I decided to make it easier for people who purchased one of the top 20 selling cars in 2012 to determine how much it costs to travel a certain distance using the Fuel Cost Calculator.
The top selling car for 2012 was the Mazda 3. What surprised me was even for the same model car, variations in the car leads to quite some difference in the fuel economy. The following are links for the Mazda 3 in various configurations to the Petrol Cost Calculator.
Mazda 3 SP20 2.0L 4cyl, Auto 6 speed Sedan – Urban, Extra Urban
Mazda 3 SP20 2.0L 4cyl, Auto 6 speed Hatch – Urban, Extra Urban
Mazda 3 2.0L 4cyl, Man 6 speed Hatch – Urban, Extra Urban
Mazda 3 2.0L 4cyl, Man 6 speed Sedan – Urban, Extra Urban
Mazda 3 2.0L 4cyl, Auto 5 speed Hatch – Urban, Extra Urban
Mazda 3 2.0L 4cyl, Auto 5 speed Sedan – Urban, Extra Urban
What I find interesting when looking at the fuel economy of different variations is according to the governments Green Vehicle Guide site (where the figures for Urban and Extra Urban come from) there is no difference between a hatch and a sedan. This does make me wonder if this is correct. In the past I've found government ratings to be flawed.
For example there was a 7.0 litre and 7.5 litre washing machine and the energy rating for the 7.5 was better yet both were built identical. The only difference was the label on the machine and this was done for sales and marketing purposes. So the figures provided by the government's energy rating system used the published 7.0 litres specification and not the actual specification.
The top selling car for 2012 was the Mazda 3. What surprised me was even for the same model car, variations in the car leads to quite some difference in the fuel economy. The following are links for the Mazda 3 in various configurations to the Petrol Cost Calculator.
Mazda 3 SP20 2.0L 4cyl, Auto 6 speed Sedan – Urban, Extra Urban
Mazda 3 SP20 2.0L 4cyl, Auto 6 speed Hatch – Urban, Extra Urban
Mazda 3 2.0L 4cyl, Man 6 speed Hatch – Urban, Extra Urban
Mazda 3 2.0L 4cyl, Man 6 speed Sedan – Urban, Extra Urban
Mazda 3 2.0L 4cyl, Auto 5 speed Hatch – Urban, Extra Urban
Mazda 3 2.0L 4cyl, Auto 5 speed Sedan – Urban, Extra Urban
What I find interesting when looking at the fuel economy of different variations is according to the governments Green Vehicle Guide site (where the figures for Urban and Extra Urban come from) there is no difference between a hatch and a sedan. This does make me wonder if this is correct. In the past I've found government ratings to be flawed.
For example there was a 7.0 litre and 7.5 litre washing machine and the energy rating for the 7.5 was better yet both were built identical. The only difference was the label on the machine and this was done for sales and marketing purposes. So the figures provided by the government's energy rating system used the published 7.0 litres specification and not the actual specification.
If the Urban and Extra Urban fuel economy ratings are measured using equipment whilst the vehicle is stationery then there is no factoring into account for the different body designs. It would be interesting to see what difference if any there would be between a hatch and a sedan.
Also interesting is the fuel economy for a 6 speed manual is about 5% better than for a 5 speed automatic for urban travel but expectedly little difference for extra urban.
The real surprise is the SP20 which turns the engine off when at lights resulting in approximately 29% better fuel economy. Interestingly according to the government's Green Vehicle Guide there is a difference between the hatch and the sedan with the hatch being 0.1 L/100km less fuel efficient. That's unusual and makes me curious as to what the result would be in a real world test. Based on an automatic being heavier than a manual, in a static test we would expect a manual to be more fuel efficient. In a similar vein a hatch is heavier than a sedan so again we'd expect the static test to show a sedan as being more fuel efficient than hatch. I do wonder if this would be the same outcome in real world testing where factors such as wind drag and driver gear changing may impact fuel economy.
For those driving Mazda 3s however, I hope you find the Petrol Cost Calculator useful.
Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.
Also interesting is the fuel economy for a 6 speed manual is about 5% better than for a 5 speed automatic for urban travel but expectedly little difference for extra urban.
The real surprise is the SP20 which turns the engine off when at lights resulting in approximately 29% better fuel economy. Interestingly according to the government's Green Vehicle Guide there is a difference between the hatch and the sedan with the hatch being 0.1 L/100km less fuel efficient. That's unusual and makes me curious as to what the result would be in a real world test. Based on an automatic being heavier than a manual, in a static test we would expect a manual to be more fuel efficient. In a similar vein a hatch is heavier than a sedan so again we'd expect the static test to show a sedan as being more fuel efficient than hatch. I do wonder if this would be the same outcome in real world testing where factors such as wind drag and driver gear changing may impact fuel economy.
For those driving Mazda 3s however, I hope you find the Petrol Cost Calculator useful.
Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.
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