2012 Mazda3 to Get 40 MPG

The 2012 Mazda3, which debuted at a Canadian auto show earlier this year, makes its first U.S. appearance in New York City, along with some facts that weren�t revealed when it was north of the border. Namely, that the mildly refreshed sedan�s new engine, which is teamed to a new six-speed automatic, will achieve 28/40 mpg city/highway, nearly matching the 2011 Hyundai Elantra for best-in-class mileage.
Originally, the company said fuel efficiency would be up 15%, but this is actually a 21% boost of the outgoing 2011 model.

Mazda needs to get better mileage because it�s far behind its compact-class competition in that category. The current Mazda3 gets an EPA-estimated 24/33/27 mpg city/highway/combined. Honda�s just announced the 2012 Civic will get 39 mpg highway, and the new Hyundai Elantra gets 40 mpg highway. The Mazda3 with a six-speed manual transmission gets slightly worse mileage at 27/39 mpg.
Mazda always touted its driving dynamics as an advantage to make up for its lower fuel efficiency versus the class. Now the company can claim class-leading mileage numbers, too.
Mazda also has toned down the Mazda3�s smiley-face look with a more angular grille. We can�t really see much difference to the car�s rear, and we can�t stand the new wheels (shown in these photos), which look like they belong on a Pontiac Vibe.

The hatchback will not get the same mileage, thanks to its larger profile, but it will still get an estimated 27/38 mpg with a manual transmission and 28/38 mpg with an automatic.
The larger 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine still will be offered with 167 horsepower, but mileage remains the same as the current model at 20/28 mpg for the manual transmission and 22/29 mpg for the carryover five-speed automatic transmission.

By David Thomas