Here's a question...how do you explain the poor mileage that lots of people are getting from the 2.3 in the 3s? Hmmm, that's not a V-6 so just getting a V-6 doesn't mean worse gas mileage. Neither does a V-8. The Grand Prix GXP has DOD (Displacement on Demand) that shuts off half the cylinders when the car is cruising and it gets better gas mileage than the Mazdaspeed 6. I'm not offended at all and if you're an engineer on the 6, that's great...glad you're in the club and maybe you have a wealth of knowledge to help out the guys and gals with 3s.

Thanks,
Jason

 

The 2.3L (from what I hear) gets somewhere between 25-29mpg. the 2.0L (Which I have in my 3i) has gotten me 27-33 mpg.

My wife's Mazda6 3.0L gets 20-24mpg. I have driven both I4 and V6 Mazda6's extensively, and I can tell you the 4 cylinder gets MUCH better mileage. So in this application (which we are talking about) the V6 does mean worse gas mileage. Given that for the base engines, the V6 gets worse mileage, it seems to me that if you turbo/supercharge both of them, the V6 will still get worse mileage.

"Poor mileage" has a different meaning for everyone. I went to my Mazda3i from a Crewcab 4wd F-150 (12-15 mpg) so even the low 20's mpg my wife's car gets is good in my eyes.

The mileage that is listed on the window of the vehicle is the mileage the vehicle got during a very specific test during development. Most people will not achieve that mileage. I think that most people's driving habits are such that the cylinder deactivation won't net them as much as they are hoping. It helps on highway cruising, that's about it. Around town (where you get your worst mileage anyway) it won't net you squat. Just more complexity in the engine to cause premature failure if you ask me.

 

it also isnt just how many cyl either, its also how big the displacement is

 

If this was AWD...I would be all over this car. I'm hoping Mazda will release an AWD version of the Mazda3 at some point.