Mazda 3 MPS

[justanother5tar]

After looking through many cars (and posting many threads to accompany them, sorry), these have now come up.

Both me and my OH like them, which is an achievement in itself, tbh.

330i's very rarely turn up in a spec/colour I like. VAGs offerings bored me on the test drives.

Looking very much like these are a winner.

I'd like to know if anyone has/had one of these, I'm looking at mk1s with lowish miles. Most of them are 150 miles + away (brilliant).

-Are they fun to drive?
-Reliable?
-Practical?

Plus anything else you think I need to know about them?

Thank you.

[MattHall91]

Never owned but regularly ride passenger in my mates mk2.

Torque steer can be an issue but they are fun and have a great turn of pace.

He's never had any issues, although granted his is newer than the mk1s you'll be looking at.

[s m]

Hasn't danneth ( user on here ) had one for ages?

[justanother5tar]

MattHall91 said:

Never owned but regularly ride passenger in my mates mk2.

Torque steer can be an issue but they are fun and have a great turn of pace.

He's never had any issues, although granted his is newer than the mk1s you'll be looking at.

Yeah, I read about the torque steer. I can live with that. Ill probably mod it anyway so it'd be a problem sooner or later I suppose.

As far as I can tell, they both seem to be equally as reliable as each other, the mk1 & 2's.

s m said:

Hasn't danneth ( user on here ) had one for ages?

If he has, hopefully hell see the thread!

[andy118run]

No ownership experience myself, so nothing useful to contribute.

But I've read plenty about them when car hunting myself and they were certainly on my wish list.

However, finding a really tidy, low miles, full service history example proved a bridge too far for me.

[justanother5tar]

andy118run said:

No ownership experience myself, so nothing useful to contribute.

But I've read plenty about them when car hunting myself and they were certainly on my wish list.

However, finding a really tidy, low miles, full service history example proved a bridge too far for me.

Ive 5 cars on my AutoTrader saved list. They are certainly very few and far between!

[SlowStig]

I had a mk1 years ago, even now I haven't had a car as quick as it was and it was deceptive as the power was very smoothly delivered.

From what I remember, it did ~28-30mpg and very quiet even on WOT. Handling was a bit numb and interior plastics felt cheap and a bit fragile but the mk2 were apparently a lot better interiors.


Take one for a test drive and see for yourself, a simple remap is around 300bhp and very little is needed to go further.

[andy118run]

justanother5tar said:

Ive 5 cars on my AutoTrader saved list. They are certainly very few and far between!

Also found that the better cars did not hang around for long. I had a few saved to my list on AT but the really tidy ones disappeared after a day or two so you have to be reasonably decisive if you do see a good un.

[justanother5tar]

SlowStig said:

I had a mk1 years ago, even now I haven't had a car as quick as it was and it was deceptive as the power was very smoothly delivered.

From what I remember, it did ~28-30mpg and very quiet even on WOT. Handling was a bit numb and interior plastics felt cheap and a bit fragile but the mk2 were apparently a lot better interiors.


Take one for a test drive and see for yourself, a simple remap is around 300bhp and very little is needed to go further.

28MPG is better than Fiesta was!

Handling can be sharpened up according to the forums, so not too concerned there. As for the plastics, thats just typical nap isn't it? (Wont even look at a mk2, they're fking horrible. )

300BHP will do me for a while id imagine, will have to have a go and see. Most I've heard/read about them is pretty positive.

andy118run said:

Also found that the better cars did not hang around for long. I had a few saved to my list on AT but the really tidy ones disappeared after a day or two so you have to be reasonably decisive if you do see a good un.

Mine have been on a couple of days and I'm down one already.

If its right for both of us, I can't see it being too hard a decision, or taking too long.

[Bat28]

Had a Mk1 until last year ...

I thought it was a good car: the handling is not the best but there is still fun to be had.
The push in 3rd/4th gear always put a smile on my face

I had one of the few facelifted mk1 versions (58 or 09 plates) with a sligthly different interior (fabric on the seats and black trim) and it was a nice place to be !

Practicality wise, it was confortable enough for the in-laws so they didn't moan, and the boot was quite big aswell

One of the big let downs of the car (for me) was the noise of the engine ... but that can be sorted with a few mods !

[Ali_T]

s m said:

Hasn't danneth ( user on here ) had one for ages?

He still has it? Good grief, he must like it after all!

[Ali_T]

s m said:

Hasn't danneth ( user on here ) had one for ages?

He still has it? Good grief, he must like it after all!

[Crafty_]

IIRC they have variable timing and there can be an issue there, which is relatively common and not too expensive to fix.

Mk2 is in a lower tax band, so maybe worth stretching for one (looks better too).

I think the biggest issue is the limited choice and that the majority are white, the metallic grey looks best imho.

[justanother5tar]

Bat28 said:

Had a Mk1 until last year ...

I thought it was a good car: the handling is not the best but there is still fun to be had.
The push in 3rd/4th gear always put a smile on my face

I had one of the few facelifted mk1 versions (58 or 09 plates) with a sligthly different interior (fabric on the seats and black trim) and it was a nice place to be !

Practicality wise, it was confortable enough for the in-laws so they didn't moan, and the boot was quite big aswell

One of the big let downs of the car (for me) was the noise of the engine ... but that can be sorted with a few mods !

As long as i can have a bit of fun, I'm happy.

Im looking at the facelift ones, at the moment. Not bothered about an older one, as you say, not too much of a difference anyway!

I need practical. My old ST was too small, we were starting to struggle. Plus 5 doors are a HUGE plus.

I think id like to keep it quiet! If i could get it quietly to 300BHP id be very happy.

Crafty_ said:

IIRC they have variable timing and there can be an issue there, which is relatively common and not too expensive to fix.

Mk2 is in a lower tax band, so maybe worth stretching for one (looks better too).

I think the biggest issue is the limited choice and that the majority are white, the metallic grey looks best imho.

Yeah, I've read about the VVT rattle, only around $450 to fix, so I'm not too scared of that, plus its reasonably easy to identify.

I pay monthly for my tax so I'm not fussed about high tax band.

I don't like the MK2's, i think they're horrible looking things! Much prefer the discreet looks of the MK1.

Edited by justanother5tar on Thursday 26th February 19:46

[maxdb]

I have a low mileage mk1 I recently bought. I got it as needed a bigger car that was a little more sporty, fast and kind of discrete.

Mines has the aero kit which I love. Whilst I really like the car it does have some downsides I want to improve in the future:

- The car has quite a lot of road noise so some better sound proofing may get put in.

- The ride is quite hard so I may get some softer springs.

- There's an annoying squeek from the drivers seatbelt I need to fix.

- The standard turbo's have weak oil seals so I may upgrade the turbo at some point.

- Highest tax band and low mpg

However don't let these points put you off. I recommend taking one out for a test drive. I don't find the interior to be too bad for a jap car. The sound system is nice aswell.

[justanother5tar]

maxdb said:

I have a low mileage mk1 I recently bought. I got it as needed a bigger car that was a little more sporty, fast and kind of discrete.

Mines has the aero kit which I love. Whilst I really like the car it does have some downsides I want to improve in the future:

Yep, i want a bigger car, thats still quick and sporty.

maxdb said:

- The car has quite a lot of road noise so some better sound proofing may get put in.

As you say, if its that bad i can always throw some Dynamat in.

maxdb said:

- The ride is quite hard so I may get some softer springs.

Fiesta ST's may aswell not have suspension. I imagine its going to be an improvement over that at any rate.

maxdb said:

- There's an annoying squeek from the drivers seatbelt I need to fix.

Fiesta ST's (and my old 1.4 too, actually) squeak, rattle and make any other noise you can imagine from most panels at the age mine is. ONE annoying rattle would be like cloud 9!

maxdb said:

- The standard turbo's have weak oil seals so I may upgrade the turbo at some point.

Yeah, I've seen that on MPS owners forums. Besides the VVT rattle, seems to be the only big concern.

maxdb said:

- Highest tax band and low mpg

As i said before, I pay monthly so its not much of a (noticeable) difference. Im used to around 20ish MPG anyway, so not too worried there either. Performance has to come at a price i suppose!

maxdb said:

However don't let these points put you off. I recommend taking one out for a test drive. I don't find the interior to be too bad for a jap car. The sound system is nice aswell.

I will be taking one out this weekend hopefully! The interior is nice enough and I've heard the stereo is meant to be pretty good, though ill likely change the headunit at some point anyway.

Appreciate the info.

[JimmyConwayNW]

I always thought these had the focus ST 2.5 engine in them. That's not the case is it.

I have driven one once it had been mapped and it was exceptionally quick. I think they are quite a nice car and rare so should retain a bit of future value aswell.

[kingofdbrits]

I have a Mk2, had it since new 4 years ago and 105k miles. it's been a reliable car, i blew the turbo seals but that was my own fault really pushing the boost to 21psi, so using my man logic i bought a GTX turbo and the car is now running around 380bhp. It's a lot of fun.
I was thinking about replacing it but everything so far has been a bit dull in comparison, had an M135i for a day but it just felt slooow and boring, hoping the Focus RS will be more fun as it has a reworked MPS engine.

You do need to do a few mods that make a massive difference, a remap, not just for the extra peak power but also to remove the limiters under 60mph and stop the power falling off a cliff above 5.5krpm, load of options now and quite cheap too. Also need a rear engine mount and some better springs, maybe a turbo inlet pipe.

If you could find another £1000 you will have a 320bhp car that will be good fun. I remember reading a decent write up in a motor mag some years ago and i liked their statement of the car being for a hooligan with a family, sums it up in 1 sentance.

[ZX10R NIN]

JimmyConwayNW said:

I always thought these had the focus ST 2.5 engine in them. That's not the case is it.

I have driven one once it had been mapped and it was exceptionally quick. I think they are quite a nice car and rare so should retain a bit of future value aswell.

It's the fore father to the new 2.3 ecoboost unit

[anonymous-user]

Sorry if this is completely wrong:

Having recently had an abs control module failure in an octavia (£820 bill) I was lead to believe that the exact same unit was fitted to the mazda 3s of this age.

I like the mps, especially the mk2. They are discrete.