HAS ANYBODY EXPERIENCE POOR FUAL ,ILEAGE WITH THEIR 3 5 DOORS? I'VE ONLY HAD MINE FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS AND I AM ONLY GETTING ABOUT 20-22 MPG ON IT. YES I DO TEND TO MASH THE THROTTLE AT TIMES BUT STILL? DOES MAZDA HAVE A NEW FUEL MAPPING CODE UPDATE LIKE ON THE RX8. MY BUDDIE'S RX8 HAD TERRIBLE FUEL MILEAGE AND HE FOUND OUT THAT THERE WAS A CODE OUT THERE SO HE WENT INTO THE DEALER AND GOT IT UPDATED. HE ALSO GOT AROUND 10 MORE PONIES OUT OF THE DEAL AND WAY BETTER MILEAGE . JUST CHECKING OR I MIGHT JUST HAVE TO TONE IT DOWN A BIT

 

First question. Is it a manual or an auto. With my manual 3 if I keep the rpms from going over 3,000 I get beyond awsome gas millage. Now of course it's a 3 so I don't always keep it at that . Whenever I go accelerating a lot I find that I get very poor gas millage. That car can suck gas if you speed. You never have to go over 3,500 max for normal driving and if gas millage is your problem that should fix it. As far as I know there is no new mapping code as far as I know. One would be nice.

 

Under 3000? It Is A Maual And What Fun Would It Be To Stay Under 3000. Well That Would Explain The Poor Gas Mileage. Thanks For The Reply.guess I'll Use The Cruise On The Freeway.

 

Ive had my 3s for about 2 months now and have put about 3000 miles on it so far. Its a manual by the way. If i keep my foot out of it i get about 26 around town and about 31-32 on the highway. But the second you break your light foot habits expect your gas gauge to plumet. If i drive more aggressivly, shift at higher points, accelerate faster, etc(im not talking about racing either) i get maybe 22 around town and probably only about 27 on the highway. This car is VERY sensative to driving style, and ive come to find, air pressure in your tires. Keep your foot light and your numbers will improve dramaticaly!

 

Thanks Jeffro. I'll Try To Be "lighter" With The Gas. It Is Just So Damn Fun Though. I Used To Drive A 83 944 And Which Was A Blast To Drive And It Seemed No Matter How I Drove It It Always Got The Same Milage. But I Tell You One Thing That This Car Kicks It's *** All Over The Place Except The Handling Which Feels Different Because The 3 Is Front Wheel While The 944 Is Rear Wheel But They Corner About The Same. Awesome Car My 3 Is. Love It!

 

21 to 22 would be right for agressive city driving. If that is mixed driving it should be better.

I get 28-38 with my 3i 5 spd manual 2.0L with easy driving.

 

I haven't hit 30mpg in my 3s Sedan so far, but I'm a lead foot. I drive mostly city, although once in a while some freeway. I've hit 26 - 28mpg when freeway is heavy in the mix.

3,000 on the tach gives me a nice 70mph, but the engine just loves 3K - 4K. I'm doing 100 when it hits 4K, and the responsiveness of the acceleration from 3.5 - 4K rpm is just plain fun!

 

I get 26-28 mpg in my 3s sedan. (2.3 liter, automatic transmission) I drive a fair mix of city and two lane highway. I drive fairly agressive but not terrible. I'm experimemting right now with very easy driving to see what kind of mileage I can get so I can decide whether it's worth driving boring

 

Thanks all. still having to much fun to be easy. the 2.3 just loves the 4 to 5 grand range. just put 10 gallons in her to day and I drove 220 miles. 20mpg.I'm getting worse .taking a 300 mile road trip this weekend to the beach and back.I'll see what it gets me.only problem is that my friends with a RX8 a 2gen RX 7 and a vw VR6golf are all going to.got a very very scenic route with a ton of curves and switchbacks plotted out for the trip there and i'll think we'll take it mellow and take the highway back. let you all know what it does Monday.

 

Remember that it takes a while for the engine to break in. After 10,000 miles or so you should see improvement in gas mileage and horsepower. That said, I also get poor mpg when I drive my 3s in sport mode and shift at high rpm's. When I commute on the freeway and leave it in automatic drive mode, I've got 29-30 mpg. Right now I'm getting 26mpg overall because I can't resist shifting myself and revving that lil engine. Just wait until I can buy and install a headers exhaust set up on the engine! I can't wait to build a BMW 325 beater!!!

 

I've had as low as 26.67 and as high as 29.73. (I keep a close look at my mileage) I really want to break 30.
One of my highest priorities in buying a new car was gas mileage cause I have a 62 mile round trip commute and a under 20G budget.
The Civic was to civil, the toyota corolla was to....not cool and both were anemic in their performance.( I thought).

The 3 was the only one that looked sweet inside and out, had some pep, 160 Hp worth, under 20G and claimed to get 32 mpg on the highway which 80% of my driving is.
I think if I baby the accelerator and cruise at 65 or so instead of 80 I met get it. I just cant seem to do that for a whole tank of gas!!!! You all know what I mean... zoom zoom

 

I am floating between 29 - 31. Doesn't matter how happy my right foot gets.

 

Than it aint gettin that happy!!

 

I totally disagree. With the intake and exhaust, it's hard not to have a heavy foot and hear your engine roar.

 

But to say your getting 29-31 with a heavy foot is just ludicrous...99% of the people on this board are lucky if they see those numbers...even with conservative driving habits.