at all.
I will report mpg at next gas up.
BTW the Mazdaspeed drinks premium only gas..
I rarely do any highway drives but i think i get somewhere around 28 hwy
It is a 5 speed and with my driving habits and with mileage that it has i am fine with her drinking habits.
Numbers have been fairly consistant since new -
Straight freeway, fillups before & after, Non-Ethanol gas, 37 MPG(one-time-best).
Everyday mostly freeway, Non-Ethanol gas, w/ or w/out AC, I usually get 33MPG.
Ethanol gas generally has dropped MPG approx 4 MPG.
Winter drops it another 3 MPG.
Urban driving about 20 miles each way to work. Average 42 mpg on same route when driving my 2009 Jetta TDI DSG.
Still love the Protege for what it is. Very fun to drive. Tossable. Even if it is noisy.
Interesting. You drive a diesel Jetta but call the Protege noisy. I guess diesels have improved.