Any other Mazda3 drivers here?

[Beelzebubba]

Howdy folks,

I just discovered this forum a few days back and joined immediately. I live in the extreme northern suburbs of Atlanta and commute 83 miles round-trip at least four days per week. I also drive to Birmingham up to twice per month to visit family- around 370 miles each trip. Needless to say, I spend a fortune on gas each month- about $390 last month.

My current vehicle is an '06 Mazda3 s 5-door with 5-speed manual transmission. I bought it new on 12/17/05 and it just turned the 57k mileage mark. For the first year or so, I averaged barely 25mpg overall due to a lot of stop-and-go driving. I changed jobs and my commute became longer in distance, but roughly the same driving time (very little traffic congestion). Since then, I've been in the 27-28mpg range in the summer (A/C on) and can top 30mpg without the A/C.

I'm curious if there are any other Mazda3 drivers here? If so, do you utilize your DIS (Driver Information System) to track your MPG and other fuel calculations? It's the first car I've had with a useful fuel economy/trip computer, but I don't think I could live without it now.

Glad to be here.

Peace. =)