CX-5 Sport trim, especially with 6MT (manual transmission)

[Orangutan]

The first CX-5s delivered have all been Touring and Grand Tourings. The Sport models will roll out at some later date, currently unknown. Post here when you see a Sport in your local dealer, especially if it has the six-speed manual transmission. I've driven the 6AT and liked it but I'm interested in the fuel economy* and price of the 6MT.


*Note: The manual FWD is rated for 26city/35hwy while the automatic FWD is rated for 25city/32hwy (31hwy with AWD). What's interesting is that the gear ratios for the manual seem like they should return worse fuel economy. For comparison, see below:

	SkyActiv-MT	SkyActiv-AT
1st	3.700	3.552
2nd	1.947	2.022
3rd	1.300	1.452
4th	1.029	1.00
5th	0.837	0.708
6th	0.680	0.599
Reverse	3.724	3.893
Final Drive	4.705	4.624

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What this means is that in 1st, 4th, 5th, and 6th gears the manual transmission vehicle's engine will be spinning higher and working harder than the automatic vehicle's, which means that top gear cruising should theoretically be worse in the manual than in the automatic. However, the manual transmission has been rated 3mpg better on the highway. I'm interested to see how it pans out, to see if the manual really does achieve better fuel economy. The only reason I can see why it would be better is that it is less parasitic than the automatic. I had assumed, though, that the losses on the automatic at this point, especially the brand new SkyActiv one, would be very minimal and at least on par with the manual. Perhaps it is not that good after all. It's especially interesting that Australia rates the fuel economy of the manual and the automatic as equal, both at 6.4 liters per 100 kilometers.

Source: http://www.mazda.com.au/vehicles/cx-5/specifications

MazdaUSA does not have full transmission specifications but Mazda of Australia does, hence the link to the Australian site.

 

[jaman_ca]

In the Toronto (Canada) area a dealer had the base model (called "GX"). I was supposed to drive it, but unfortunately it was damaged en-route to the dealer so I couldn't take it out.

The CX-5 looks quite big beside my Protege5.

 

[inodes]

MazdaUSA does not have full transmission specifications but Mazda of Australia does, hence the link to the Australian site.

I'll keep an eye out for you for full consumption figures, as the figure you have quoted (although accurate), represents the "combined" fuel economy.
This is the result of the overall testing. The testing is done by the Australian government according to a standard, so that all vehicles can be compared equally. Car manufacturers are prevented from providing their own figures to ensure fairness.

The figure the government published for the AT 2WD at least is:

Combined 6.4L/100km = 36.75mpg
Urban 8.0L/100km = 29.40mpg
Extra Urban (Highway) 5.5L/100km = 42.77mpg

This is done using 91 RON Unleaded (roughly the same as your 87 AKI Unleaded).
One thing noted in specs as well is that the 2WD model has slightly more power and slightly more torque.
Note the gear ratio for the Petrol 2WD AT is the same as the Petrol AWD AT. Maybe this might have something to do with the fuel economy as more power at higher ratio would translate to a lower rpm at the wheel.