Road trip tales from a Mazda 3

Longest single trip to date in my 3; nearly 3K miles round trip, from Texas to North Carolina and back. We (my son and I) made it to NC safe and sound and figured we`d share some of the experience as it pertains to the car we all share a fondness for.

(1) roughly 1400 miles in so far. Averaged 42.1mpg, confirmed at the pump at every stop. Most of that was cruise control set at 75, only one spot of traffic that lasted about 15 minutes. With good gas I was seeing anywhere between 38 and 50 on flat ground. Got some crappy gas in Arkansas and had to really baby it to get 35-38 out of it.

(2) had a little fun with a Veloster turbo on the highway, it was honestly pretty close but we had the torque advantage so we took the point.

(3) some total a$$ in a modded 2nd gen 3 got dispatched with ease. His car made a bunch of noise like it was really trying hard to go fast but we pulled around him and his shenanigans pretty swiftly. Thanks to OVT for that.

(4) Android auto was great. It was nice to have the GPS on the screen to free up my phone screen for netflix for my son to watch. He`s a good kid and travels well but a 19 hour drive is a challenge to any 11 year old.

(5) It is difficult to set the AC system to the perfect temperature when the weather is cold.

Headed back to Texas tomorrow. I expect the same fuel economy results. She`s been fairly comfortable along the way, no new complaints there (I do wish the seats had lumbar support and a better seat bottom angle).