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thinking of a Mazda 3MPS - thoughts?
HowardB - 3/8/11 at 09:43 PM

The WRX has gone to the big auction house in the sky, and since in their wisdom Subaru have upped the price by £11,000 since the last one I bought, I feel a change is in order,...

So collective wisdom that is Locostbuilders, anyone got any opinions on the Mazda 3 MPS, or an alternative suggestions,...

thanks in advance

wylliezx9r - 3/8/11 at 10:07 PM

Very under rated car from what I've read but never driven one. My mate just got a vw golf r and I gotta say it was pretty amazing to drive. Don't believe the bull poo in the manual that it'll do 30 plus mpg the best he's got is 24. The quality of their car is amazing but at just and 27 k its a lot of money. Think of the second hand 911 you could get for that.

chrisxr2 - 4/8/11 at 04:43 AM

The mazda 3 mps is meant to be fricking quick, not sold on the looks though, what about a mazda 6 mps??

HowardB - 4/8/11 at 05:56 AM

quote:
Originally posted by chrisxr2
The mazda 3 mps is meant to be fricking quick, not sold on the looks though, what about a mazda 6 mps??


Thanks for the suggestion Chris, but I need a hatch back or a wagon, and the 6mps is a saloon only, so not so good.

Not too keen on modern cars as I can't stand all the bl00dy beeping and binging that they do constantly,...

Thanks again for all the input,..

Proby - 4/8/11 at 07:03 AM

Very very under rated cars from what I have read too, never got the chance to drive one, but people who I've spoken to who have driven one were very shocked! I think they are very well spec'd too as well as the performance side of things.

SeanStone - 4/8/11 at 07:27 AM

I thought they were supposed to be hounded by torquesteer and had a chassis that couldnt handle the power?

Second gencivic type r would be cheaper and much more fun IMO

MikeRJ - 4/8/11 at 08:28 AM

quote:
Originally posted by SeanStone
I thought they were supposed to be hounded by torquesteer and had a chassis that couldnt handle the power?


For the power and torque they develop they are actualy pretty good IMO, the biggest complaint is they are a bit lacking in feedback.

The road tax is horrendous though, they fall into the top bracket (£455 per year at the moment).

An EP3 will be older (maybe quite a lot older), and whilst they are great fun to drive, I think they are rather ugly and tend to have a poor image. The Mazda has that wonderful combination of stunning performance and relative anonimity.

madmandegge - 4/8/11 at 10:37 AM

Have only heard good things, I was interested in an older 3 MPS before I noticed the tax, £460 a year!

The newer 3 MPS, however, has a much more "sensible" road tax.

18 May 2009 – onwards
6 months £143.00
12 months £260.00
First year £580.00
Band K 224 CO2 (g/km)

bi22le - 4/8/11 at 11:03 AM

My brother has a 6 MPS and it is fast. The 3 MPS has the same 2.3 turbo engine and power IIRC so should be even quicker with less weight.

Cant really add to much more to what has already been said. They are jap so are very high spec but do feel cheapish.

Not much feedback from the controls but the chassiss is not to bad. Is it FWD or 4WD? The 6 MPS is 4WD and handeld the power well due to this. If the 3 is FWD I can imagen it being a bit of a pig if pushed. You can also get bulefin style tuning tools.

Tax is massive, insurance I guess will be to.

Go for a test drive and see what you think, different people value and rate quality in different ways. A good option to change to from a scooby, they are very similar cars.

HTH

Biz

Ninehigh - 4/8/11 at 11:09 AM

quote:
Originally posted by madmandegge
Have only heard good things, I was interested in an older 3 MPS before I noticed the tax, £460 a year!

The newer 3 MPS, however, has a much more "sensible" road tax.

18 May 2009 – onwards
6 months £143.00
12 months £260.00
First year £580.00
Band K 224 CO2 (g/km)


There's a band K?

Heard pretty much the same thing, looks a bit bland inside and out, goes like stink.

mrwibble - 4/8/11 at 01:43 PM

i've been looking around, unfortunately i can't find a car that does everything as well as a ford focus. just been on fords website, and it looks like the new model ford is still waiting for its sportiest versions to arrive, but 150ps & 47mpg combined form a 1.6 petrol still looks pretty good to me.

i say unfortunately, because they are a tad dull these days...

[Edited on 4/8/11 by mrwibble]

loggyboy - 4/8/11 at 01:46 PM

My wife came home last night asking if we could have one of these after she saw one on the way home. I showed her the price and she soon changed her mind.
If it was my money id go for the C30, identical chassis (same as focs RS/ST also), looks alot smarter, less chavvy and i would expect hold its value alot more. Id also probly go for the Diesel version as its cheaper to run and tax!

[Edited on 4/8/11 by loggyboy]

HowardB - 4/8/11 at 04:52 PM

thanks for all your thoughts, the Scooby was expensive, but great fun, it was basic, but good fun, in fact it was great fun. thing is I just can't justify £32k for the car that used to be £21k,....

3MPS test drive waiting otherwise, I'm really not sure where to go next.

ps it 4WD like the scooby, so it makes a great Tow car too,...

Ninehigh - 4/8/11 at 06:17 PM

As an alternative you could go with a Legacy... Pretty much the same thing really...

HowardB - 4/8/11 at 07:12 PM

Had a look at the Legacy, and well, where the Scooby was basic and functional the Legacy comes with bells and whistles, and no handbrake,...

It's on the list next to the Forester, either on the boxer diesel would meet the need without the fuel cost. Had looked at the 159 wagon, but whilst they look stunning, I feel that the residuals are a challenge.

hmmmm,...

thanks again

loggyboy - 4/8/11 at 09:14 PM

quote:
Originally posted by HowardB
ps it 4WD like the scooby, so it makes a great Tow car too,...


You realise the 3 MPS is FWD?