RE: Mazda 3 MPS: Spotted
Discussion
KMB said:
I'd be put off by the usual terrible CO2 and hence very high car tax band that Mazda struggle to escape, did someone say RX-8 
£500 a year is too much of a sting on a car of this value IMO.
Exactly the reason why I did not get this, or the 6 MPS, or the Lexus GS430, 370z etc...£500 a year is too much of a sting on a car of this value IMO.
ymmf said:
KMB said:
I'd be put off by the usual terrible CO2 and hence very high car tax band that Mazda struggle to escape, did someone say RX-8
£500 a year is too much of a sting on a car of this value IMO.
Exactly the reason why I did not get this, or the 6 MPS, or the Lexus GS430, 370z etc...£500 a year is too much of a sting on a car of this value IMO.
Trouble with the MPS is for the mk1 that ran until 2007 it just looked crap and has aged really badly plus had £500 tax when most other hot hatches were £300 and the mk2 2008+ as featured in the original post is really overpriced and boring looking.
For a good mk2 2008 with reasonable mileage your still talking about 7.5k on average for a 9 year old car which is ridiculous I can’t believe how well they hold there value maybe it’s because there are so few around.
The other thing aswell that holds them back is nobody knows what the hell an MPS is! To 99% of people it just looks like a boring run of the mill hatch with a 1.6 in. When I had my ST Focus In performance blue people who don’t have a clue about cars like women in work or older people all knew it was an ST and would comment on it but even many petrol heads would struggle to point an MPS out.
For a good mk2 2008 with reasonable mileage your still talking about 7.5k on average for a 9 year old car which is ridiculous I can’t believe how well they hold there value maybe it’s because there are so few around.
The other thing aswell that holds them back is nobody knows what the hell an MPS is! To 99% of people it just looks like a boring run of the mill hatch with a 1.6 in. When I had my ST Focus In performance blue people who don’t have a clue about cars like women in work or older people all knew it was an ST and would comment on it but even many petrol heads would struggle to point an MPS out.
ST Ford said:
The other thing aswell that holds them back is nobody knows what the hell an MPS is! To 99% of people it just looks like a boring run of the mill hatch with a 1.6 in.
I think for those that buy them, that's the appeal. And more second-hand buyers are of that mind-set than new buyers, which is why the residuals are relatively strong. GTEYE said:
I get that and the Golf might not be exciting...but at least VW tried to make a bit of an effort.....just look at the Mazda interior.....could you really say that was a pleasant place to be?
I guess it depends on what the delta was in terms of price for a MPS vs a GTI at the time with similarly spec'd options. I have no idea but I would guess the Mazda was a cheaper car to buy?
ST Ford said:
When I had my ST Focus In performance blue people who don’t have a clue about cars like women in work or older people all knew it was an ST and would comment on it but even many petrol heads would struggle to point an MPS out.
Funny that, I had an ST Fiesta and I constantly had people asking if it was diesel, and other people being surprised at it having as much power as it did. Others thought it was a Focus, because nowhere did it say Fiesta. Honestly, I don't think it's the Mazda MPS vs ST having different levels of awareness, just that most people most of the time don't know anything and don't care.
I think most people I know think my Golf R is a diesel, because it's a Golf, and VW's are pretty much all diesels.
That's the level of most people it seems. The Mazda suffers for being a relatively unknown hatchback to most people. MPS or not, it would always struggle to get noticed.
GTEYE said:
Well based on the current one (and in fairness the Mk6 wasn't so different), it has masses more showroom appeal than the Mazda - the Golf looks like a quality item, the Mazda looks like a white goods appliance.
The Golf looks like a "Golf" and has lots of subtle details, the Mazda, sorry I can't see anything and looks really dated.
Fanboi alert!The Golf looks like a "Golf" and has lots of subtle details, the Mazda, sorry I can't see anything and looks really dated.
Neither is a game-changer style-wise, but the VW is nothing special and its ubiquity counts against in IMO. Saying it looks like a Golf is not a compliment, BTW.
TheTyreAbuser said:
Funny that, I had an ST Fiesta and I constantly had people asking if it was diesel, and other people being surprised at it having as much power as it did. Others thought it was a Focus, because nowhere did it say Fiesta. .
Lol I had that with my Mondeo ST220 despite the fact it has big twin exhausts a bodykit and big alloys every single person would go “is that a diesel?” It would piss me off and then when I would say no it’s the ST and a 3.0 V6 they would kind of look at me disappointed it wasn’t a diesel or they would go “ I bet that drinks fuel”. Think the Fiesta ST falls in that category to most it’s just another 1 litre Fiesta Zetec S but the mk2 Focus ST225 I had seemed to get recognised by a lot of non car enthusiasts probably due to its more aggressive styling and 5 pot noise
ST Ford said:
Lol I had that with my Mondeo ST220 despite the fact it has big twin exhausts a bodykit and big alloys every single person would go “is that a diesel?” It would piss me off and then when I would say no it’s the ST and a 3.0 V6 they would kind of look at me disappointed it wasn’t a diesel or they would go “ I bet that drinks fuel”.
Think the Fiesta ST falls in that category to most it’s just another 1 litre Fiesta Zetec S but the mk2 Focus ST225 I had seemed to get recognised by a lot of non car enthusiasts probably due to its more aggressive styling and 5 pot noise
I had people asking why I didn't "just get the Focus", and "it's a bit of a girl's car innit". Yep, Fiesta ST MP215, not "manly" enough, who knew?Think the Fiesta ST falls in that category to most it’s just another 1 litre Fiesta Zetec S but the mk2 Focus ST225 I had seemed to get recognised by a lot of non car enthusiasts probably due to its more aggressive styling and 5 pot noise
Ah well.
zizgag69 said:
ymmf said:
KMB said:
I'd be put off by the usual terrible CO2 and hence very high car tax band that Mazda struggle to escape, did someone say RX-8
£500 a year is too much of a sting on a car of this value IMO.
Exactly the reason why I did not get this, or the 6 MPS, or the Lexus GS430, 370z etc...£500 a year is too much of a sting on a car of this value IMO.
Mazda def dropped the ball with emissions and economy back then, not sure if they're better now.
PS - I had forgotten most on here are so weathly that shelling out £500 on road tax is pocket change
Edited by KMB on Tuesday 28th November 16:28
Crazy price , in 2013 i paid 9500 (43k) for my mk2 from the main merc dealer in gloucester ffs
For such a big car the interior space is tight , at 6`4 i was never truly comfy .As for the reliability and speed i was mapped for 97% of ownership and i did just over 20k in 18months or so.It left me with ~360bhp with the bottom end still intact . The new owner took it all the way to 97k with no further hardware changes .
Confirming my suspicion that the mk2s are much more robust cars . They are a bargain , just not worth that much as you will always struggle to sell privately
For such a big car the interior space is tight , at 6`4 i was never truly comfy .As for the reliability and speed i was mapped for 97% of ownership and i did just over 20k in 18months or so.It left me with ~360bhp with the bottom end still intact . The new owner took it all the way to 97k with no further hardware changes .
Confirming my suspicion that the mk2s are much more robust cars . They are a bargain , just not worth that much as you will always struggle to sell privately
KMB said:
zizgag69 said:
ymmf said:
KMB said:
I'd be put off by the usual terrible CO2 and hence very high car tax band that Mazda struggle to escape, did someone say RX-8
£500 a year is too much of a sting on a car of this value IMO.
Exactly the reason why I did not get this, or the 6 MPS, or the Lexus GS430, 370z etc...£500 a year is too much of a sting on a car of this value IMO.
Mazda def dropped the ball with emissions and economy back then, not sure if they're better now.
PS - I had forgotten most on here are so weathly that shelling out £500 on road tax is pocket change
Edited by KMB on Tuesday 28th November 16:28
It is expensive to tax compared to the COMPETITION!
That is what people consider when looking at the options. It all adds up.
£215 would fuel my Aero for 3 months!!
I always thought i would want one of these till I actually came to buy one ..............
I had a Mk5 Golf GTI as a company car (fantasic car !!) and when I left that job I needed to buy my own car
Didn't want to get another Golf after 3 years with it as I fancied a change
Wanted to buy a ~2 year old car to do ~20,000 miles a year
After looking around and trying the options my view was
VXR Could face one - I'm 50 and the image doesn't fit
Megane Drove really nicely, felt like it would fall apart (trim, rattle, squeeks....)
Focus Terrible fuel economy (2.5 5 cyl), good to drive (great sound)
My short list ended up being
Seat Leon FR or Cupra - Golf in a good looking cheap suit with more toys
MPS
In the end I went for the Leon because when i drove the MPS it disappointed and the MPG is pretty rubbish (note - 20k per year)
Disappointments were:
- Drab interior (even compared to Leon)
- Useless sat nav screen
- Lifeless steering and torque steer
Yes, quick in a straight line but not really fun in the corners
Meanwhile the Leon had better MPG, tax and insurance, nicer to drive and quick enough in the real world
Always thought I would want an MPS but in the end, in the flesh it disappointed (at least me)
I had a Mk5 Golf GTI as a company car (fantasic car !!) and when I left that job I needed to buy my own car
Didn't want to get another Golf after 3 years with it as I fancied a change
Wanted to buy a ~2 year old car to do ~20,000 miles a year
After looking around and trying the options my view was
VXR Could face one - I'm 50 and the image doesn't fit
Megane Drove really nicely, felt like it would fall apart (trim, rattle, squeeks....)
Focus Terrible fuel economy (2.5 5 cyl), good to drive (great sound)
My short list ended up being
Seat Leon FR or Cupra - Golf in a good looking cheap suit with more toys
MPS
In the end I went for the Leon because when i drove the MPS it disappointed and the MPG is pretty rubbish (note - 20k per year)
Disappointments were:
- Drab interior (even compared to Leon)
- Useless sat nav screen
- Lifeless steering and torque steer
Yes, quick in a straight line but not really fun in the corners
Meanwhile the Leon had better MPG, tax and insurance, nicer to drive and quick enough in the real world
Always thought I would want an MPS but in the end, in the flesh it disappointed (at least me)
Had one (a MK2 - 2009 on a '59) for close to 6 years and 40k miles. Got shot of it only last week to get something a bit bigger (new house DIY, possibly thinking of starting a family). I PX'd it for just shy of £5k, so someone is probably going to make a decent profit on it. It'd only (that week) sailed through its 72k service and MOT so it might be a good purchase for someone who is after one (taking into account the issues below).
During that time the only things that went wrong were:
It was quick in a straight line and handled acceptably. Fuel economy was OK - about 27-28mpg average running on VPower.
Servicing was vaguely reasonably priced at Mazda approved servicing centres / dealers (I had great experiences with Littlewick Green Motor Company on the A4 between Maidenhead and Reading), although the 54k service (they do the gearbox oil as part of this) wasn't terribly cheap (around £500 with MOT). Not too bad compared to some though.
Car comes complete with pretty much everything you'd want (and lots of things you wouldn't). Built in sat nav is crap these days though. Interior felt reasonably well put together - there weren't many random rattles etc that I noticed in the time I had the car.
If Mazda had a 6 MPS out now I'd have probably bought one. Instead I went for an Octavia vRS.
During that time the only things that went wrong were:
- Front droplinks - advisory on MOT
- A check engine light. This was fixed with an ECU update by Mazda.
- A/C condensor - advisory on service. Wasn't knackered but looked pretty ropey. I had it replaced.
- Front seat mechanism - this was a recall by Mazda.
- Tailgate struts - this was again a Mazda recall.
- Water leak in boot - I didn't bother investigating this further and PX'd the car at this stage as I wanted to get something more suitable. It seems common on a MK2 though.
- Wheels corroded - they needed a refurbish really. Lots of Mazdas from this era suffered from this. I didn't bother getting it done, but would have had I kept the car.
- Diff started whining at full lock - this is fairly common. Apparently it's a trait of the car, although it was always a concern at the back of my mind.
It was quick in a straight line and handled acceptably. Fuel economy was OK - about 27-28mpg average running on VPower.
Servicing was vaguely reasonably priced at Mazda approved servicing centres / dealers (I had great experiences with Littlewick Green Motor Company on the A4 between Maidenhead and Reading), although the 54k service (they do the gearbox oil as part of this) wasn't terribly cheap (around £500 with MOT). Not too bad compared to some though.
Car comes complete with pretty much everything you'd want (and lots of things you wouldn't). Built in sat nav is crap these days though. Interior felt reasonably well put together - there weren't many random rattles etc that I noticed in the time I had the car.
If Mazda had a 6 MPS out now I'd have probably bought one. Instead I went for an Octavia vRS.
Edited by Ynox on Wednesday 29th November 08:17
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