I am currently considering purchase of an 8. I have read virtually everything available in this forum, and tried to do my homework. One area of concern is gas mileage. The 8 is undoubtedly an awesome car, but I have seen some folks getting as low as 10-12 MPG, while driving conservatively.

This is my question for all you experienced owners: If you had it to do again, how would you go about selecting your car? I am thinking of going to the local dealer and requesting I be allowed to take a test drive long enough to obtain some assessment of mileage for that particular car. I know mileage varies significantly from car to car, based on the posts I have read in this forum.

Any other ideas?

Please don't flame, as I said, I love the car, and if I could be assured I would get mileage approaching the sticker estimates, I would buy in a second. Problem is, I live in Cali, and this is a no cool down state. You buy it here, there is no taking back. Also, gas costs 20 to 30 cents more per gallon here than other locations.

Thanks alot fore your creative suggestions

 

Not that I am trying to discourage you from buying the 8, but if you are at all concerned about gas mileage after searching this forum then I would say, don't buy one. I bought my 8 knowing full well that the gas mileage wasn't that great, but I didn't care, I just wanted the car. Yea, gas prices suck, but they don't suck as bad as they do overseas.

 

True, and it also varies over time for some people. I suspect driving style, weather, tire pressure, etc. accounts for most of the differences.

I hesitated as well, but then accepted the risk and bought one last weekend, knowing full well what *might* happen.

I'm actually *relieved* to have managed 18mpg for my first tank, lol... and that was with a pre-L flash, driving it pretty hard (though staying below 6-7K), etc.

The dealer wants to sell cars, so he might go for it. But I dunno, you're asking to put 200+ miles on a car he may have to sell to someone else. Worth a shot though...

 

Buy the 8 for the FUN of the 8, not the gas milage.

I now have 7,000 miles and the milage does improve some as the rotary engine breaks in. But I NEVER got below 15 in the city and normally get 18. The highway was the dissaspointment. First trip at 80 I got only 21. Last weekend I got 23 and 320 miles on one tank. My 84 RX7 GSL-SE got 24~25 at 80mph highway driving. My 79 RX7 with the 12B got 25~26. So I expected better from the 8, but the 8 is bigger, so pushing more air. My wife's Dodge intrepid 3.2L gets 28~29 on similar trips, but not as much FUN.

BY THE 8 FOR THE FUN FACTOR - NOT GAS MILEAGE.

 

It's all relative- I would be thrilled if I got 21 on the highway, whereas others are disappointed by it. I get about 17 no matter how I drive, but I wouldn't have gotten any other car. That's from someone who pays more than 99% of the U.S. for gas.

 

As far as I can tell, it's among the early cars where people have had the really low mileage problem (Even then, they're a very small minority). The later cars, and with the M flash, all seem to do much better.

I also doubt that you could generate a meaningful number on a test drive of a new car. You'd have to top it up, of course, and drive 300 miles or more to get a statistically valid number - but it would still be a single data point, and we also know that on brand new, off the lot cars, the mileage improves noticeably through break-in.

I would not worry about possibly getting a car that will only get 12 or 13 mpg, personally.

Regards,
Gordon

 

I think if MANY people only got 12 or 13 mpg you'd see a LOT of posts about it. There are posts out the wazoo about mileage and in general, most people talk about 15.5 to 18-ish mpg for normal city driving. Hell there are some loons who claim to hit 30 or higher (mpg, not mph) and yes a few on the other extreme who toss out numbers like 12 or so.

I can't guarantee you anything but based on what I've seen in six months with my 8 and what a lot of people on here seem to indicate; 15.5 to 18 - largely dependant upon how aggressively you drive and just how plodding your particular "city-driving" experience is.

Do the math, figure the worst case (use 12 mpg if you want to). If it's a budget buster, you probably want another car. If it's something you could live with if you had to, then I'd say not to worry about the likelihood of getting 12 mpg routinely.

 

all i can say is that after the first few hundred miles you'll forget about gas mileage (anyway it gets better with age) because the car isn't meant to get good mileage when the sticker says 18/24 thats under controlled slow conditions, conditions that would make driving this car intolerable. if you drive 1000-2000 miles a month figure its going to cost you 50-100 more per month than something like a honda accord, thats not too hard to make up, skip a fancy dinner here, come back home instead of go out to a movie and you'll be pretty square at the end of the month.

what you have to worry about isnt mileage, but additional miles, and meaningless trips...i forgot to return a movie while i was out the second day after i got the car...so i go and take an 85 mile spirited journey to the video store down the street...lol. yeah i would never go just 'driving' before this car, hehe, so id worry about that if anything :D

 

My build date: 10-03
Lowest mileage recorded: 10.2
Highest mileage recorded: 20.8
Price for gas in my area: $2.30 per gallon

The 20.8 was achieved with highway driving (65-95 mph in 6th gear after "M" flash)
The 10.2 was achieved with spirited city driving (25-95 mph in 1st-5th gear prior to "M" flash)

My first few tanks (during break in) were 14-16 mpg. "M" flash seems to have netted me an average 1-3 mpg increase depending on how I drive. I can easily get 17-18 mpg during normal driving...unfortunately for me I enjoy driving and typically redline my car 8+ times per day resulting in a solid 13-15 mpg for my short commutes (5 miles each way).

I can't speak for anyone else but my gas mileage is extremely sensitive to how I drive my car. I think it would be a shame to buy this car and try to baby it to get mileage, IMO, that is just a waste. If mileage is your primary concern then, while it may be an attractive vehicle, you may need to look elsewhere.

 

I agree MTCD01. Most of my required-driving is to work and back. Some tank-fulls that's all the driving that I do. If I dog it and push the car, I get about 15.5 mpg when I fill up. If I cruise the highway in 6th and basically drive like the old man that I am, then the numbers hit around 18 mpg. Same "course", same driver, pretty much the same level of congestion - just different shifting styles, some WOT here and there, and yep it's sensitive enough to notice for sure.. Ain't it great????

 

I love my car. But if I didn't need 4 seats and 4 doors (baby on the way) I may have gone a different route. An old FD would be nice.

 

Many Thanks to you all. Very good advice. I will go to the Mazda dealer tomorrow and see if I can "steal one". For some reason, they don't seem to be selling well here in So. Cal. You all are right, the pleasure of driving and owning this fine vehicle outweighs the small $$ increase in gas costs. You all are a pleasure to communicate with, and I look forward to joining you as a 8 owner.

I will communicate again when I have my 8.

 

awesome man...you wont regret it let's get a picture right off the lot

 

RX-8...resistance is futile?

 

Aren't there studies that show that if you have to sacrifice to get something you tend to appreciate it more? I think I appreciate the 18-20 miles I get out of a gallon of gas more than the 24-26 miles I got in my previous car. :D

 

What kind of mileage do you get now?

Use good regular gas to minimize cost.

Just do it.

 

I currently get 23-25 city and 27-30 hwy in my 2002 Mazda P5. Great little car, but no real Zoom-Zoom. That's why I am looking at the 8, for better performance (and the looks):D

I guess what you are saying with the gas mileage is "no pain, no gain".

 

Personally I find the MPG on the 8 to be in line with what is reported from cars with similar performance. The long term test G35 coupe averaged 17 in city and that is right where I am in the 8. The one here who commented about the highway is right. I have only taken one highway trip so far and averaged 21.5 mpg with the AC on the whole time. I would expect more like 23 at least. Still, my 2001 Millennia S got 18 city/24 highway. It isn't too bad in comparison.