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Mazda Protege Real World MPG

57 messages,  Last post on Nov 21, 2009 at 8:11 AM

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What is this discussion about? Mazda Protege, Mazda Protege5, Fuel Efficiency (MPG)

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#1 of 57 Mazda Protege Owners: MPG-Real World Numbers by KarenS HOST Jun 02, 2005 (10:26 am)
This topic is for Protege owners to share and compare their actual MPG.   "Real World" Fuel Economy vs. EPA Estimates Replies to this message: ashpatil (Jan 04, 2007 12:41 pm) zoom_oh_2002p5 (May 25, 2008 6:22 pm) autonomous (May 27, 2008 10:54 am)
#2 of 57 Huh -- another topic? by mdaffron Jun 02, 2005 (11:00 am)
And after the Protege has left the market? Wha ...?   Well, OK ... I don't own my 2000 Protege ES 5-speed anymore, but I did own it for five years and 91,100 miles. So ... here's what I got regularly:   Mostly city driving: 27-28 mpg Mix city/highway (90% of my driving)" 30-31 mpg Long trips on the highway: 33-34 mpg   Meade
#3 of 57 2002.5 Protege5 in Southern California: 27 - 28.5 MPG by flipmack Jun 02, 2005 (2:29 pm)
with a daily commute of 80 miles RT on the 405 freeway during rush hour, my mileage has averaged around 27 MPG, and generally, has hovered around 27 MPG with mixed driving.   I filled up with Chevron 87 octane until 50K miles, but since 50K, I've filled up with Mobil 87 octane to see if there's any difference in fuel mixture.   in all honesty, since the switch, I've been getting better gas mileage...around 28.5 MPG to be exact.   I believe that your location has to be stated, since different fuel mixtures are provided for different geographic locations, i.e., the fuel in Socal is more oxygenated than say, the fuel in Arizona. We should also consider emissions regulations...   so, as a caveat to all posters/readers, keep in mind that YMMV (your mileage may vary).   Gerard
#4 of 57 MPG - 91 Protege LX 1.8 Dohc 5 speed by lifeisrich1 Jun 11, 2005 (2:49 pm)
Just purchased this well-maintained Maz (112,000 miles) and kept records for first few thousand miles on gas and oil. Here's what it is so far: Averaging around 27, have gone to 26 with mostly city driving and over 29 with mostly freeway commuting. The dohc is peppy and I think that if I played "sports car" and did a lot of accelerating the mileage would decrease but I guess that would be true of any car. Oil consumption has been nil, maybe half a quart for 1,500 miles.
#5 of 57 My '99LX with AT averages 31-32mpg. by mazdafun Jun 16, 2005 (11:50 am)
Mostly local driving, which doesn't have many stops.   On the freeway, it gets about 34mpg at a near-constant 72mph. I can get 38mpg if I stay around 65mph.   When I drive in a more sprightly fashion, it gets 24mpg. Ouch.
#6 of 57 MPG 2002 Protege 5 by tadster Nov 21, 2005 (7:42 am)
I drive my 2002 Mazda Protege 5 (with standard 2.0 liter DOHC and 5 speed manual transmission) about 37 miles per day during my commute in Northern Delaware. The drive is about 65% highway/35% city driving. My driving habits are variable, depending upon my mood, or who is in the car with me--but I mostly drive for a mix of fuel economy and fun. If I'm driving for fuel economy, I shift around 2.5k to 3k rpm. If I'm driving sportily, I'll shift at about 4.5k rpm (at the torque limit). I almost never drive the engine beyond 5k except in rare acceleration stunts. I try to stick to using BP (Amoco) 87 octane, but I occasionally have to fill up at a convenience store. Anyway, I recently calculated my mileage over a 3000 mile time period, and was dissapointed to find that I am averaging only 27.7 miles per gallon.   Yes, I keep the tires properly inflated, filters clean, and all the other stuff one should be doing to maintain high fuel economy. I think, though, in the end, a 2.0 liter engine is a moderately large 4 cylinder, and you're gonna have to keep the rpms as low as possible to break the 30 mpg barrier. One thing that continuously annoys me about the transmission is that highway speeds are maintained only with high rpms. 60mph equals nearly exactly 3k rpm in my car. That's just too high--and too loud! I wish the overdrive gear was reconfigured for a lower engine speed at that rate. Anyway, I usually drive about 70mph on the highway, so the rpms are even higher.   I bought the manual tranny to save money on gas--I never thought that it'd have the opposite effect. You see, it's so much fun to drive the pro5 that I find myself driving hard when I shouldn't be.   My brother's 02 civic EX gets 40 mpg--but I think the driving pleasure attained behind the wheel of my Pro5 is the edge that keeps me addicted to this car--regardless of the poor fuel economy. Replies to this message: autonomous (Nov 21, 2005 8:29 am)
#7 of 57 2002 Protege 5 manual averaging 28 mpg [tadster] by autonomous Nov 21, 2005 (8:29 am)
Replying to: tadster (Nov 21, 2005 7:42 am) ... I recently calculated my mileage over a 3000 mile time period, and was dissapointed to find that I am averaging only 27.7 miles per gallon.   What mpg were you expecting? Several years back, Consumer Reports estimated the average for an automatic at 25mpg so I would imagine a 10% improvement for the manual would be about right. Considering the spirited driving you're doing 28 mpg is pretty good.   Regarding the comparison to the Honda Civic, doesn't it have a smaller motor and deliver lower hp? Wouldn't that partially explain better fuel economy?
#8 of 57 Well, tadster does admit it's partly self-inflicted. :) by mazdafun Nov 22, 2005 (6:18 am)
My wife just breaks 28mpg with her AT-equipped '03 P5.   Other than driving at high speeds on the freeway, she usually tries to keep the engine speed low.   On my '99 LX (1.6L engine, AT), I average 31.5mpg. It gets lower with cold temps, so I'm getting about 26-27mpg now. If I drive a in a more spirited fashion, I can get my economy down to 24-25mpg when I normally get 31-32mpg.
#9 of 57 mileage 2003 Mazda Protege DX automatic by boyce May 07, 2006 (10:14 am)
2003 Protege DX. My mileage around town short trips has been from 21 to 24 mpg. Only made two interstate trips of real distance (2000 miles round trip). Got from 25 to 27 on each tank full. I have the automatic for which I was thankful during a hour long traffic jam in Atlanta.
#10 of 57 Just my 27mpg by shrique Jun 05, 2006 (4:55 pm)
I've just done two tanks on my 2002 with 35k miles. I drive mostly city, no stop and go just stoplight commuting (4.2 miles) and I've been averaging 27mpg and change. Thats about 2.5 weeks or so with 90% low speed (45mph or lower) and the other 10% is highspeed (65mph plus) highway running. That's running Mobile1 (which I highly recomend, makes the engine quieter) no AC to speak of.   One thing I have noticed is that if you keep you heater set to any of the defrost settings or the heater setting it runs the AC at a low level. if you set it to vent or vent/heater it doesn't. I think it's for reducing moisture. Either way I find it annoying. You can tell by listening to the engine fan. If your sitting at a stop lighjt with the windows open and your engine fan comes on with it in defrost, the moment you switch to vent the fan quits. Odd that, seemed to help my MPG a little bit.

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