normal gas consumption
 

HI!!!

this is my first post as i am new to the site...Recently just got a 03 silver protoge 5 w/auto in august. on half a tank of gas im getting about 250-255km. I feel that the car can a get a little more on half a tank. i am not hard on the gas or anything as i am being careful with the way the car drives. the mileage on my car up until this point is approx. 1600km. I feel that the car may have a problem or something..but thats just me. If anyone can provide me with their input and knowledge regarding this..it would be greatly appreciated as this is my first mazda. Thanks.

That's what I get on an auto P5 with about 30K km on it.

autos burn more gass

there's probably no problem with your car.

you'll need to get an average over time to get a reliable estimate. "half a tank of gas" isn't as useful as knowing how many litres you've used. also, you'll need to monitor your consumption over time to get a more reliable reading. here's what i do...

at 1/4 tank, i fill the tank until the pump clicks and i don't overfill to a round dollar amount. keep track of how many litres you've put in. on average i put in about 40 litres - unless gas is really expensive that day. i reset the trip "A" odometer and drive the car until the fuel gauge reads approximately 1/4. take note of how many kilometres you've driven since the last fill-up. in the city i'll average 390 kilometres per 40 litres.

if you do the math...390km/40litres = 100km/10.3litres (23.1mpg). Not as good as the estimated 9.9 litres/100km (25mpg) but not totally unreasonable either

it's harder to control engine revs with an auto but there's other things you can watch out for to keep fuel consumption in check. if i were you, i'd watch your tire inflation. don't go by what's written on the tire, go by what Mazda recommends. besides, tire manufacturers don't know what or how heavy the car using its tires will be and the car's weight distribution, right? i'd also keep your car as light as possible. don't let anyone tell you that you'll get better mileage on higher octane gas. stick with 87 and you'll be ok.

Protege Lacks Efficiency
 

Although we still maintain better fuel economy than the gluttonous, self serving bastards driving SUVs, the efficiency rendered by our FS-DE engines is easily the worst offered by any of the big Japanese auto makers. Honda, Nissan, and Toyota ALL build and offer engines of superior efficiency. This is one of the many, many qualities I’ve grown most angry with regarding the characteristics of the Protege. Id Est 1: The current Honda Accord, a Mid-Sized car, renders better fuel efficiency than our Proteges-- And the Protege is a small (read, lighter) car. Oh yeah, and the Accord engine delivers 160 HP, by the way. Not 130.

Unfortunately, efficiency isn't a priority at Mazda. Id Est 2: Even with their latest MZR 4 cylinder engine, the kind currently offered in the Mazda 6i and soon to be in the 3, their vehicles STILL don't match the efficiency offered by the likes of Honda. I find that patronizing and personally offensive, especially given the high cost of fuel and our increasing need for effiency in pollution control.

break it in a little more. consumption will decrease over time. new cars with low mileage always do that.

There's ProtegeMaster bitching again....:rolleyes:

I Know!
 

I know! It's not like we should expect more from an auto maker and aren't afraid to say so, even if apologists object! Personally, I'm fine with another manufacturer building engines that are better than mine. Superior efficiency and power are overrated, anyway. Everything on this car is perfect. Absolutely perfect!

... I say in jest.

Anyway, personal commentary is never levied with offense, I just enjoy debate, especially when I'm right.

I live in the US>
so, I wont convert back to metric..

I have a 2001 Protege 1.6l I4 5spd
I get btw 30-35mpg (combined) usually..
I drive it pretty hard though..

I figure my Gas Mileage everytime I get gas..

from first fill up to next
miles driven / gallons put in tank.. = gas mileage
only works on full tank..

not sure how one would go about trying to figure it out in the metric system, b/c gas mileage in metric system is Liters/100km
vs miles/gallon

Hey aznp5, that sounds about right. I wouldn't worry to much. Our cars aren't the most economical as it has been stated before. I have 35000km's on my car now and I usually run about 270 for half a tank but, it varies on how much you fill you tank up to.

Hello--first post for me.

I have a 99 1.6 auto w/ very few mods

I got 35 mpg on highway trips when mine was new & had stock wheels, if I was careful. With 205 tires on 7" wheels, I've never gotten better than 31. The change in wheels also took 12 mph off my top end. I get normally get 24 mpg now with mixed driving.

I don't worry much about the efficiency compared to Honda myself. Mazda generally gives you a bit flatter torque curve, if you can compare apples to apples.

My 02 P5 w/ 25000 miles averages 23-24 combined but even on long distances highway driving, I have never averaged above 26. Just no getting around it, the mileage sucks for such a small, low-powered car.

Crazy365

I don't know how to break this to you but if yours is a standard P5 you have made a miscalculation somewhere.

I have never heard of any P5 getting high 30's never mind 40's.

Since you are converting from km's to miles and liters to gallons make sure you are using an american gallon and not an imperial gallon which is greater volume.

The fuel economy of the Protege 2.0L Auto is fuel efficent but only at a sustanted speed of 95km per hour, after running many senarios and tests with others, we concluded that driving beyond 110km per hour throws fuel out the wind.

your options are to increase your HP thru mods
and / or modify your Ratios (engine) and very slightly starve your engine of gas, (dangerous if not used correctly)
There is a website that can help you with this based on your protege model / year I will look for the link

Or you can drive like a slow poke everywhere you go.



There is another thing I do to curb my fuel consumption and that utilizing the Gear 2 during slow traffic times or even for gradual acceleration, you can turn that 250km tank of gas into a 300km depending on what you do. but its really all about the drivers taste.

I personally get 590 Km on a full tank of gas no word of lie ;) :)
Mazda Pro 2001 E.S. class but i also keep my tires over inflated to 43psi (which is the manufaturers max)

oh and for the luv of god if your gonna spend a little money get at least a K&N air filter for this car it makes a diff...