I "assume" gurney flaps in front of the tires help.
My 2015 Mazda3 has them in front of all four tires. I doubt Mazda put them there unless they help fuel economy enough to justify the cost.
I doubt I could discern any mileage degradation if I removed them from my car because of my inadequate ability to test, but I'd bet dollars-to-donuts that Mazda saw an improvement when they designed the car.
__________________
|