MAZDA 3 MPS?! Really???

Rustyboy4

Tuner
Points
27
Location
Ayrshire, Scotland
Car
Seat Leon FR TDI
Evening all,

It's been ages from I've posted so apologies in advance. The reason for the lack of posting is that my beloved Seat Leon FR PD170 decided to commit suicide and has spent the last 4 months in the garage!!! Hint of advice never buy one ..... ever!!!

With that in mind I am looking to get rid of him now that he's back to a full bill of health and keeping in mind it has over 110k miles on the clock. Having had a hunt around I staggered across the Mazda 3 MPS. Having had a Mazda 3 before and being quite impressed with it I was wondering if anyone has had any experience of the MPS? It looks pretty awesome with the Aero kit and quite understated i.e. it's not obviously fast like a skyline for instance.

I was wondering if their is anything to look out for when buying one or any potential little niggles that anyone has with them? Just looking for general advice as I'm not looking to bother about remapping and stage 2 or anything at the minute.

Any ideas and advice muchly appreciated oh and I am looking at second hand up to around £8k.

cheers as always
 
They are a good buy, and share engines with the Focus RS IIRC. Reliability is pretty good, some people don't like the drive, saying it is too soft and refined but that is nothing that can't be fixed with some suspension upgrades if it really bothered you.
 
They are a good buy, and share engines with the Focus RS IIRC. Reliability is pretty good, some people don't like the drive, saying it is too soft and refined but that is nothing that can't be fixed with some suspension upgrades if it really bothered you.

Not true matey, not the same engine. Very nice cars imo and uses the excellent Focus platform but with much better looks and less common.
 
:lol: You have a lot to answer for then! That's probably where I get the idea that a Focus RS is the best car ever made from!
 
I did have a look at the RS and I've got to admit they do look pretty sweet but they are more common and everybody knows what to expect when you see one. Hence why I was looking at the MPS.

From the sounds of everyones comments it sounds like a good deal and I haven't heard anybody moan about reliability of a mazda before.

T9 I know you were looking for a picture but in fear of breaking the forum rules I would just be putting up a link to auto trader. If you look it up between 7k - 9k and most of them will have aero kit in the description. It's basically just a spoiler and a slightly different grille. There are some of the newer ones with the scoop in the bonnet that looks more like the Impreza but I'm looking to avoid drawing too much attention to myself given my .......... how would you say ........ coulorful driving licence! lol
 
On the mention as well Waynne I had a test drive and I agree with your comments on the ride being a bit more on the soft side but that's probably ideal for what I am after as I do a pretty nice 400 mile round trip drive every 2-3 weeks so the comfort comes in handy. Plus when you have a staffy pup in the passenger seat that up chucks any time you hit the slightest bump and me being a bit of a clean freak when it comes to the car it's definitely a plus point. lol
 
Hands down see more Mazda 3 MPS' on the road than Mk1 Focus RS' unless you're talking about mk2 in which case they are common as muck, see one or two a day.
 
What year of MPS? The post 2009 ones are supposed to be better handling, although the early ones were just a bit torque steery and frankly torque steer is just a bleat from shandy drinkers. The car goes where I tell it to go to, grr. (;->

They're getting very good value now, and are 260bhp as standard with 300 easily attainable.

Here are some links I found when researching them:

http://www.fr-rtuning-shop.co.uk/corksport-mazda-3mps-6mps-2.3t-top-mount-intercooler.html

http://www.fr-rtuning-shop.co.uk/MA...-MPS-2-3T-256BHP-Remap-Session/prod_1095.html

http://www.jam-sport.co.uk/home/mazda/mazda-3-mps/engine-performance/intercoolers.html

http://www.litchfieldimports.co.uk/mazda_tuning.asp

http://www.responsechips.com/Mazda-MPS-Performace-Chips-and-Remaps-_qn_69.html

Like a lot of turbo cars the standard intercooler struggles as soon as you start to tune.
 
Thanks for the input folks I think the final decision is that I'm going to go ahead and get the MPS and go from there. I wasn't sure about tuning but it looks like I could easily burst £4k on the intercooler, intake, exhaust brakes and could even look at a cheeky turbo upgrade for some of that buck as well!!

I'm getting a price from the dealership for my leon on Monday hopefully and the Mazda should be mine soon providing the garage don't mess about. I'll let you all know what happens!!!
 
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Ok so Just as an update, the Mazda 3 MPS that I was looking at has sold due to the time it has taken the garage to agree a price for my Leon as I am trading it in with repairs needed!! A right pain in the arse!!!

I am currently trying to source another from relatively nearby as I can't travel too far for the car as I don't have much means of getting there!! As it stands I'll give you an update as soon as I know what is happening but when that will be I'm not sure!!! Damn the world of motoring!!! lol
 
I have the mps year 2007 with aero kit it's so much fun but the downsides are constantly filling it up with fuel average 21.5 mpg and road tax £435 a year. Otherwise I can't help putting my foot down every time I take it out I never get bored.
 
Road tax is bizarre, it's like stamp duty on houses, it needs to be a proper sliding scale rather than the tax on a veyron being the same as the tax on a mazda3
 
My neighbour has that car, looks amazing and sounds great with a borla cat back exhaust. It's lowered, tinted and blacked out. I'm looking at getting an after market exhaust now ahah
 

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