Getting 25% more milage than epa est.
 

I bought a new manual shift mazda 5 MazdaUSA - Wireless Tour - Gallery back in 06, a 6 passenger smaller minivanish thing thats kind of heavy at 3300lbs, but was rated at 21/27 city/hwy, which was way better than the 16mpg average I was getting from my dodge ram van.

After getting used to the cars very torquey and smooth motor, I found that I could easily short shift at 2k rpm and keep up with traffic. This combined with no speeding and avoiding brake use by either coasting in neutral, ( with engine running), or downshifting for engine braking has led to my lowest tank average being 28mpg, ( mostly in town driving) to a high of 35 mpg while driving a steady 50 mph through yellowstone park.

This is all while never holding up traffic or making a general nuisance of myself, and in fact my passengers rarely notice any difference at all.

I am psyched that the new version of this vehicle coming out next year will have a new motor they are claiming will do 30% better mpg overall. :)


Dean in Milwaukee

Dean in Milwaukee -

Welcome to EM! Cool beans on your Mazda 5 MPG achievements. When I first saw the Mazda 5's rear at a car show, I thought it was a "Mazda Fit". Then I walked around and saw the longer wheelbase.

CarloSW2

Great success story, Dean. The thing about the mileage game is you can almost always get a higher score. I'm at about 70% above EPA on my two
cars, and still finding ways to improve my mileage

good job now shoot for 40 %

Getting 40% above the city number may be possible, (29.4 mpg), with some more extreme measures, but its not going to happen on hwy trips as it took optimal conditions ( steady 50 mph cruise on level ground with no a/c or wind) to get the 35 mpg figure. A more normal hwy economy number is 30-31 mpg.

It still makes me wonder how the epa numbers could be so low, especially for the hwy number, as all I do to get 30-31 mpg is use the cruise and don't speed.

We will likely replace my wifes car with the new 5 when it comes out in 2011. If I can really get the claimed 30% increase that means 40 hwy mpg by just setting the cruise and driving. :)

BTW, I do suspect the 5 must have fairly decent aero for a vehicle of its type. If you do the math, to be getting 30 mpg at 65 mph means a road hp of only around 22. ( 2.17gph at 0.6 lbs/hp/hr)

Dean in Milwaukee

Welcome to the site Dean! Good to see a fellow Wisconsinite. :)

40% is definitely doable, but you'll likely need some aeromods to hit it on the highway. Good luck.

The EPA revised its mileage testing routine in '08 to reflect the way Americans really drive. Obviously, most of them speed, and ride their gas pedal like a dog in heat.

I had a Ford Aerostar and you could not break 24mpg even going 45mph with a tail wind. Some cars engines are just not efficient at their RPMs, that's when you start changing gear ratios.

Not being familiar with a 5 or Mazda, I will provide a comparison My Automatic 98 Buick Lesabre V6 (3.8ltr) tops out at a little over 38mpg driving slowly on the highway (actually allowing my speed to go up and down fairly significantly)

I believe that 50mph is NOT necessarily ideal, if you have a scanguage you might find letting your speed go higher and lower may yield far in excess of your 35mpg number holding a steady 50mph.

Good Luck