Going from a 2007 Mazda3 GT (hatchback) to a CX-5

I just purchased a 2013 Mazda CX-5 GS AWD in zeal red (my first color choice was sky blue, but they only had the blue in a base model and I didn't want to wait any longer, plus the red was a very close second!). I've wanted one since Mazda first introduced them, so I'm pretty excited. I am picking it up from the dealer on Thursday once the winter tires I ordered are installed.
I am going from a 2007 Mazda 3 GT hatchback and I'm wondering how different I will find this in terms of MPG? My car gets pretty bad mileage, I'm Canadian so measured in Liters, I average 10 l/100 km, which isn't great for a car. That is 90% highway driving.

Anyone else who went from a 3 to the CX-5 have opinions on the switch in general?

I went from a 07 Mazda 6s Hatchback to the FWD CX5 manual and have absolutely no regrets. I bought my CX5 in June and have over 20,000 miles on it now. I averaged about 23 mpg with the 6 (sorry I don't have the conversion handy) and have jumped to 30.5 in the CX5 (roof rack and cargo box on both). I noticed no change in mpg when switching to winter tires surprisingly. I wish I was able to get more options (40/20/40 rear seats, heated seats, etc) but I wanted the manual more. It's solid in the snow and being underpowered actually is an asset when the roads are slick. With the manual I have no problem with passing, just have to plan for it more.

I went from a Mazda 3 GT sedan to my CX-5 AWD, unfortunately back then I wasn't tracking gas usage as much with fuelly, but it seems to use about the same amounts of fuel for the same driving to me, which isn't that bad considering the CX-5 is bigger and has AWD… Your 3 being a hatchback may increase fuel use over mine though.

Give or take, this is my average since I got it: http://www.fuelly.com/driver/sefirosu/cx5 and keep in mind that I am not necessarily driving in the most economic fashion at times…

amandaslvr89 said:

I just purchased a 2013 Mazda CX-5 GS AWD in zeal red (my first color choice was sky blue, but they only had the blue in a base model and I didn't want to wait any longer, plus the red was a very close second!). I've wanted one since Mazda first introduced them, so I'm pretty excited. I am picking it up from the dealer on Thursday once the winter tires I ordered are installed.
I am going from a 2007 Mazda 3 GT hatchback and I'm wondering how different I will find this in terms of MPG? My car gets pretty bad mileage, I'm Canadian so measured in Liters, I average 10 l/100 km, which isn't great for a car. That is 90% highway driving.

Anyone else who went from a 3 to the CX-5 have opinions on the switch in general?

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made the exact same switch. 07 avg mpg was around 24-25 mpg. vc5 avg mpg is 28-31.

thats a big diff. where the 07 depleted the last bar on the fuel guage at 450km, the cx hits 450km when it hits the 3/4 mark. no lie. (i have a cx base model in manual)

\more space, roomy, engine sounds and feels great, good power. Even the radio is much better.

There is much talk about people worried about the car being underpowered, which is not true. Actually if you look at the power to weight ratio, it's about the same as an older CRV.

The engine has it's own character, below 3000km, really, the CX5 doesn't have much power, but once you rev it past 3k, you wouldn't miss a beat and the car feels as punchy as the 07 hatch. Which is fine since if you're tooling around the city, below 3k rpm you're just cruisin anyways.\

The only people who i'd warn away from the CX are people who want stump-pulling torque. Even the upcoming 2.5 skyactiv will not deliver this. You need to get a good V6 for power below 3k rpm, and that goes for any car. The 2.5 will feel just a little bit more 'normal' below 3k, that's all.

you won't regret the switch. fuel mileage-wise, i'm getting a full 1/4 of a tank more.

Also come from a Mazda 3 but a "Speed" 2007, went from 13.0l/100km (premium) to around 10l/100km.
I do really short trip to work, around 17km one way and when our CX5 are cold it get's really bad milleage.
Lately it's been -15/-20 so im getting around 11l/100km but it's way better than my Speed and i love the AWD.
Congrats on the purchase!!!

watermelon said:

you won't regret the switch. fuel mileage-wise, i'm getting a full 1/4 of a tank more.

Click to expand...

Fuel mileage = miles driven / amount added, 3 tank average for best results.

I didnt have a 3 before my CX5, but I originally went to the Mazda dealer to buy a Skyactiv mazda3 hatch. My wife sat in the passenger seat and then in the back and declared the car too small for her taste. She's not a big lady mind you, but I think she was considering baby seats and carrying around the in-laws when they visit. With that kiss of death I didnt get to test drive the skyactiv 3 (rolleyes)
The CX5 was a clear winner for wife and family though, and I've found the cargo space useful for my fishing and kayaking needs. The lifetime avg mpg for my car is hovering at 30mpg which is around 7.8L/100km if I did the math right?