Mazda3 MPS 2009 review

Mazda is not a company that needs to be told something twice. Hence the more overtly aggressive look of the new Mazda3 MPS. No longer does the fastest car in the Mazda range spend its days looking like anything but the street rocket it is.

"Yes, there was a lesson learned from that (the understated look of the previous model)," Mazda Australia's national marketing manager Alastair Doak concedes. "Feedback was that people wanted it to look more aggressive, not less ... so now it does."

That is not to say that Mazda did too badly out of the superceded model. Arriving late in the model life of the mainstream car in the middle of 2006, Mazda still managed to move some 1500 of the hot MPS models.

This time around with look-at-me front styling, a bonnet slot that screams turbo and pricing as hot as the car itself the leading Japanese importer has much bigger plans.

"What is really important this time is that the MPS has arrived at the pointy end of the model life when the whole range is still fresh and exciting," Doak says. "That, along with pricing that is below the launch price of the previous model despite a heap of extra equipment, is very exciting for us."

Pricing and equipment

The entry-level MPS is listed at $39,690 with the higher-specced Luxury at $43,290. Dynamic stability control, traction control, ABS, EBD, six airbags, satellite navigation, trip computer, Bluetooth connectivity, dual-zone climate control, 8-way power seat adjustment, keyless entry and start, 6-disc in-dash MP3 compatible stereo, 18-inch alloys, 225/40 Dunlop rubber, fog lamps and a sports body kit is all standard across the range. For your extra $3600 the Luxury brings adaptive (active) bi-xenon headlights, a premium Bose sound system with 10 speakers and a sub-woofer, rain sensing wipers and auto dimming rear view mirror.

Drivetrain

Both models offer the same 2.3-litre direct injection four-cylinder turbo effectively carried over from the outgoing model with a tweak here and there to produce the 190kW and 380Nm outputs but at touch more efficiently _ a combined cycle fuel figure of 9.9L/100km against a neat 10L/100km in the old model. The 0-100km/h sprint time of 6.1 seconds remains as does the top speed of 250km/h. It still drives the front wheels, though a six-speed manual.

Platform

The biggest change to the new MPS is in its refinement. While the car looks more agressive and goes even harder than the outgoing model it is less raw and a much more relaxed experience. Most of that comes from the evolutionary changes to the small car platform with greater emphasis body stiffness and strength and the increased use of high- and ultra-high strength steel.

Around that stiffer chassis structure Mazda's suspension engineers have been able to devise a better balance between ride comfort and outright sports performance and handling. Larger diameter stabilisers, dampers set for higher roll stiffness, spring rates tuned to the stiffer chassis and new wider Dunlop rubber with increased sidewall rigidity all bring something to the party.

Driving

The overall impression is of a less nervous car and while Mazda will argue until the cows come home that the outgoing model didn't suffer unduly from torque steer there have been improvements made to the boost pressure control to keep torque delivery more linear without the sudden dumps of urge that can unsettle a front-driver.

On the open road the MPS exalts in being driven enthusiastically. The six-speed manual box is sharp and precise although the clutch engagement varied between the test drive cars from an almost immediate engagement at the first release of pressure to a more relaxed take-up a few centimetres from the floor. The gear ratios are well sorted and once the engine is on boost its flexibility makes third, fourth and fifth a veritable playground capable of covering almost all situations.

Steering feel is good _ precise without being overly sharp and you are rarely left in any doubt as to where the car is heading or where it wants to be. There is just enough "sneeze factor" built in to the steering to allow for a moment or two of distraction.

Inside the cabin there are all the nice design features of the garden variety Mazda3 - good space and ergonomic placement of switches and dials with extras, some worthwhile and other not so. On the bonus side are the seats, comfortable and well bolstered, while there are definite question marks over the red-toned cloth inserts in the doors and matching plastic dash treatment. It is all colour-coordinated with the red instrument display, but ...

The Mazda3 MPS is on sale now with Mazda expecting to sell around 70 a month.