New SkyActiv Owner Review
 

Hi folks,
This is my first post and due to the newness of this model, I thought you all might want to hear an opinion on my 2012 3 hatchback Skyactiv A/T. It exceeds my expectations by a huge margin. If you would have told me that a 40 mpg (after 700 miles, I'm averaging 38.6 mpg!) car would be fun to drive, I would have rolled my eyes and said "sure it is!". This IS the future of combustion engines and Mazda has a winner with this drivetrain. It is "peppy", smooth, quiet, and awesome mpg. The 6 speed auto is very responsive with quick (on time) shifts and seems to allways know how to compliment the motor. It even downsshifts when going down hill to help with brakeing. One thing you may have to get use to is the way the trans uses the torque converter lockup. With very light throttle, the lockup occures very soon and at low rpms which might give one the impression of a lack of power, but if you understand the princible behind this design, it's one of the reasons for the huge gain in efficiency. So I guess what I'm saying is if you want to go fast, you have to put your foot in it!. I know better than to say it's fast, but really it's fast enough and probably better than most. This new motor is so smooth it's easy to bump the red zone in manual mode without even knowing it, and at idle I have to check the tach to see if it's running. Handling is very responsive as are the brakes. Being a new model, I'm hoping for reliability on par with previous models, but I guess we'll all have to wait for that. Go drive one to see for yourself, but I know I made the right decision for me. A great economy car for the money in my opinion. I'll keep you posted as the miles roll on (as a sales rep I drive 1K a week). Thanks, and good to be here with my first Mazda.

Is yours a 2.0L? Because i have a 2.5L 2012 hb M/T and iam only getting around 25mpg...

He is referring to the new 2.0 Sky-G engine which is part of the new Skyactiv drive-train that achieves up to a remarkable 40 mpg in the new 2012 Mazda 3. This new Sky-G motor is placed between the old MZR 2.0 and 2.5 engines in the model line up. It blows both of the previous MZR engines away in term of efficiency. I have a 2012 3i GT on order (too bad the dealers close to me didn't get any of the Grand Touring models on their initial orders) so now we wait 8 weeks for it to come in.

Just posted on your other thread that I just picked one up tonight as well, but got a little chuckle when I read this one of yours and the "have to look at the tac to see if it's running" comment...because I started it up in the walmart parking lot after my first stop, and had to roll down the windows to see if I could hear it. Didn't realize it had actually started lol

revs & mpg
 

Thanks - for the early Review.

How many RPM does it turn at 65 mph?
(The brochure doesn't list gear ratios or final-drive ratio.)

How many MPG does it get at a steady 65 mph ?

thanks so much,
Mike

I really don't know exactly how many rpms at 65 but at 80 it turns 2300-2400. The speed limit here is 75 and I set the cruise at 80. You would be lower than 2000 rpm at 65.

revs
 

ok, Great, 'SkyActiv1'. That tells me what I was trying to find out about gearing i.e. I was concerned that it not be revving 2,500 - 3,500 rpm on the highway, as some do.

Now, if I could get an idea of highway gas mileage e.g. at a steady 65 mph.

THANKS ... a Lot ... I appreciate your taking a moment for the clarification.

My wife and I picked up her 2012 Sky Blue Mica i Touring with the 2.0L SkyActiv motor and AT transmission today. We are excited about this purchase, our first new car since 1985. To hedge our bet, since the engine and transmission are new technology, we purchased the extended warranty. Hoping for equally good gas mileage. Will keep all posted as the miles slowly rack up. We keep all of our cars until they die.

1,900 rpm at 65 mph
 

During a test-drive, yesterday, I got my answer: 1,900 rpm
... which indicates nice, tall final gearing.

First Longish Trip with Skyactiv
 

I just got back from a 1400+ mile road trip from Denver to Mesquite NV and with a fully loaded car ( 250lbs. of dog + luggage and crap and my wife and I ), at speeds up to 85 and lots of mountains and wind, I averaged 35.7mpg. Not bad considering. Still flawless and really liking it. I now have 4800+ miles.

I'm nearly to 1000 miles. All city driving other than an hour trip down the highway. Averaging right at 30-31 mpg according to the car. My calculations put it 28-29 mpg, which is still what it's rated and plenty enough to make me happy. I'll be driving it from Texas to Alabama and back for Christmas, so very interested to see how it does on that 700 mile trek.

A little over 500 miles on the SkyActiv and still happily rolling along. the valet at a hotel this past weekend commented on the pretty blue color.

hmm maybe I should have gotten the skyactive, ha... opted for the 2.5 still loving it.

Less than 3,000 miles on the odometer and consistently getting 28-30 city and 38 on the highway. We are very pleased with our Mazda3.

Hi everyone. Noobie here, My wife traded her 03 Mazda 6 sport with the 3.0 v6 & a 5speed std in Blue, for a 2012 Mazda 3 with the 6 speed automatic & Skyactive engine. After owning it for 4 days, put on 180 miles, she noticed the fuel gauge wasn't going down. I called the dealer & he laughed, and said "Welcome to the world of Skyactive" I asked what does that mean? He said out of 5 people he sold this car to, 4 of them called to complain about the gas gauge. He said he filled it up to the top, so wait a day or 2 more & LMK what happens. Well, at 205, the gauge dropped a bar. Well she has 318 miles now & it still has just under 3/4 full. Unreal. I know it's only the 1st tank of fuel, but getting 38.6 so far, mixed driving. My only complaint is the engine noise at cold start up. I was warned by the salesman about this before we even road tested it. I was told it was the valves being held closed longer to help speed the warm up cycle. I don't know if that is B.S. but it does blow hot air out of the heater within 3 miles, so if that is what is happening, my wife is fine with it. Anyone else have the "noise"? Thanks.