Mazda 3 mileage

[Miller2]

Hi all,

I am thinking about trading my gas guzzler F150 for a Mazda 3 hatchback. What kind of real world mileage are you guys getting both highway, city, stop and go etc.. Being in Atlanta with our hellacious traffic I am going to opt for an automatic.

[clos561]

my ms3 which is turbo averages 24-27 mpg when i dont go positive boost...when i drive fast and stay on boost i get about 20 or less

[Dream]

I've been getting 25-27mpg with mine both hwy and city spirited driving. I dont think I have seen it go below 22. Im impressed thus far.

[utopia]

My trip computer average right now is 28.0. And i'm no "grandma driver" by any means

[TheDoc]

I manage about 22 daily driving around town... That's beating on it pretty hard because it's just so irresistable. Driving on the highway and keeping it civil I can manage upwards of 28. Keep in mind that that's the speed3... I would expect 3-5mpg better on the NA version.

[Akaveli]

The regular 2.3 non turbo I average between 27 to 29 city and 30 to 32 highway.

[wolverine_man]

I have the 2.3 GT in manual. It is still pretty new (900 miles) and I am getting 24.5 mpg, according to my computer. I had thought that these things estimated on the high side, but I am going to hand calculate my mpg. By the way, I drive about 60/40 city/hwy.

I think it will improve with more miles on the odometer. Still an improvement over my '07 Wrangler, which averaged 15 mpg!!!

[clos561]

this is what i do to calculate. if my computer says 20 miles left on the tank, when i fill up...say 5 gallons, i reset a trip milage counter and when the computer reads 20 miles left on the tank...i divie the miles i traveled by 5 which is the amount of gallons i put in

[Miller2]

Those are good numbers. Does the vehicle require premium fuel or can you get by on 87 octane?

[DredPir8Roberts]

91 octane or higher. Which means you need 93 since I can't remember the last time I saw 91

[brightwhite]

91 octane or higher. Which means you need 93 since I can't remember the last time I saw 91

Yep for the Speed, but the regular 3 only needs 87--not sure if he's looking for a MS3 or regular since he just says 3 hatch.

[3.slow]

My trip computer average right now is 28.0. And i'm no "grandma driver" by any means

Yes you are HAHAH! The 1/4 tank I am most proud of is an average of 4.35 MPG. I get about 19 MPG highway and 14 MPG City

[Miller2]

just the regular 3 not the speed 3.

[3.slow]

Get a stick. The auto's will put you to sleep

[wolverine_man]

Yes, get the stick. I couldn't find a manual S (i.e. 2.3) anywhere close by. I did test drive the 2.3 auto and the 2.0 stick. I thought that the 2.0 stick was peppier than even the 2.3 auto. Naturally, I ended up getting a 2.3 stick (dealer trade) without having driven one before buying. I'm happy with my choice. It's no Speed3, but it's not bad at all. I could never drive a slushbox on a sporty car like the mazda3.

[Miller2]

Yes, get the stick. I couldn't find a manual S (i.e. 2.3) anywhere close by. I did test drive the 2.3 auto and the 2.0 stick. I thought that the 2.0 stick was peppier than even the 2.3 auto. Naturally, I ended up getting a 2.3 stick (dealer trade) without having driven one before buying. I'm happy with my choice. It's no Speed3, but it's not bad at all. I could never drive a slushbox on a sporty car like the mazda3.

HAHA...I have a 30 mile commute in Atlanta traffic. A stick is not appealing in that situation!!

[wolverine_man]

HAHA...I have a 30 mile commute in Atlanta traffic. A stick is not appealing in that situation!!

I guess I am not sure what you are looking for then. If you are looking for a compact car that gets great gas mileage for commuting, you can surely do much better than a mazda3. Its mpg is near the bottom for its class. Honda, Toyota, etc. offer far better fuel economy. Granted, I don't like what any of their offerings look like, aesthetically. But if you were looking for a fairly sporty sedan or hatch, and I think you almost would have to get a stick, then the mazda3 is perfect. I have driven some vehicles with manumatics or whatever which do shift quite nicely (BMW M3, etc)., and the Mazda3 in my opinion is clearly not one of them. I would highly recommend the manual. Most of my driving is city, stop and go, and I still bought one as my only car. Your money though.

[Miller2]

I guess I am not sure what you are looking for then. If you are looking for a compact car that gets great gas mileage for commuting, you can surely do much better than a mazda3. Its mpg is near the bottom for its class. Honda, Toyota, etc. offer far better fuel economy. Granted, I don't like what any of their offerings look like, aesthetically. But if you were looking for a fairly sporty sedan or hatch, and I think you almost would have to get a stick, then the mazda3 is perfect. I have driven some vehicles with manumatics or whatever which do shift quite nicely (BMW M3, etc)., and the Mazda3 in my opinion is clearly not one of them. I would highly recommend the manual. Most of my driving is city, stop and go, and I still bought one as my only car. Your money though.

I'm looking for a functional hatchback that gets fairly good mileage. Pretty simple. The mazda3 seems to fit the bill. I may go for a stick but more likley an automatic as stated for the reason stated. I'm sure the 3 will be a spirited enough drive for me with an auto.

[crystalmeth3]

i currently own a 2.3l sedan, stick. no lie, if its all highway i have gotten over 35mpg on five different occasions, 200-500 mile trips both mountainess and not. Sounds high i know, but its for real. in the summer i average 28mpg with 70%hwy/30%cty and in the winter its 27mpg.

dont trust the computer numbers, do it by hand. i do every fill up.

[Akaveli]

The most I've reached was over 400miles on a tank :)

[wolverine_man]

Hmm, then maybe my computer is grossly underestimating my fuel economy??? I cleared my trip at my last fill up, so I'll first check how many miles I have when the gas light comes on. That should give me a general idea perhaps. Next fill up I'll have to do it the right way by hand.

[wolverine_man]

Guess not. I just filled it up, divided the gallons by the number of miles that were on my trip, and I am getting only 22.94 mpg. Damn. I hope it gets better than that after it's broken in. I have just of 1K miles on my 3. I was expecting to average about 25 to 26 mpg. My computer at the time of fill up said my Avg. Consum. was 23.9 so I guess that thing is off by 1 mpg in favor of my engine, not me. And I drove close to 70 percent highway on that tank and I only got on it once.