Mazda5 Owners MPG-Real World Numbers

mrbwa1 · May 2008

The 5 does seem to do a bit better than average. I get the feeling it's 1 vehicle where the best mileage is real driving and not the EPA test speeds. It seems like the 25MPH test crawl is a bit slow for more suburban areas. On the flip side, the new adjustments to handle higher speed for the HWY side also seem a bit off.

As an FYI, we did have 1 tank that was like 20.6MPG, but it was the dead of winter with daytime highs no more than 10 F and a span of weeks with snowfalls of 6-12 inches every other day. It was also parked at the hospital parking garage all night in sub-zero temps as we were having our baby. Still over 20 MPG is the worst conditions I have EVER seen are pretty respectable. The value of my insulated garage always shows in the cold.

rrhirst · May 2008

Your observation is correct, hondax2. The new (starting in 2008) EPA MPG testing is in theory more rigorous, and is SUPPOSED to represent more realistic driving habits. Like everything else in life, these are averages, and some figures will be higher and others will be lower. I'm grateful to be on the higher side. The same is true with my other vehicle (Saab 93) - I just visited my son at Penn State this weekend and did 36.4 MPG on the way up, and 34.6 overall for the 2-day trip (with in-town driving in State College, PA). The vehicle was rated at 30 MPG Hwy when I bought it, but again, most people do better than that. I'm VERY happy with the Mazda 5 GT!

01le · May 2008

I now have 270 miles on my Mazda5 and I decided to top off the tank this morning to get ready for a busy rest of the week. According to my calculations of the ammount required to top it off and the trip odometer reading (set to 0 before I drove off the dealer lot). I got 24.6mpg and that is with 110 miles on the freeway and the rest STOP&go city traffic. I am happy with that and I know as the miles rack up, it will get even better.

jonat1x · May 2008

We have a 2008 Touring with automatic transmission and at the 3,000-mile mark, with roughly 10% city/90% highway driving, some taken in the 65-70 mph range or faster, we're averaging 27-29 MPG - 29.7 on the last tank. I'm really impressed.

sgloon · May 2008

A long time ago, I believe studies showed that 55 was optimal to get best MPG :P . could vary with engine designs.

athenasius · May 2008

To achieve the best possible mileage you would be in the highest gear with the slowest speed. Yours speed would be constant. The real world factors you would have to take into consideration are tire pressure(generally the harder the tires the lower the rolling resistance) the wind (ie the slower your are going in the highest gear the less wind you have to push out of the way). You will also have to take into consideration the inclination of the road( ie if you are going too slow in the final gear this may not be the most efficient one for going up the hill). For in town driving the more gears the better as a general rule( baring in mind that the weight and space do not permit 10 gears lol) this would allow the best ratio for lower speeds. The number of gears does not make any difference in cruising mpg it is only the final gear ratio.

If you want to get the best mileage ever go say at 40mph behind a big truck, close enough to take advantage of the drag(not recommended as for the truck stopping and the police ticket that may occur lol), with the wind at your back.

ellenwood · May 2008

I like most of the posters are achieving better than posted EPA mileage ratings. I have a 2008 Touring model and have put 7,400 miles on it and am averaging 29-31 mpg on gas that does not contain the 10% ethanol blend. The 10% ethanol blend drops the mileage to just under 27mpg so I avoid it.

sofienyc · May 2008

Whoa...I just did a highway trip with my 07-5sp stick and got 32mpg!! Awesome especially with 5 people and luggage in the car and I was average about 65.

Love that!

mrs_t · June 2008

We just purchased our Mazda5 sport automatic yesterday and it should arrive on Wednesday this week. I'm thrilled to read such amazing MPG reports here! Glad we stuck with the Mazda5 over the Kia Rondo. Can hardly wait to test this baby out!

jonat1x · June 2008

Memorial Day weekend we made a 600-mile round trip from NYC to Chincoteague, VA with four kids in the car - ages 8 to 16 - and a big Thule box on the roof rack and averaged 27.9 MPG. At the end of the trip the kids said they had all been comfortable. I was astonished on both counts. The odo clicked past the 5,000 mile mark as we approached home so the car isn't fully broken in yet. I am THRILLEDF with this vehicle.

PF_Flyer · June 2008

After a day of fun in the sun, why not stop in for some chat with your fellow CarSpace members?

The Mazda Club Chat is on tonight. The chat room opens at 8:45PM ET Hope to see YOU there! Check out the schedule

kivo · June 2008

I got my Mazda5 about 2 months ago and I've just put gas in it for the first time! I'm retired and haven't driven much but I went 359 miles on 13.9 gallons ($55 for a fill up!), which comes out to 25.1 MPG for almost all city driving. I'm OK with that. Hope that continues.

maltb · June 2008

Wow! In 9 years you'll have fewer miles than I put on ina year.

dean1966 · June 2008

I seem to have found a way to even better economy.

At the last oil change, the mechanic talked me into a synthetic, (penzoil 7500), and the first tank afterwards was up about 1.5 mpg from what I've been getting.

The tank got 31.9 mpg, and that included about 90 miles of light trailer towing and getting caught in chicago hwy constuction. I would have expected on past experience to get 30 mpg with this sort of driving.

Its only 1 tank through so far, but I will keep track and report back with further tanks.

prosend · June 2008

am wondering at 70 MPH with the AC on and four people (assuming adults) and luggage if the 5 has ample power at that configuration? Also would appreciate any other input you would offer before I purchase.-Thanks

We just put 1400 miles on a trip to ATL from DC area. Lots of hwy driving. Two adults Two kids Full load of lugagge. My husband could not believe how fantastic the car drove. We were cruising at 70 the whole way. He could not believe it was a 4 cyl. engine. We aren't quite sure about the gas mileage, but it is around 30 mpg. I have a question about the gas tank. The manual says it holds 16 gallons. We never ran out of gas, but when we got close to empty we filled up and couldn't put even 14 gallons in. Is it really a 16 gallon tank?

mohaha · June 2008

I just got my Mazda5 Sport AT about five weeks ago. I like it fine, except I am not getting close to the MPG people are talking about here. Before I take it to the dealer, I thought I'd see if the folks here could help me look less stupid than I otherwise might. Here's the scenario: The car was delivered with a more-or-less full tank. Since I wasn't sure exactly how full it was, I didn't really check my mpg on that tank. The "check engine" light came on about three weeks ago, within a few miles after I filled the tank the first time. I immediately checked the gascap, which did seem loose, so I snugged it down. Then I waited for the light to go out. But two weeks later (with a minimum of two on-and-off sequences a day during that period), the check engine light was still on -- it had never gone out. When I re-filled the tank, I discovered that I had only gotten about 17 mpg (75% city, 25%highway). Based on something I saw here, I went to the local Autozone, and got sthem to plug in their reader, which confirmed that the light related to the emission system -- which seemed to fit with the (previously) loose gascap. (They also turned the light off for me, which I have since been told may have been some kind of no-no.) I'm halfway through my third tank of gas. Though the idiot light hasn't come back on, the gauge still seems to be going down awfully fast. Curiously, I went 45 miles before the needle got below "Full," but since then it's been dropping like a stone. I'm clearly not averaging any better than on the previous tankfull.
So what does anyone think is going on? Other than MPG, it seems to be running fine. Could a briefly loosened gascap have created some sort of mixture problem that would not be self-correcting? Is there anything I can do that won't cost me a couple of hours at the dealership?

gschulz · June 2008

I would head straight to the dealer if I were you and I would have done so long before now, even if they put you off with the old give it a chance to break-in thing it will be documented that you were there with a mileage problem (keep notes yourself too). For what ever it's worth our 08 M5 with the 75% hwy and 25% city (opposite of yours) gets between 30 & 32 MPG, 34-35 MPG HWY at 70 MPH.

bobw3 · June 2008

I agree...go to the dealer. If you have a combination of poor MPG and the Check Engine Light, it's probably a problem beside the gas cap.

nissmazlover · June 2008

Well, I really don't know about the whole check engine light thing. Knowing me, I'd totally take it to the dealer as soon as it came on and didn't come off after adjusting the gas cap.

As far as gas mileage goes, I don't think your experience is that radical. I live in NYC, and I know that I normally average about 20 to 21mpg in mostly city driving, even up to half city and half highway, and it can easily drop even lower if a lot of idling or lots of stops and starts has/have occured. It really depends in the area you live. I assume that most people here reporting on their regularly fantastic mileage live in more spaced out places - like country side, suburbs, etc. - where a lot of highway driving is necessary, and where they would consider having two or three stops signs as "city driving".

Now, on the highway on road trips and such, I have achieved really good mileage in my 5. But, again, that's only on pure highway trips, not regularly at home using it day to day.

So, my opinion, check the car in the dealer because of the Check Englne light, but not because of the mileage. In any case, I hope it goes well for you and your 5.

coolmazda5 · June 2008

Dealer trip is in order, that car is new so shouldn't give you any strange behavior. Good luck!

jky · June 2008

My MPG isn't measuring up to the sticker either. We live in NYC, and got a 2008 Mazda 5 Touring in April. We are consistently getting about 14-17 MPG in the city. I believe the sticker is 21 MPG for the city, so this mileage seems awfully low. We took a road trip to Phily with clear traffic all the way, and we got 21 MPG--all highway driving. We haven't had any problems otherwise, but does this warrant a visit to the dealer? Is there anything I should check on my own before contacting the dealer? Any input is appreciated.

riproy · June 2008

I would say yes. Your numbers are substantially lower than others in real world use. Assuming you had any air pressure in your tires at all, were not pulling a 20 ft camper, or driving with the car in second gear all the time, i'd say there is a problem.
Good luck.

coolmazda5 · June 2008

yes, that is low but I remembered somebody in NYC posted here low MPG in NYC with an 07 Mazda5 as well. I don't remember the numbers but one of the things that were considered are the fact that the NYC traffic was really bad, much more stop than go. How is the commute traffic jky?

jky · June 2008

We use it mostly for running errands (commute by subway). I'd say the traffic is generally comprable to any city. Lots of traffic lights, bumpy roads, etc. It's not like we're always in a traffic jam, though.

Sounds like it's worth bringing up with the dealer, though.

Thanks for the input, folks.

nissmazlover · June 2008

Yeah, those numbers are REALLY low, so that would warrant a visit to the dealer for me. Though, like I said, I, normally, average about 19 to 21 city in NYC, at least those numbers aren't too far away from the 21mpg EPA figure. However, on highway trips, I routinely get higher than the EPA figure. My best highway fuel economy was about 34mpg, which is a lot higher than the 28 EPA figure. Your numbers are a lot lower than those, so yeah, take it to the dealer. I hope it goes well for you!

mohaha · June 2008

I took mine to the dealer today. I'm still averaging 16-18 mpg intown. After about an hour, the upshot was "Since you're not showing any warning lights, and the computer doesn't show anything wrong, we have no idea." Seemed like a classic example of the modern overdependence on computers -- no professional curiosity at all. They told me that when the Autozone guy turned off the "check engine" light, it also wiped out any history of whatever caused it to illuminate. (It was almost certainly caused by a loose gas cap). They also tried (as I and some here anticipated) the old "Well, you don't have that many miles on it yet." I then asked how many miles I would need to drive it before I should expect to start getting the same MPG as everyone else, and exactly what change(s) would be taking place during that interval that would result in that MPG improvement. All I got was s blank look and "I dunno." The ever-so-nice lady at Mazda didn't really have a lot more to offer, other than buying gas at a different station, and the usual gas-pedal suggestions. Opened a file for me, too.

I guess I'll run another tank or two through it, so I can truthfully say I complied with their suggestions, and then take it back in if the MPG doesn't improve. All suggestions are still welcome!

coolmazda5 · June 2008

My MPG started getting stable after 2-3K miles
My only non-expert suggestion is to ask them to update the ECU with the latest code they have, other than that I would try a different gas station just to make sure the gas is not the issue

fatcheson · June 2008

Interesting, I live in Orange County California and I have owned the Mazda5 since March 08. I have had the same problem with low mileage within the city. I have been getting better MPG as the car has been breaking in but, only Hwy miles. This last Gas Tank and with an oil change, K&N Filter, Hwy Miles were about 31.5 miles--107 miles to 3.4 gallons-. In the city, today I got 86 miles to 4.6 gallons, not worth doing the math on this one. I use a Yaris for City Driving and the Mazda5 for Hwy.

jschner · June 2008

Had the vehicle for about 6 weeks. Starting out with a full tank of gas, doing an average of about 60% highway with cruising speeds upto 75mph we have 1638 miles using 63.5 gallons of fuel for an overall average of about 25.8mpg.

Highest tank average 28.5mpg 80% highway.
Lowest 22.0mpg with 100% city driving / no traffic jams.

hhr06 · June 2008

round trip from fl to southern new jersey last week 28 mpg highway.my question to all that are getting 31 or better mpg are YOU TOPPING OFF TANK? I ALWAYS TOP OFF TANK [am i doing wrong by this] if i had shut off pump at click mpg would have been better. from florida to new jersey by way or I-95 CHEAPEST GAS WAS IN SOUTH CAROLINA, LOOKS LIKE GEORGIA IS NO LONGER THE PLACE TO FILL UP GOING NORTH. ACTUALLY GAS WAS ALSO CHEAP IN VIRGINIA [who would figure that] driving a 2008 GRAND TOURING

gschulz · July 2008

We also have a M5, 08, Touring, the wife gets 30 to 33 MPG with most 31 & 32, 5000 mi. on the car. She drives 58 in 55 zones and 68 in 65 zones. 80- 90% hwy being more like urban driving, example it's 40 mi. to our lake house with 3 small towns and one small city to go through, I guess what I'm saying is that her highway miles are not without interuption. The city miles are more like suburban (city of 56000) with none like NYC or Chicago. She fills to the top as well as she can, at the same station and same pump as much as possible and runs around 400 miles between fills. We love the M5.

mrs_t · July 2008

We've had our M5 for three weeks now- it has a total of 335 miles on it and the gas light was on for two days (only drove about 15 miles in those days- maybe less). My husband filled the tank and it only took 13 gallons. Is it typical for the gas light on the M5 to come on that early?

That does mean we ended up getting about 25 MPGs on our first tank of gas. Mainly city driving. Not too bad. How many miles until it's considered "broken in"? Can we expect to continue having 25 MPG's on average? Will it increase?

Otherwise I've been very happy with our M5 Sport automatic.

nissmazlover · July 2008

Yes, that's one of the first things I noticed on my 5's. I had a 2006 5 Touring at first, and I noticed that the gas light does come on a lot earlier than in other cars. The same is true for our 08 Grand Touring, the light comes on a little prematurely, in my opinion. I can squeeze a LOT of miles while the yellow gas light is still on. Don't know if I should. But, with gas being so expensive, the longer I can hold out on filling up the car, the better.

I normally fill up with about 14 gallons - clicking the gas nozzle a few times, of course. The capacity of the tank is 15.7, so it has a good amount of reserve on it.

coolmazda5 · July 2008

I think the early light is great, especially for my wife

. If she would know how many gallons (my calculations are around 3 gallons) remain when the light comes up, she would dry the tank. She assumes is much less, so it is safer if you ask...

lavrishevo · July 2008

Percentage wise I bet women drive with the gas light on much more then men. I know my wife does. I have never run out of gas in my life, my wife.... hmm about 10 times in her car, not mine. There must be some genetic reason why. Maybe it has to do with emotions. The amazing things is she has her PhD so, it is not a lack of intelligence. :surprise:

thecs · July 2008

That's bunk. I am always after my husband because he won't stop and put gas in once the light comes on. He tells me we have another 20 miles or so to go, don't worry about it.

wp746911 · July 2008

for those calulating mileage, topping off or not doesn't matter, so long as you do it the same way each time. Just divide the mileage by gallons you put in and it will be pretty accurate. A few tanks of mileage calculations should average things out well.

kivo · August 2008

I just completed my second tank of gas and got 19.2 in almost all city driving. I'm pleased with that since the A/C was on all the time and I also had a scooter lift put in the car, as well as keeping the scooter in there, too. With all that extra weight (and mine too!) 1 think that's pretty good MPG.

dean1966 · August 2008

Just got back from a 5200 mile 14 day trip ( milwaukee to mt. vernon wa, down to crator national park and back through yellowstone and home) with my 06 manual shift 5. We were heavily loaded with the weight equivelent of 6 adults. The car actually sat low in the back.

I averaged 31 mpg, and in fact got about 31 out of most tanks. The high was 35.4 achieved by 50 mph cruising through yellowstone park, and the worst was cruising at 77 mph though south dakota, where I got only 27.

I now know for certain that the 5's economy goes downhill fast at over 70 mph. At 70 I still see about 30.5, but going 75 mph drops me another 3.0 to 4.0 mpg, not worth it at all considering the small amount of time saved. Roughly 15% more fuel to go only 7% faster.

Another way to look at it, if I could have done the entire 5200 miles at either 70mph or 75 mph with gas at $4.25/gal, heres what the cost and time would have been:

70 mph, 75 hours, 168 gal, $714, range on 15 gallons 465 miles
75 mph, 69 hours. 192 gal, $816, range on 15 gallons 405 miles

Other interesting items, my fuel economy was actually slightly better in the mountains, perhaps due to the slightly lower average speeds, and also the 5, even heavily loaded does absolutely great in the mountains.

Fun note: Going uphill west through the Cascades, I was easily able to stay ahead of a group of harley guys who badly wanted to pass. Going 75 mph up the 7% grades, they simply did'nt have the power to pass me on the short straights, and when they finally got around me on a long one, they found I was right on their tails on all the turns. I could actually go through the curves faster than the harleys.

Over 24k on my 5 now, and still love it.

kivo · September 2008

Just filled up my Mazda5 and got 18.7 in all city driving. The car has only 850 miles on it so I'm still breaking it in. I also have a scooter lift in the car and I always have the scooter in there so there is quite a bit of additional weight. I'm pleased with the results so far.

boloti_troy · September 2008

We went to Canada from Upstate NY. I kept around 70MPH most of the time which gave me 32 MPG; A/C was working, car half-full; had 500-1500 miles on it during the trip.

dr_who · September 2008

I have a 14 month old 2007 Mazda 5 Sport with manual transmission. Most of the miles we put on this vehicle are what I call "village driving", which means the engine is always cold, the trip lasts less than two miles, there are about 4 stop signs per mile, and speed never gets above 35 mph. In that kind of driving, my 5 gets 21-22 mpg.

Highway mpg is highly dependant on speed. If I set the cruise at 72 mph, I get about 28 mpg. If I set the cruise at 59 mph (which seems close to optimum for this vehicle; FYI, with the manual transmission in 5th gear, the engine is spinning at about 2800 rpm at 59 mph), I get about 34 mpg (actual range is 32-36 mpg), which is fabulous for a six-passenger vehicle.

Mixed "suburban driving" gets around 25 mpg.

The lifetime average of my car (driven about 50% in village driving, 30% in suburban driving, and 20% in highway driving) is 24.9 mpg.

Overall, I am very pleased with the way the 5 runs, especially being able to coax mid-30s mpg out of it at moderate highway speeds.

hondax2 · September 2008

Summary of mileage on automatic GT edition:

Open highway average (70 mph using speed control)--31.7 MPG

Mixed commuting (country roads and in-town)--29.2 MPG

Mountain driving (lived in VT over the summer and had to commute over a very steep pass at least twice a day)--27.7 MPG

Best MPG since I owned the car: NY Thruway--35.2 MPG
Worst MPG since I owned the car:
VT mountains--several days of windy rain--24.2 MPG

Oh, how I love driving my little red car! Zoom-zoom.

mohaha · September 2008

"Village Driving." Hmmm ... I like that term a lot. I've been wondering what I should call my driving pattern, which is similar to what you describe. I live in Marietta, GA, and "In Town Driving" is what people who commute back and forth to downtown Atlanta do; whereas 90% of my driving (work, daughter's school, MD visits, etc.) is within 3-4 miles of home. Except for weekly drives across the northern arc of I-285 for my daughter's Chinese dance classes, and one trip to see my folks in TN (360 RT), all of my driving since I bought my AT '08 Mazda 5 in early 5/08 has been "village driving." I've averaged around 20-21 MPG except on the TN trip, which was more like 27 MPG -- but I do have a heavy foot on the interstate. I wonder if I could stand leaving the cruise at 59 MPH.

kivo · October 2008

I just filled up my 2008 and got 21.5 MPG with all city driving and a lot of weight in the rear. I'm happy to get EPA figures, and the car is not even broken in with only 1100 miles on it.

ktjohannsen · October 2008

I also have an 08 Mazda5 AT with about 1100 miles on it. I have been getting on average 22.65 for city driving, which I was VERY pleased with. I use AC all the time (Florida - need I say more?), and I quit filling when the auto-shut-off does it's thing. When the gas prices dropped recently, just for grins and giggles I went on a highway (for the first time with this vehicle) road trip for a few hours. I filled the tank just before getting on the hwy; and again when I got off. 32.608 MPG!!! WOOHOO!!
I kept the speed between 65 - 70; and I had a bunch of art equipment, groceries, and about 5 cases of soda in the car.
I can't believe how much FUN this car is to drive. It's my first van, and I love sitting higher than in my old sedan. I absolutely LOVE this car

dan5678 · November 2008

The miniscule van has less than 750mi. I just finished the first fill up which I kept track of mileage. I even made an attempt at tracking how many miles I drove on "highway" trips. I came up with around 70%hwy miles and just a smidge over 27mi./U.S.gal. . My terrain is the middle of Missouri, no mountains to speak of, some rolling hills and what with it being Oct./Nov. not a lot of AC usage. I'll admit to having driven somewhat gingerly during this self-imposed break-in period(Glad that's over with!). I'm pleased at this point.

Dan

honestsoli · November 2008

2800 miles on the odometer. 2008 Mazda5 Sport with manual transmission.

So far:

first tank (all highway) was 28.5. It got better after the first tank, now it averages 28-31 on road trip at 70-75 mph speed.

On commute to work roughly 50% highway 50% city, I constantly get 26.5 - 28.5.

Very happy with it! I moved from a 2000 Mazda 626 V6 with manual transmission. The 626 got 23-24.5 commute to work, and 28-29 on highway trip. The 5 is more flexible, roomier, and only uses regular gas, and only slightly worse acceleration power.

gmjung · December 2008

I just purchased an 07 Mazda5 Touring with 34k on it, and when I got it from the dealer it had about 1/2 a tank in it. I topped it off and set the trip computer. I filled it up about 1/4 tank later and computed my mpg - 16. I'm now at about half a tank with 120 miles on the trip computer. Driving is almost all city, but I'm very light on the throttle. I would expect at least 18-22mpg given how I drive. I'm wondering if there's something wrong with the car I just bought, or if it's bad gas or something else. I know the car sat at the dealership for a while before we bought it, and that they replaced the battery before sale. Would old gas or a rebooted ECU (from the battery being unhooked) result in such poor mileage? I don't think I have a sticking caliper as it's not pulling to one side or slowing down quickly. I'm going to take it out this weekend and try to burn through the rest of the tank and put some new fuel in it to see if that helps things. Any other suggestions? Could the car have been misused by a previous owner in such a fashion that it would return such poor mpg? thanks

vg33e power · December 2008

If your MZ5 sat at the dealer for a while like you say it did, then I bet the low MPG is due to the old gas. When I bought my MZ5 used as well, it sat on the lot for at least 3 months before I bought it. My first two tanks only yielded about 250-260 miles. After that I usually average about 22-24 city/hwy and 26-29 hwy only or 280-320 miles per tank. I drive mine pretty hard though, hardly ever speed limit - 80mph constantly on freeways

Mazda5 Owners MPG-Real World Numbers

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