Fuel Mileage question

[norman]

I am considering a Mazda3 with the 2.3 and 5 speed. I am wondering 2 things. 1) does this car require premium fuel? and 2) what are your real world fuel mileages with this combonation?
Right now I have a GTi and am getting tired of using premium fuel. I drive mostly hiway to and from work about 45 miles each way and am getting 32-33 mpg with the VW. I definately do not want to go down in economy.

Thanks for your help.

[alexlitov]

Why not get 2.0 if you need a fuel efficient car??

[norman]

I still need a little fun in the commute.

[goldwing2000]

87 octane required

I get 27-30 mpg with about 75% highway.

[dulog]

It takes regular 87. Here's a mileage thread to see what people are getting. Most of them have the 2.3 5spd: http://www.msprotege.com/vbb225/showthread.php?t=62130&highlight=gas

[MASTERNC]

I also live in the Pittsburgh area. I test drove both the 2.3 and the 2.0 versions. I noticed virtually no performance difference between the two. The mileage on the i version is better than it is with the 2.3 s version. Although you have to order A/C and power equipment as options in the i version, I have decided to downgrade to the i (I originally thought the s version would be the way to go). Just waiting for the '05 version to start talkin' turkey.

[blizz81]

I didn't post in the mileage thread, so here goes...

I've got ~1800 miles on mine now. Mostly city driving, maybe 25% highway...get 25-27mpg.

My co-worker with the 5-speed 2.0i has about 13k on his. He's about 80% highway. He said he gets on average around 35mpg. I've told him to calculate using the trip mileage compared to how much gas he just put in (provided he filled the tank previously), so I think that should be accurate...still sounds pretty high to me, but he does drive very conservatively and shifts at like, 3k almost all the time.