Mazda 3 MPS

The Mazda3 MPS uses the 2.3-litre motor from the Mazda6 MPS, so we’re talking 191kW through the front wheels in a small hatch. Sounds brilliant, ends up being mega quick but dull. How did they manage that?

• Comfort

  A fairly hard ride is the trade-off for that roundaboutability, so don't expect to be able to cruise across the country without some grumbles. The seats are good and there's plenty of room though.

  

• Performance

  Fairly blistering shove for a hot hatch that's easy to access and use on the road; try 0-100km/h in 6.1 seconds and 250km/h on for size. That'll be the benefit of a large capacity 2.3-litre motor in a small(ish) car.

  

• Cool

  Has a certain wolf-in-sheep's-bloodied-carcass charm - there's nothing like an officially-sanctioned Q-car - but you have to be really very committed to the ethos not to qualify the car with the engine size and spec at every opportunity. Not that cool, then.

  

• Quality

  As solid as any other Mazda product, so pretty good all round. Decent plastics, nice seats, great panel gaps. It's a solid car with a proven engine and transmission. Should be good.

  

• Handling

  Can hang on in a usefully terrier-like fashion, and uses its Q-car looks to great advantage. People will be genuinely upset they can't shake such a boring-looking thing. Torque-steer is surprisingly well controlled, but be sure to keep tyre pressures correct and on a flat bit of road or you'll suffer when you plant it.

  

• Practicality

  As practical as any mid-size five-door hatch in the Ford Focus vein. The boot is OK at 300litres, but not huge, but if you utilise the 60/40 split rear seats you can create a flat floor and double the carrying volume. There is no reasonable reason why we should regard reverse donuts as a practical thing, but we do. This car is very good at reverse donuts.

  

• Running costs

  This will be the most expensive Mazda3 to run thanks to that big motor and high-ish C02. A high 10L/100km and costly insurance don't really help the argument when you realise that you'll still have to tell people you drive a Mazda3 MPS and then still explain what the hell it is.