Couple of strange things I noticed on my first long trip. First filling the gas tank with fuel on first cut off stops 3 to 3.5 gallons shy of total tank capacity. If the gas pump has a slow pump handle I can put an additional 3 to 3.5 gallons into the tank which get me an extra 75 to 80 miles on a tank. Second, I have never had a car that gets better gas mileage around town than on the highway. Around town I get 29 to 31 miles to the gallon driving very conservative. On the highway at 70 to 75 mile an hour I can barely get 27 to 30 miles to the gallon. Did they not gear this car correctly? Also the car really has high RPM's at freeway speeds. Don't get me wrong I love this car, over all good gas mileage and a pleasure to drive. Just a little quirky to top off the tank. Other wise very happy with my first Mazda. An additional note: I can boost my gas mileage 1 to 2 MPG by using middle grade gas, have not tried 93 octane yet.
First long trip with my new 16.5 CX-5
- Thread starter grboggs
- Start date
Gearing is for city / mixed. 5th on 30 and 6 on 50. 52 is sweetest spot for faster driving. Anything above 65 and even hypermiling doesn't do much. Sadly my best is 29 hwvy. Combined i have done 32.
Really need to lower by half inch.
I don't top off. My empty takes 11.5 gallons. Empty from car's perspective.
Really need to lower by half inch.
I don't top off. My empty takes 11.5 gallons. Empty from car's perspective.
I have posted before that the car needs an extra gear or two, and I'm driving the diesel with around 35mph per 1K revs in sixth.
And I also get more mpg driving rural roads, its not a motorway car IMO, aerodynamics destroys good economy over 70mph. An opportunity lost with the 2017 car is a 7th gear.
And I also get more mpg driving rural roads, its not a motorway car IMO, aerodynamics destroys good economy over 70mph. An opportunity lost with the 2017 car is a 7th gear.
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- Plano, Texas, USA
Do you have a FWD or AWD? There's big difference on MPG between FWD and AWD CX-5's.
Adjusted EPA Fuel Economy Ratings for 2016.5 CX-5:
FWD: 29/26/33 Combined/City/Highway
AWD: 26/24/29 Combined/City/Highway
Lot of unknowns.
Tire pressure
Premium Fuel?
Did you have any passengers?
Was it windy?
What was your elevation and start and end points?
Otherwise 35 is virtually unknown and i drive conservatively and hypermile within safe distance. Especially more so 70-80 mph.
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- 2021 CX-9 Sig
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- 2021 CX-5 GT
That is pretty good city mileage! I get ~25-26 around the city and 27-29 for the HW on my AWD 2014 GT. Maybe you are going 40 MPH in the city and that is the absolute sweet spot for mileage. The closer you get to 80, the worse the mileage gets.
I have also observed what you have with higher grade gas. However, I think it has more to do with the ethanol content than the octane.
You've reached Jedi status in modulating the Skyactiv transmission. The Rotary Force flows strong in you
This is the conclusion I came to as well; the CX-5 gets better mileage in city driving than on highways. In my mind, I imagine Mazda envisioned the CX-5 as the car that families will use to shuttle kids to and from school/games, get groceries and transport large cargo around all while still being fun to drive. I'm not sure if it's the CX-5's shape, or engine or transmission, but mileage above 65 mph really suffers. If you can keep the speed at or below 65 mph, you'll get good highway mileage. Unfortunately for me in DFW, the highway speed limits are 70 mph, which means, unless I'm on the highway for a long time, I will get subpar mileage. The best combined mileage I got was 28.8 mpg on a roadtrip from Dallas to Austin.
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- RDX Aspec Adv.
Welcome to reality. That's what what it gets, man. 27-28 or so. Also, I tried 93 octane. no difference from 87. I think you just found a fluke stretch and doubt you could repeat it if you drove over it the other direction.
mikefly562
Member
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- 2016.5 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring
I just did an (approximate) 1600 mile round trip from the Puget Sound area to Sacramento area on my CX-5 GT, and I was averaging about 32-33 miles per gallon on the freeway. Due to heavy RV and Semi traffic, my average speeds was less than 65 mph the entire trip. I've had my car for 5 months now and have 4600 miles and I seem to be averaging about 28ish in the city and 30-31 on the highway.
You do 75 and some people still think you're going too slow LOL. Anyway, I also think that the driving environment has something to do with it. I have no doubt that on a flat stretch of highway, I can get great highway mileage with the CX-5.
To get back on the topic of road trips though, I think the CX-5 is a very comfy one for road trips. Lots of cargo and passenger space even with baby seats/stroller/etc. Comfortable ride on the highways and once you roll into the city at your destination, that is where it shines (city driving).
Just came back from the 2200mi (3530km) round-trip from Ontario to PEI. Driving time was 4 days, two passengers and about half-passenger weight in cargo. Mobicool fridge was running all the time.
I was driving all the way, and was very impressed with the car during the experience. I've had less fatigue then in any of the previously driven cars for that route. No problems at all. I used lumbar support few times, but did not have to make any other adjustments to the seat. The power was very adequate for the conditions and the speeds we were driving.
My wife's car is '15 GT AWD. Fill-ups were not spread evenly, so the mileage results for each fill are somewhat biased. Overall we did 27.8MPG (8.46L/100Km). The best result was on fairly flat surface at 56MPH (90Km/H) with tail wind, 32MPG (7.35L/100Km). The worst was with high wind right in the face, heavy rain with very limited visibility, and average 65MPH (105Km/H) speed, 80MPH (130Km/H) for prolonged periods, 23.18MPG (10.15L/100Km). We burned 78.91Gal (298.71L) of gas for CAD$311. I am quite pleased with the results, as this would have costed about CAD$430 if we drove my Tahoe. And we will next time this summer.
It was very interesting to watch rear diff clutch duty cycle through my Forscan app throughout the trip. It stayed around 10% on the dry surface, and when the wipers were kicking in, it was jumping to 30%+, more when cornering at high speed. This means that between 5% and 15% of torque was applied to the rear axle under different driving conditions, on the highway. I didn't feel anything, and was just wondering how would that have been in FWD version of the car.
Again, overall I'm giving the car high marks as the long hauler.
I was driving all the way, and was very impressed with the car during the experience. I've had less fatigue then in any of the previously driven cars for that route. No problems at all. I used lumbar support few times, but did not have to make any other adjustments to the seat. The power was very adequate for the conditions and the speeds we were driving.
My wife's car is '15 GT AWD. Fill-ups were not spread evenly, so the mileage results for each fill are somewhat biased. Overall we did 27.8MPG (8.46L/100Km). The best result was on fairly flat surface at 56MPH (90Km/H) with tail wind, 32MPG (7.35L/100Km). The worst was with high wind right in the face, heavy rain with very limited visibility, and average 65MPH (105Km/H) speed, 80MPH (130Km/H) for prolonged periods, 23.18MPG (10.15L/100Km). We burned 78.91Gal (298.71L) of gas for CAD$311. I am quite pleased with the results, as this would have costed about CAD$430 if we drove my Tahoe. And we will next time this summer.
It was very interesting to watch rear diff clutch duty cycle through my Forscan app throughout the trip. It stayed around 10% on the dry surface, and when the wipers were kicking in, it was jumping to 30%+, more when cornering at high speed. This means that between 5% and 15% of torque was applied to the rear axle under different driving conditions, on the highway. I didn't feel anything, and was just wondering how would that have been in FWD version of the car.
Again, overall I'm giving the car high marks as the long hauler.
