Apart from mobile phones, digital cameras and possibly laptops, people generally aren't impressed by how small something is. It's certainly on record that Shed has a fondness for the big-engined barge.
But just occasionally small can be good, and this Mazda MX-3 is a case in point. Its cylinders might displace only 1.8 litres, but there are six of them, making this one of the smallest V6s ever to grace a production car engine bay.
It's reputed to be a bit of a peach, too, and its 131bhp and 116lb ft of torque is enough to shove it to 62mph in 8.5secs and on to a top speed of 130mph - respectable figures for a diminutive 90s Japanese coupe.
Now the MX-3 might have wrong-wheel drive and lives rather in the shadow of its rather more famous MX-5 sister, but twin-trapezoidal link rear suspension makes the MX-3 nimble enough.
But that baby V6 is the star of the show - especially since it gets a variable intake manifold and a redline that almost touches 8000rpm. And it's nice to beable to say "let's take the V6", isn't it?
PH's own Rusty-C (the bloke who looks after the PH classifieds) spotted this 80,000-mile potential gem lurking on the internet. If the vendor's not telling porkies (and we have no reason to suppose they would be), it's been pampered, has oodles of paperwork, a long MOT, plenty of tax and a price tag of £795 or thereabouts.
I'm struggling to keep my hand away from my wallet at that price, so I hope somebody buys it soon. Because if they don't, I just might...
Mazda MX3 Coupe V6 For Sale (1991)
£795 Or near offer
Gunmetal metallic rare 1.8-litre V6 coupe. The bodywork is excellent with only a few chips as you would expect for a vehicle that is almost 20 years old. The lacquer on the spoiler has peeled off but the paint has polished up very well and it really does not detract from the overall appearance. Inside the seats and carpets are good apart from some wear on the drivers seat cushion; again this is only slight. Everything works properly with only the passeneger door remote lock mechanism needing locking manually. It opens remotely as it should.
The beauty of this car is in the driving. The V6 engine is an absolute joy and is so smooth and the sound it makes puts many modern 6 cylinder motors in the shade. The mileage of 88000 is genuine with a very complete Mazda service history up to 52000 and then a local garage of good repute to date. I have in fact known the previous owner back to 2001.
The car was serviced last month,the MOT runs to March 2011, tax runs to September and road tax is only £190 and my insurance is £105 on a Classic Car policy.
