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2014 Mazda MAZDA3 S Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,315
edited September 2014 in Mazda

image2014 Mazda MAZDA3 S Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds long-term update of the 2014 Mazda 3 S.

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  • allthingshondaallthingshonda Member Posts: 878
    Why do you guys do this? This is why the gauges on cars don't give real time accurate readings. Fuel gauges will indicate empty even when there is still fuel in the tanks so ignorant individuals don't get stuck on side of the road. Temperature gauges indicate overheating before the temperature gets high enough to damage the engine.
  • mercedesfanmercedesfan Member Posts: 365
    @allthingshonda, I couldn't agree more. It drives me nuts that they beat this to death with every single car. Who cares?! Just stop and get gas.
  • greenponygreenpony Member Posts: 531
    I'd never had a DTE readout until 5 months ago. My rule of thumb has been to fill-up with about 50 miles remaining. I drive 50 miles to/from work; so that's where that number comes from. I don't want to risk taking it to 0.
  • bemybearbemybear Member Posts: 0
    Having a useful range meter that doesn't stop counting down at 50 or 30 miles is a useful thing. My car (2010 Chevy Malibu) messages low fuel when there is still 3.5 gallons of fuel left. That's 70-100 miles of range. If I bought fuel the moment of or before the low fuel message came up I'd be leaving 25% of my tank capacity (and range) untapped. Also, if I use grocery store rewards points, it takes the same amount of points to discount 15 gallons of fuel as it does 10.

    For these reasons, I try to go until I think I have about 1.5 gallons left which gives me some slop room for safety but has me driving for at least 30 and sometimes 50 miles with the DTE display saying range is low. I've never run out of gas in 20 years of driving and I've always been a range maximizer who doesn't buy fuel until I have to.
  • reminderreminder Member Posts: 383
    Not a problem, as long as you're parked in the gas station.
  • evodadevodad Member Posts: 135
    I like that although it's only half the story, how many gallons was the fill-up once reaching zero compared to the fuel tank size?

    our freshly departed 2011 crv counted down to zero, but when it got there it still had a gallon or two left.

    I tested out our 07 mdx when we got it and ended up getting gas with 2 miles left on the range meter. If I remember correctly it took 19.7 or 19.8 gallons into its 20 gallon tank.

    To those that complain about it, if you choose to waste more time stopping at the pump more often I have no problem with that, I save more time by not stopping and going until I'm near empty. I've pushed the envelope a couple times but never to the point of running out of gas. Perhaps one day I run out of gas and all that time I've saved gets used up, but again I don't push it that far. Or perhaps the fuel pump needs to be replaced, an easy/cheap fix that's more than offset by the time savings over the years IMO.

    Oh and you're complaining that these automotive journalists are TESTING a cars features/abilities and reporting on them so that you the consumer have the knowledge.
  • stovt001_stovt001_ Member Posts: 799
    The fact that it said zero when there very well could have been fuel sloshing to and from the sensor just illustrates how pointless DTE displays that go to zero are. After a certain point, and that point is a long, long way away from actual zero, the fuel level is too low to accurately predict distance considering real-world conditions of variable fuel-use, inclines, bumps, vibrations, etc.
  • whobodymwhobodym Member Posts: 190
    I agree, having a 2010 3s. But Mazda's notion of "current fuel economy" is absurd -- averaging over only 1 or 2 seconds. The number jumps around so much it proves nothing. Have they fixed this yet?
  • ajac03ajac03 Member Posts: 37
    @evodad. What's so difficult about stopping for gas? It takes what, a good five 5 minutes? People that let their tanks get that low consistently often get lazy about it and are often the ones on the side of the road. As for a fuel pump being a cheap a
  • ajac03ajac03 Member Posts: 37
    @evodad. What's so difficult about stopping for gas? It takes what, a good five 5 minutes? People that let their tanks get that low consistently often get lazy about it and are often the ones on the side of the road. As for a fuel pump being a cheap a
  • carchatter1carchatter1 Member Posts: 6
    This is good reporting. I think it's useful for anyone who owns a Mazda 3s. They will be educated that they are OK even for a few miles after their fuel range meter reads zero, in case there's an isolated event that warrants it. What would have been better yet is to know how far that Josh drove after the gauge read zero. I inadvertently got stuck in a situation in a Mercury where the DTE gauge said zero miles, and it still drove 17 more miles past that until I finally found a gas station.
  • carchatter1carchatter1 Member Posts: 6
    This is good reporting. I think it's useful for anyone who owns a Mazda 3s. They will be educated that they are OK even for a few miles after their fuel range meter reads zero, in case there's an isolated event that warrants it. What would have been better yet is to know how far that Josh drove after the gauge read zero. I inadvertently got stuck in a situation in a Mercury where the DTE gauge said zero miles, and it still drove 17 more miles past that until I finally found a gas station.
  • zimtheinvaderzimtheinvader Member Posts: 580
    This always annoys me when you guys hype up how great it is that the car "goes to 0". Unless you were completely out of fuel when that picture was taken that it is a stupid statement. My Mazda goes to zero and then it goes for another 40+ miles so zero is NOT zero. How is that different from another car saying "Low range" at 20 miles range left if it still has 40+ miles left?
  • zimtheinvaderzimtheinvader Member Posts: 580
    This always annoys me when you guys hype up how great it is that the car "goes to 0". Unless you were completely out of fuel when that picture was taken that it is a stupid statement. My Mazda goes to zero and then it goes for another 40+ miles so zero is NOT zero. How is that different from another car saying "Low range" at 20 miles range left if it still has 40+ miles left?
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