Mazda 3 MPS

dcGT

Has anyone seen these yet? Saw a car transporter the other day with 3 of them on it. A Mazda 3 with a 2.3L Turbo producing 256BHP. I think it's the same lump out of the Mazda 6 MPS. The Irish Mazda site says the price is still 'T.B.D'. Surely a good contender for the most powerful hot hatch and would be in the realms of the Golf GTI and Leon Cupra etc.

I wonder if it will sell over here. Don't see many Mazda 6 MPS. I think she looks well.

http://www.wcoty.com/upload/images/vehicle_193.jpg

Thoughts?

DC.

C_Breeze

Although I love mazdas , that one is meant to drive like a pig. (unlike the 6mps)

the main difference being is that its is FWD whereas the '6' is AWD

Power its got ... but its not all about power and numbers on a piece of paper.

dcGT

C_Breeze wrote: »

the main difference being is that its is FWD whereas the '6' is AWD

True, seems to be another Astra VXR (power for the sake of it and no way to put it down). Shame about the handling. I think it's something different and understated. At a glance, it looks like a 1.3 with alloys

DC.

Mailman

The traction control is supposed to be very intrusive and if the steering wheel isn't in the straight on position the throttle is er.. throttled
supposed to be a bit gutless at low revs too but that is based on reports from US customers who are used to large displacement engines.

omega man

Bought one 2 weeks ago. Fantastic car and i just want to drive it any chance i get. I wanted something fast, practical and discreet. It has massive power for a hatch and i have chewed up many an unsuspecting motorist on the M1! I suggest drive it before comments like 'drives like a pig' are made. Got very good reviews from autoexpress, parkers and what car in the UK. I will admit it requires attention in the wet when flooring it but it has a number of gadgets to cope with the 260bhp in a fwd car including a limited slip dif etc. I sold my 04 bmw 320D m sport for this and so far i havent looked back. (except to see the gti in the distance!)

omega man

Some reviews:

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/carreviews/firstdrives/203332/mazda_3.html

http://www.whatcar.co.uk/car-review-summary.aspx?NEW_USED=1&MA_TYPE=1&MA=25&RT=2663&Submit1=GO


http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews/review.aspx?model=1536

Biro

It's getting good reviews over in Autocar too, and I value their opinion more than any other car mag. They have one long term. Where it's not supposed to be as rewarding as the likes of the ST in the steering and handling department, it is supposed to be a fantastic all rounder. Got a bit of criticism for looking too ordinary, but I like that.
Mazda along with Autocar went to the nurburgring to set a new record for fastest production hatch, but t'was raining. Autocar reckon they'll suceed when they try next time so long as the weather holds out.

dcGT

omega man wrote: »

Bought one 2 weeks ago. Fantastic car and i just want to drive it any chance i get. I wanted something fast, practical and discreet. It has massive power for a hatch and i have chewed up many an unsuspecting motorist on the M1! I suggest drive it before comments like 'drives like a pig' are made. Got very good reviews from autoexpress, parkers and what car in the UK. I will admit it requires attention in the wet when flooring it but it has a number of gadgets to cope with the 260bhp in a fwd car including a limited slip dif etc. I sold my 04 bmw 320D m sport for this and so far i havent looked back. (except to see the gti in the distance!)

Nice choice omega_man, sounds like a real wolf in sheeps clothing How's the build quality/interior? Also, how much was it?

DC.

omega man

dcGT wrote: »

Nice choice omega_man, sounds like a real wolf in sheeps clothing How's the build quality/interior? Also, how much was it?

DC.

Quality seems fine and plenty of kit. Although going from a high spec bmw it seems a little less comfortable but i bought it for the engine and the driving experience so i wont complain. It was a May 2007 registered demo with 6500KMS on the clock and mazda warranty until May 2010. I got good money for my bmw so it didnt cost me too much. The list price was 34500
and i believe the list price of a new one is 38K or there abouts.

Táck

mazda 3 mps...what a car. had one for a weekend and i just wanted to drive drive drive. found myself increasing walking speed when it was in sight distance.

its the only car thats ever given me whiplash from its sheer power. first gear is very short and in wet conditions not very easy to control. but the car is such a joy to drive. on paper and on record its down as a 260bhp but apparently its putting out 276 because any more then 260 and dealers have to pay a higher vrt bracket or somehting along the lines of that. i dunno how true that is though but i was told by a dealer and lets just say he wasnt trying to sell me the car.

the one i had was silver but i'm torn between that and the black. park motors have a greeny coloured one as well but black is slick and silver looks the part with the 17"s. interior wise i think its fine. climate control air con and from 08 onwards all will be full leather. the circular dials are sporty looking and mazda's stereos are a notch up on ur standard car radio. this, i think, has a 6 cd head unit as well which is nice.

this has the same engine as the mazda 6mps and the mazda cx-7 but the 3 is the fastest...top quality car. i envy anybody that owns one. i cant wait to get behind the wheel of another one.

C_Breeze

omega man wrote: »

Bought one 2 weeks ago. Fantastic car and i just want to drive it any chance i get. I wanted something fast, practical and discreet. It has massive power for a hatch and i have chewed up many an unsuspecting motorist on the M1! I suggest drive it before comments like 'drives like a pig' are made. Got very good reviews from autoexpress, parkers and what car in the UK. I will admit it requires attention in the wet when flooring it but it has a number of gadgets to cope with the 260bhp in a fwd car including a limited slip dif etc. I sold my 04 bmw 320D m sport for this and so far i havent looked back. (except to see the gti in the distance!)

Ok that was a bit of an exaggerated claim that it drives like a pig, but 260bhp is a lot for the two front wheels that are already busy steering the car - pretty much all the reviews mention that it feels like it has too much power and too much torque steer.

The understated looks are a plus IMO, I have always been a fan of the wolf in sheeps clothing type of cars.

Congrats anyway ... i would take the 3MPS over a golf GTI anyday.

Best of luck and try not too speed

Táck

oh another good thing, the majority of people havent a clue what it is. these lads pulled up beside me at lights and i'd never usually race but i jsut wanted to put them in their place. they had a car, dunno what it was but it was skyline, levin esque shape but not a skyline. anyway it lights went green and i left him for dirt. got to the next set of lights and i didnt even look at him but my mate did and he had his window down "what the f**k is that???"

satisfying to say the least

omega man

Táck wrote: »

oh another good thing, the majority of people havent a clue what it is. these lads pulled up beside me at lights and i'd never usually race but i jsut wanted to put them in their place. they had a car, dunno what it was but it was skyline, levin esque shape but not a skyline. anyway it lights went green and i left him for dirt. got to the next set of lights and i didnt even look at him but my mate did and he had his window down "what the f**k is that???"

satisfying to say the least

Ye got that on a number of occasions so far and like yourself i dont do the lights thing. Over took a MKV gti the other day on the M1 (doing about 100 kmph) so he pulled right in behind me and drove up my arse so i floored it leaving him wondering how that 'mazda 3 1.4L' was so fast!!! Would loved to have seen his face. having driven a bmw though i get more satisfaction messing with them! Why else would you want a 3 mps??? Stealth mode!

Táck

yeah some people slate the 3 saying "ah front wheel drive" "useless around corners" but i'd love to know have they drove it. its moments like ours above that make it worth its weight in gold. in a straight line its the bee's knee's

TCP/IP

Nice load of power only thing going aganist it is - Its a Mazda

pburns

TCP/IP wrote: »

Nice load of power only thing going aganist it is - Its a Mazda

:rolleyes:

I like Mazdas but the 3 hatchback is fugly and the saloon a bit effete looking.

Stumbled across this today - supposed '09 Mazda 3 - Nice!

http://thehollywoodextra.blogspot.com/2007/10/2009-mazda3.html

Táck

its a mazda? please elaborate

omega man

TCP/IP wrote: »

Nice load of power only thing going aganist it is - Its a Mazda

What’s wrong with Mazda? Do they not have an excellent reliability record and a good build quality history? I went from a Skoda octavia vrs to a BMW 320 to the Mazda so im not about the badge. Anyhow what’s the mps's competition? golf gti?, focus st?, leon cupra?, civic type r? megane RS?, astra opc?. Sorry but your comment was slightly ignorant imo.

whippet

while looks are subjective, personally I don't like the look of the MPS, to be honest nothing excites me about it.

The 0-60 speed is probably a slight bit lower than a MK VI GTi, the HP numbers are a bit more .. but in reality that means nothing.

How many normal road drivers would be able to get the MPS to 60mph quicker than a DSG Golf GTi?

Horses for courses but nothing about the MPS would want me to swap the GTi for it.

You might wonder why I am talking about the GTi, but it just seems that all VRs, ST, OPC and MPS owners just compare their cars to the GTi, quoting figures from the spec sheet and always seeming to be trying to justify their choice. Cars are more than just specs and engines, the whole ownership package is the most important and the GTi ticked all those boxes for me.

For others it is the OPC, the ST, the MPS or what ever!! So what if you managed to overtake a GTi or leave a 320 at the lights !

JoeA3

Its just too bland looking... most would think its a "1.4 with alloys". And while some might like that understatement, I think that if the car doesn't have an existing brand image, it needs to stand out from the crowd a bit more! As a result, its residual value would plummet I'd imagine. Who wants to spend big bucks on a big engined mazda hatchback?

You could also argue that the GTI is similarly under-styled, but the GTI has the brand-image, loyal following, etc, and will always be a desirable choice.

pburns

whippet wrote: »

You might wonder why I am talking about the GTi, but it just seems that all VRs, ST, OPC and MPS owners just compare their cars to the GTi, quoting figures from the spec sheet and always seeming to be trying to justify their choice. Cars are more than just specs and engines, the whole ownership package is the most important and the GTi ticked all those boxes for me.

For others it is the OPC, the ST, the MPS or what ever!! So what if you managed to overtake a GTi or leave a 320 at the lights !

It was a similar story back in the '80s when the Astra/Kadett GTE was much faster in a straight line but not a patch on the Golf overall.

Golf bad value though in comparison to this:
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=803017

whippet

pburns wrote: »

It was a similar story back in the '80s when the Astra/Kadett GTE was much faster in a straight line but not a patch on the Golf overall.

Golf bad value though in comparison to this:
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=803017

i wouldn't agree, the depreciation on the Mazda would be horrendous !! something similar to the situation someone I knew selling a 1 year old S40 T5 .. paid well over 40K and sold 12 months later for €23.5K.

Plus, I would still prefer the GTi to the MPS 6, especially if I had to fork out an extra 6K or so to own one.

omega man

whippet wrote: »

while looks are subjective, personally I don't like the look of the MPS, to be honest nothing excites me about it.

The 0-60 speed is probably a slight bit lower than a MK VI GTi, the HP numbers are a bit more .. but in reality that means nothing.

How many normal road drivers would be able to get the MPS to 60mph quicker than a DSG Golf GTi?

Horses for courses but nothing about the MPS would want me to swap the GTi for it.

You might wonder why I am talking about the GTi, but it just seems that all VRs, ST, OPC and MPS owners just compare their cars to the GTi, quoting figures from the spec sheet and always seeming to be trying to justify their choice. Cars are more than just specs and engines, the whole ownership package is the most important and the GTi ticked all those boxes for me.

For others it is the OPC, the ST, the MPS or what ever!! So what if you managed to overtake a GTi or leave a 320 at the lights !

What? The mkv gti (manual) has a 0-100km of 7.2 while the mps is 6.1 (WRX territory), They are not even close! Justifying choice? The MPS costs 38K new so an mps buyer could easily get a gti. I bought it for the power and the fact its plain looking appeals to me as im 30 and have kids etc so i dont want a max power car (not that the gti is that). Why would you want a fast car if not for overtaking etc? If i wanted just a good looking car with a badge i would have kept my bmw which looked far better than my mps!!

Táck

omega man wrote: »

What? The mkv gti (manual) has a 0-100km of 7.2 while the mps is 6.1 (WRX territory), They are not even close! Justifying choice? The MPS costs 38K new so an mps buyer could easily get a gti. I bought it for the power and the fact its plain looking appeals to me as im 30 and have kids etc so i dont want a max power car (not that the gti is that). Why would you want a fast car if not for overtaking etc? If i wanted just a good looking car with a badge i would have kept my bmw which looked far better than my mps!!

now i'd have to disagree with you on that one omega man

omega man

whippet wrote: »

i wouldn't agree, the depreciation on the Mazda would be horrendous !! something similar to the situation someone I knew selling a 1 year old S40 T5 .. paid well over 40K and sold 12 months later for €23.5K.

Plus, I would still prefer the GTi to the MPS 6, especially if I had to fork out an extra 6K or so to own one.

I just can believe that depreciation on the S40! I bought a new skoda octavia vrs (2006 MKII) for 32K and sold it for 27K a year later so im not worried about the mazda tbh.

omega man

Táck wrote: »

now i'd have to disagree with you on that one omega man

The BMW? Ye it looked lovely, a 04 320D M-Sport in black! Looked the part but just too slow for me.

whippet

omega man wrote: »

What? The mkv gti (manual) has a 0-100km of 7.2 while the mps is 6.1 (WRX territory), They are not even close!

What I was talking about was the DSG GTi, which has a 0-60 of 6.9sec, and I would say that the average driver wouldn't be able to get the MPS to it's 0-60 time as a manual as opposed to the ease of the same sprint from the DSG GTi.

I am not trying to play down the MPS, it's not my cup of tea. It is a sweet motor, as is the OPC and the ST ... personally I prefer the GTi.

dcGT

omega man wrote: »

The BMW? Ye it looked lovely, a 04 320D M-Sport in black! Looked the part but just too slow for me.

But the MPS is certainly not as common

DC.

Táck

omega man wrote: »

The BMW? Ye it looked lovely, a 04 320D M-Sport in black! Looked the part but just too slow for me.

i find it hard to think what car will satisfy you after the mps...

omega man

whippet wrote: »

What I was talking about was the DSG GTi, which has a 0-60 of 6.9sec, and I would say that the average driver wouldn't be able to get the MPS to it's 0-60 time as a manual as opposed to the ease of the same sprint from the DSG GTi.

I am not trying to play down the MPS, it's not my cup of tea. It is a sweet motor, as is the OPC and the ST ... personally I prefer the GTi.

Whippet you will get no arguement from me on the GTI! Its a cracking car and im not saying the MPS is a better car. Its more powerful and as the GTI suits your needs so does the MPS for me! I agree on the DSG point but any decent driver should get the MPS ahead of the DSG GTI and as i said before i dont really do the lights thing, i prefer the mid range battle!

omega man

Táck wrote: »

i find it hard to think what car will satisfy you after the mps...

Sadly i get bored far too easy! I have promised the wife i will keep the mps for 2 years so unless i want a divorce i will have to stick with it. In saying that i cant imagine wanting to change. To get a similar powered car with a bmw or the likes badge is just out of my budget and out of common sense for me also. I have always loved the golf R32 but even the new 3.2 V6 is only 250BHP!