AFTER the emergence of some serious hot hatches in the past couple of years, with the likes of Vauxhall, Ford an VW throwing their weight around with the Astra VXR, Focus ST and the R32 respectively, Mazda have decided to enter the fray.

And what a way to do it – the new Mazda 3 MPS is the fastest front-wheel drive hot hatch ever made, with a 2.3 litre turbocharged engine producing 260ps (256bhp).

The most powerful engine offered in a car of this type literally hurls the MPS from 0-62mph in a dazzling 6.1 seconds, onto a limited top speed of 155mph. Equally impressive is the engine's torque figure – 280lb-ft, which come in from 3000rpm onwards.



At first glance there is nothing too outlandish about the MPS. It looks a lot humbler than it actually is – and maybe that's the idea.

Whereas the ST and Astra VXR scream hot hatch at you, the Mazda does it without really raising its voice.

From the standard 3 model the front bumper has gained a bigger grille and a gaping hole to give the engine more air.
Side skirts have been bolted on and some 10-spoke 18" alloys add a bit of glamour. The rear bumper looks slightly more aggressive with a slab of black plastic and a big-bore exhaust, but that's it.

The real changes are where it counts, under the bonnet. A wolf in sheep's clothing, so to speak.

Once inside the car the interior is stylish without being too in-your-face, the grey dash board illuminated by hints of red, around the Bose stereo and air conditioning system controls, red stitching on the steering wheel, gear stick and bucket seats.



Turn the ignition key and the instruments light up with a red/orange hue set on a cool blue background.

Very nice indeed. The speedometer goes up to 180mph, the first indication that this Mazda is hiding something very special under its bonnet.

As I selected first from the nicely weighted six-speed manual gearbox and set off onto the A590 at Levens heading for Lancaster, it was soon apparent that the MPS, although a refined and understated hatchback, was definitely going to prove to be very hot after all.

I was aware of the engine output figures before I picked the car up, but I wasn't sure how much of the power would actually be put down on the road and how manageable it would be – always a concern with a powerful front wheel drive motor.



Thorough
A belated Valentine's Day trip away to Glasgow with my fiancee provided ample opportunity for a thorough test drive and I needn't have worried – the MPS can put the power down and then some.

0-62mph in 6.1 seconds is definitely worth shouting about but more impressive is how early the torque comes in, providing instant, powerful acceleration, whatever the gear.
There is no waiting around whilst you get into the power band, even in sixth gear at 3000rpm this car accelerates like a bullet.

It does however lull you into a false sense of security, the car feels very solid and planted on the road and the comfort and quiet of the cabin meant I was often unaware of how quickly we were travelling.

In fact going purely on 'feel', for the first day at least I was estimating our speed at 20mph less than we were actually travelling. A lesson that needed to be learnt quickly to avoid the attention of traffic police on the M6...



Off the motorway on the open roads and the MPS handles nicely – the chassis does a good job of keeping everything in check dispatching corners without breaking a sweat, and reaching some scary speeds in very little time indeed.

Now of course, if this was Top Gear magazine, I could rave on all day about how enjoyable to drive the Mazda was, throwing it round a track testing the limits of its performance and generally revelling in the noise of the engine and the squeal and smoke of tyres on the edge of their grip and beyond.

Unfortunately the Lancaster Guardian doesn't have a test track, nor do we have a tame racing driver by the name of The Stig, and equally I don't think PV Dobson would be too keen either.

So, there is some less petrol-headed information to look into, for example, fuel consumption.

The combined figure is 29.1 mpg which isn't bad at all.
In real terms, with the majority of our trip spent on the motorway we found the Mazda to be pretty good on fuel, helped by the fact that a comfortable cruising speed is achieved at around 3000rpm in sixth gear, which ensures a comfortable, quiet and economical drive.

A high level of safety features apply, which in this day and age, with the volume of cars on the road, is reassuring to know.



WIth a price starting at £18,995, I have to say, you will be very hard pushed to find a more complete driving experience than the MPS for under £20 grand.

The performance is incredible and means it is an absolute pleasure to drive.

The Mazda has brought a new level of power to the hot-hatch market, but also a more refined, less obvious quality, which rather cleverly, makes it stand out even more.

This car turned heads several times over the weekend, and on more than one occasion after parking up and walking away, I couldn't help but glance back to admire it, but also reassure myself that I would get to drive it again very shortly.



Surely the mark of a great car.

If you would like more information about the Mazda 3 MPS or to organise a test drive, then contact PV Dobson, Levens on 015395 52441.