Mazda3 owners...
 

I'm looking into buying my next car, and I'm strongly favoring the Mazda3. I love the styling, the features, and the EPA rated gas mileage. I'm just curious though, what is the potential for hypermiling one? Is it possible to get 40 mpg through conservative driving?

Also any thoughts/comments on the general aspects of the car are appreciated as well.

My sister has the 2.3 with the manumatic.

I dont think she ever uses manual mode and shes averaging 26 mpg but she doesnt drive conservatively at all. She does like 80 on the freeway at all times.

I think she would average 30's easy if she used fake manual mode and got into 5th gear asap. I'm sure real manual would do better as well.

Oh yeah its a very nice car too.

I like domestics but looking at the interior of that thing makes me kind of want a 4 banger Japanese car.

Some guys have the sedan and get 40 mpg, but I havn't seen much for the 2.3 hatch. The Speed3 has gotten 25 and 27 mpg by guys on cleanmpg though...I'm looking into this as well.

Too bad they won't release the 1.6 over here =/

I don't think you would get 40 mpg on a regular basis via 'conservative driving' alone. It's a challenge for us to break 30 mpg with the Mazda5 (which is essentially a slightly expanded and heavier 3). If all you did was cruise at 40 mph all day, then perhaps, but stop and go stuff will drag the average down, and you won't see a 40 mpg average at a 55 mph cruise.

I am just looking to get about the same that I am getting out of Troy right now. The two cars are pretty similar in size (the Mazda is a little lighter), aerodynamics, and horsepower... If I can get 35 I will be content...

One thing that I think hurts the economy of the 3/5 series on the highway is the final drive ratio. I can drop our 5 into 5th at just over 20 mph and not feel substantial lugging to accelerate slowly. But that means at 60 mph it's turning pretty close to 2800 rpm.

The flip side to that is that unless you are going at least 60 mph, any moderate hill will require a downshift to 4th. So I think they were shooting for a compromise between economy and not having to shift much on the highway. I'd rather shift a little more often.

Oh, and a 3 should easily get close to 35 mpg at 65mph with conservative driving. We often see 32-34 on our Scanguage at 55, so the smaller lighter 3 should be able to better that.