I really don't think it's any kind of "sin" to want to know what kind of gas mileage to expect from your RX-8. Sure it's a sports car but it's also being sold as a much improved more practical rotary sports GT or whatever you want to call it. So I've come to expect more than the FD gave me. I can tell you from personal experience how tough it was too drive my 93 easy so that I didn't run through $100 or more a week in gas. It was very easy to get less than 12 mpg around town but I only saw 17 mpg once or twice and 15 mpg was the norm even when taking it easy with it. It didn't help that my FD suffered from the 3-4K mysterious light throttle stutter that many FD's had. It was tough to drive it with a light throttle.

The more I read though the more I'm thinking this car will be somewhat difficult in the typical stop and go comute traffic we have here in So Cal. I just got a call that my car is in and I have to make a decision tomorrow when I go test drive it. The lack of gas mileage data this early in it's history is really making a buying decision difficult for me. So far I've seen around 18-19 mpg confirmed which isn't all that bad really. It's the unconfirmed reports of 14-16 mpg that worry me some. Anyone out there have a fill-up that yielded 20+? Estimating by reading the gas gauge is really sort of useless. We need more tank fill-up data to know where the truth lies. Anyone willing to share their data with those of us mildly concerned?

 

I'm in the same boat. My wife and I have a Jeep Cherokee that gets about 17 mpg, and a Ford Diesel that gets around 18 mpg. We've been looking for a car with better mileage, and I'd hoped that we could get mileage and a fun car with the RX-8; it's a little worrisome to see reports of 16mpg in an aerodynamic 3000 pound car, when my 7500 pound truck that's shaped like a brick gets 10% more than that

I'll be interested to see more mileage reports as more folks get their new car..

Sam

 

Not sure if you are looking for a real number, or just want to bicker...

In any case, I just got 19 mpg, 50-50 city/highway, a/c running (nice and cold) 103 temp outside, 6mt, 1st tank.

 

Thanks JR_TX. Those are some real world numbers and not too bad really. I'm just trying to decide, after my good/bad experience with my 93 RX-7 if I can overlook the faults of the the RX-8. Every car has them of course and if the strengths outweigh the faults, that's usually when you buy. And the RX-8 has plenty of obvious strengths.

But finding out the faults is tougher when the car is so new. Like the rotary impression on the hood. I never would have thought that it could trap water....and then throw it up against the windshield. Don't know if it really matters in a rainstorm or if it would have any effect while driving. But I am looking for all the things that might come up later. I just don't want to be surprised after I've spent 34K you know. The wear rating of 140 for instance and the special tires kind of put me off a little bit too, as does the low under 3K rpm torque. But for that I'd just have to drive one. My Honda CRX-SI has a very similar power curve without the gobs of power from 7-9K RPM so it might be a non-issue. My problem is I have to say yes or no tomorrow morning at 8:30 AM...my car is here!

 

My mileage is still about 200 miles per tank, though next time I fill up I'll do a genuine calculation to figure mpg. So far I'm still doing all suburban driving, stopngo stuff, with only a few chances to run it steady in hiway like fashion.

 

200 miles per tank doesn't sound all that good. Can I assume you probably had to add 14-15 gal at 200 miles and it wansn't empty so that's only 13-14 mpg. Is that right? I don't want to jump to any conclusions because there is a lot of 18-19 mpg data coming in lately. Thanks

 

It was very low when I filled it, but I forgot to note how many gals it took. Within a day or two I'll fill it again and get accurate info. But 200 miles on a tankful would only be about 14mpg. But then again I've just been doing suburban driving with lots of sitting at lights.

 

Fred, if others are like me we got our car on Day 1 and went nuts on the nearest twisties we could find. Keeping in mind the 7K RPM break-in restrictions, I'm sure none of us were driving in a fuel efficient manner in the first day or two. This morning I filled up, set my trip odometer, and started driving in a more sane manner. It will take a day or two and I'll have more representative numbers. Maybe you can delay your purchase for that long; come up with some lame excuse to stall the dealer. some folks are saying after a few hundred miles, the MPG will settle out at a better rate; I dunno if that's true or not. I have a feeling with a mix of city/hiway driving we'll be seeing somewhere around 20 MPG.

 

I hope I can eke out at least 270 miles per tank otherwise I'm going to end up filling the car up every day!

 

Thanks all for these number - please keep them coming.

Also, I know it has been discussed on another thread but it left me a bit confused. Can anyone tell me what number I need to multiply an American mpg to get a British mpg??? A conversion from US mpg and UK mpg to European km/l would be great also!! Oh why does it have to be so confusing.

My dealer (UK) quoted me official tested figures of 23mpg for HiPower and 25mpg for the weedy one - he claimed that was based on real life road testing and not lab tests.

 

2nd tank.. both refilled when the gauge was teetering the "E"... Got about 275 miles or so on each.. I'd say my journeys are about 65% city 35% highway.. A/C on Full or Med close to 100% of the time... My quick calcs say I'm getting about 18-19 MPG... which is just about what Mazda claimed..

My first opinion was, "Wow that's pretty bad!".. Mind you, I'm coming from a 9 years on a motorcycle where gas was almost a non issue.. so I think I need to adjust to added $$$

 

Thanks 8-wannabe. I might try to "trade" with someone waiting for their car in Sept, if John Hine can do that. I'm just way too confused on this issue right now. My wife says, boy are you messed up, lol. And she's right really. But I can literally flog my crx-si and still get 28-30 mpg. Granted it's only about 108 hp but still pretty quick and still in very good condition (bought new). I can wait and be patient I hope until the dust settles and more info comes in. Those constant fill-ups of premium, if that's the case, will really be irritating. It's not just the money either but part of me (the engineer part) wants to live efficiently. Surrounded as we are in So Cal by SUV's, I refuse to become part of that group, driving a lumbering, roll-over prone, gas guzzler.

But I've had cars like a '64 gto (12 mpg) and the 93 rx-7 (12 mpg) that were screamers but not very fuel efficient. I've also had semi sports cars like the crx-si and the fiat x-19 that were lots of fun and extremely fuel efficient. So I guess I'm looking for a little of both in my next car. I enjoy experiencing new technology a lot and the Mazda RX-8 has that for sure but believe it or not the new Prius for instance will have that too in a totally different way of course. I just don't think it will satisfy my need for something that handles well and definitely not a thrilling ride like the RX-8 is. So it might be best for me to wait a bit.

Anyone out there getting their car in Sept from Hine that wants mine now? Red with red and blank leather grand touring?

 

One of the other considerations (I hope) is that I'm not accustomed to the gearing in the sense that with my other car I know that on this road I should be in 4th gear when cruising, but that road over there is a 5th gear road. I think with the 8 I'm driving in a gear higher than I need be when I'm cruising, and I'm just not used to 5th, let alone 6th.

 

To make sense of US mpg, Brits can simply multiply by 1.200
(25/US = 30/GB)

Yanks have to multiply UK MPG by 0.833
(18/GB = 15/US)

Meanwhile, most of the rest of the world uses 'litres per 100 kilometres', which differs in that the distance is fixed at 100 kilometres, and the fuel used is quoted, so higher numbers is worse - and a little less fun to work out - from L/100k to GB MPG, divide 282.5 by the litres, and 235.2 for US MPG.

(10 L/100k = 28.25 GB MPG)

(10 L/100k = 23.52 US MPG)

(I am in the enviable position of living where gas is cheap, and I even get a little discount by working for an oil company. So I don't give a rats *** about my mileage! )

Had my old Legend for eight years, it gets 24 to the Imp.gallon, 22 if I drive hard, and 26 if I take it easy. Then my insurance company mentioned that if I got one more ticket, they were refusing to renew my policy. So for the last 18 months I drive like an 80 year old nun (no offence meant if you are an 80 y.o.n.!).
The car gets 30 mpg! Who knew?

In regards to your MPG worries, I would definately not buy something that was close to my 'mental cutoff' point - if you are this worried before you buy it, how will you feel if you are swayed to buy one by some good numbers, then YOURS returns 14 MPG?
If the consumption/cost is already a worry, then defo do not do it.
.
.
.
doc

 

Our first tank got 16.1 MPG and the second tank got 16.6 MPG. This was basically all in town cruising.

We are using the 93 octane.

Maybe the MPG will continue to improve with additional break-in time.

 

It's not the cost in $$ doctorr. For me it's the cost of being wasteful for my own personal thrill. Guess it's my conscience kicking in. I don't want to preach here because it's a personal decision for each of us to make. It's the same reason I cut my home's personal energy consumption by over 60%, and it was modest to begin with. It's not the money I saved, even though I did save a lot with prices out here in California.

I guess it's the engineer in me that believes devices should operate efficiently and leave a minimal impact on the world while still bringing enjoyment. So yes, you're right, it is just too close to my comfort level. Still a beautiful car in so many respects and a real achievement for Mazda. Just not the car for me right now. Good luck with yours

 

I would imagine that the mileage will improve after the engine is broken in some. At any rate, I tend to look at such things like this:

My RX-7, the 1979 GS model, gets 15 mpg in the city. It doesn't seem to matter if I drive like a speed demon or not. On the highway, I've seen 24 mpg, but that's fairly rare. Now if the RX-8 gets better city mileage and better highway mileage than my old 7, and has 2 1/2 times the power, I'd say that's pretty damned good.

Wouldn't you?

 

Just got 18.1 mpg with my first tank. Probably 70% City, 30% highway with mildly spirited driving...nothing over 6000rpm..

High-Power/93 octane

 

I've just got the official 'certified and final' figures from Mazda UK.

The are all of the manual cars because we don't get auo (it's a yank thing). If you've got auto it would be fair to take an extra 20% off the figures. If you drive like a madman then take another 20% off. Running in will make a difference, but not that major - nothing like your driving style would.

Figures from the Hi-Power 231ps
UK mpg US mpg 10L/100km

Urban: 17.9 14.9 15.8
Extra Urban: 31.7 26.4 8.9
Combined: 24.8 20.7 11.4

Figures from the skinny one (192ps)
same colour code

Urban: 18.7 15.6 15.1
Extra Urban: 34 28.3 8.3
Combined: 26.2 21.8 10.8

Now I want to see if the numbers are true.....

As for me.... i don't regard the engine as that inefficient - the fuel economy compared to the power output is pretty good and then every single other aspect of the car is so unbelieveable that I'm going to take the extra hit in petrol spend (and might even pop into the local convent to see if they've got any 80 year olds giving advanced driving lessons!) My friend's new 911 carerra 2 gets 15mpg urban and 16 extra urban (that's 12.5 and 13.3 for our American buddies) - that I certainely could not afford (let alone the car).

I've also just found out the the 8 wont hit UK shores until model Oct and I probably won't see mine until November or even December :-((

 

Ouch Danny

I've gotta side with FredB though, as an engineer I find it hard to justify the fuel consumption of the 8, now i see why mazda have been so coy about publishing their figures.

not that my mileage is really gonna make that much of a cost difference, but chosing an engine which is definitely not going to win best engine in the environmental category is a little irresponsible in this day and age.

(I know it sounds weird but I'm really tempted to make a donation to one of the carbon neutral foundations, think there's one in Aberdeen)

 

See, now yer makin' me feel bad. I basically share your sentiments and I think SUVs are indefensible in most cases: 14 MPG to buy a quart of milk just don't cut it. Yet here I am with 28 MPG easily available (many Toyotas, for example.) If I can get anything over 20 MPG I'll feel ok; if not I'll be bummed mostly from a moralistic viewpoint. Anyway, I've got the 8 now so I guess I've compromised my principles. But damn, it sure is fun to drive! :D

 

8-wannabe I just won't fault you. I came within a half hour of buying mine. It hurt like hell to have to call the dealer and tell him to sell it. I'm sure it's probably long gone now. I never even had a ride in one....didn't want to temp myself I guess because I would have bought....weak I guess! I know how great the car must make you feel and that's got to be worth something.

I just don't think the prius is going to have the same effect for me. I could have driven the RX-8 last week when Mazda was doing the sales thing at Hine. My salesman offered to let me take his place and I didn't. I was torn then about this as I am still. I'm at home mourning my loss! But still I had to be true to what I believe. How could I ever say anything about a SUV again? But I'm still dying to go for a ride in an RX-8. Yes I'm a recovering rotary junkie is all I can say.

 

My downfall was bringing my streetwise 14-yr-old son along. He knew I was having mental reservations as the salesrep went in to do the paperwork. He says, "C'mon dad, you know you'll never do this again." I felt my youth slipping away before my eyes. But he's right: This is the only time I'll buy a car this impractical. So what're they gonna put on my tombstone: "Here lies Wannabe; he drove sensible cars." Not! Even if I drive this 2-3 years, I'll get it out of my system then I can grow old gracefully. But on the other hand, when my kid's grown up and I only need a two-seater I just might find myself a nice roadster with a higher mpg rating. Then I can rant about all you young wippersnappers that don't has respect for the older generation.

edit Sorry, my grammer was messed up at the end there. I should have said: "wippersnappers that don't has no respect."

 

You are so right, 8_wannabe! My husband and I are mid 40s, kids are both married, and we have played conservative our entire lives. We have the first 8 in this area, and this is our time to shine and our 15 minutes of fame. This car turns heads! At this point, I don't care about the fuel consumption. You only live once and you can't take it with you!

 

Well, if I ever find my way to Fort Walton Beach I'll look you up and we'll have a fogie-rally. With no one in the back seat. Yeee-haw!