Question for Mazda 3 MPS owners

Kenny_D

What's the general person age and cost of insurance on one of these. I'm 22 with a full licence and can't even get a quote which isn't that surprising but I'd be interested to see what current owners are paying for insurance. I've been insured on a 2 litre focus, 2 litre bmw and now on a 1.4 focus. Also what's the general concensus on these cars? Saw that video of it against the imprezza and it seems like a great sleeper. Also this one looks really cheap for an 08:

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Mazda/Mazda3/MPS,-2.3/200926194444273/advert?channel=CARS

stealthyspeeder

I beleive Im the only owner on boards, (omegaman used to have one)

Mine is UK reg, and insured there, but it was £1,200 with 5 years no claims, and im 24.

It is a bargain that one on carzone! it is highest tax bracket though :mad:

They are excellent cars IMHO, not flashy, not brash, dont attract attention (wanted or unwanted from guards or boyracers), but they are biblically quick in the real world! (60 - 100 8.6 seconds!!)

I just put a specialised induction kit, turbo inlet hose and downpipe on mine, and got it remapped so its putting out 320 bhp at the mo!

Any questions on the car Im more than happy to answer if I can!

Drummerboy08

I've another question for Mazda 3 MPS Owners.




Are you sick with disgust that you didnt buy the Lancer Evo instead? :pac:

tossy

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

I've another question for Mazda 3 MPS Owners.




Are you sick with disgust that you didnt buy the Lancer Evo instead? :pac:

? silly question,the two cars don't compare or fit into the same bracket!

One is a decently quick hot hatch with very understated styling that doesn't draw it any unwanted attention and loads of practicality i.e you don't have to stop to service 2 or 3 months (real world mileage)

The other is a rally bred very fast car that will most likely result in you having your front door kicked in some night by the latest bunch of tiger kidnappers in the making looking for a get away car,and before that happens you won't be able to pass a civic or intregra without them chasing after you like a dog in heat looking for a race.

Sqaull20

Evo are what 65k new? Mps is like 40k:pac:

For all the standard Evo X greatness ( insane machine that it is ) it wont be pulling away from an MPS in a straight line:D

That MPS is the best bargain on carzone OP, I rang about it and I reckon you could get it for 13k!!! Engines are suppose to be bulletproof, it has a warranty and its straight line speed, is almost up there with supercars:eek:, you wont have to worry about no Civics lol, once on the boost they wont see you for dust:)

That was registered pre tax changes too, so you can tax it for 820e a year.I really wanted it myself and was prepared to sell my Fabia vrs, but truth is I cant afford to run it.Im same age as you OP with 2 yrs no claims, full irish and Quinn wanted 700e on top of what I pay now for my fabia ( 912e ).123.ie were the cheapest with third party 1520e which isnt bad, when similar power Evo's are uninsurable!

You should go for it OP, but I dont know if I would remap it, must be scary enough going full power with over 260bhp ( autocar dyno'd it and mazda were being very modest, the thing was near 280bhp at the front wheels )

stealthyspeeder

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

I've another question for Mazda 3 MPS Owners.




Are you sick with disgust that you didnt buy the Lancer Evo instead? :pac:

No! I wouldnt change my car for anything less than an GTR, E92 M3 (or possibly a 370z cause I have the horn for them!)

stealthyspeeder

Sqaull20 wrote: »

Evo are what 65k new? Mps is like 40k:pac:

For all the standard Evo X greatness ( insane machine that it is ) it wont be pulling away from an MPS in a straight line:D

The tuned ones can get away, but it gains on stock ones above 60mph!

Sqaull20 wrote: »

Engines are suppose to be bulletproof

In Wards top ten engines 3 years in a row!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ward's_10_Best_Engines

btkm8unsl0w5r4

That is seriously good value, great engine, subtle looks (shame its not the saloon, I had a mazda 3 saloon myself, good looking car, better than the hatchback IMHO), its fast but as far a supercar fast, lets not get carried away 0-60 is around 6 sec, thats fast but will not worry a supercar in the slightest.

Just watch the depreciation, Mazdas drop like a rock (I sold a Rx-8 and still am in therapy over the loss).

Sqaull20

stealthyspeeder wrote: »

The tuned ones can get away, but it gains on stock ones above 60mph!

In Wards top ten engines 3 years in a row!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ward's_10_Best_Engines

Thats amazing in fairness, all that for 13k and a 2 year warranty!! You wouldnt get a 02 Evo with dave the rave as a former owner for that!

MPS vs Type R and Evo X FQ300.

http://www.zeperfs.com/en/match1388-1595-1680.htm

0-200kmh takes 22.7secs, Type R 27.8 lol :pac:

Sqaull20

Calliope Slow Viewfinder wrote: »

That is seriously good value, great engine, subtle looks (shame its not the saloon, I had a mazda 3 saloon myself, good looking car, better than the hatchback IMHO), its fast but as far a supercar fast, lets not get carried away 0-60 is around 6 sec, thats fast but will not worry a supercar in the slightest.

Just watch the depreciation, Mazdas drop like a rock (I sold a Rx-8 and still am in therapy over the loss).

Its not a 0-60 car, its good, but front wheel drive kills it launch.

Look at figures closely and once its past 140kmh ( where quick ends and fast begins ) its goes like all hell, not super car, but it goes almost stride for stride with a 3.4l Porsche Boxster,

http://www.zeperfs.com/en/match1388-1572.htm

For that price, its amazing:)

Sqaull20

How do you find it on fuel Stealthy? What did you come up from?

How is it when its not on the straights?

mickdw

I drove one of these around mondello on the mazda day. Fabulous car I have to say.
Just enough power for the chassis it seemed. It certainly had no bother handling the power.

stealthyspeeder

GStormcrow wrote: »

What's the general person age and cost of insurance on one of these. I'm 22 with a full licence and can't even get a quote which isn't that surprising but I'd be interested to see what current owners are paying for insurance. I've been insured on a 2 litre focus, 2 litre bmw and now on a 1.4 focus. Also what's the general concensus on these cars? Saw that video of it against the imprezza and it seems like a great sleeper. Also this one looks really cheap for an 08:

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Mazda/Mazda3/MPS,-2.3/200926194444273/advert?channel=CARS

OP i think this used to be even cheaper a few month back. qz (a boardsie on here) told me about it and if I can remember correctly it was 12 or 13 k! is thst right qz?

Calliope Slow Viewfinder wrote: »

That is seriously good value, great engine, subtle looks (shame its not the saloon, I had a mazda 3 saloon myself, good looking car, better than the hatchback IMHO), its fast but as far a supercar fast, lets not get carried away 0-60 is around 6 sec, thats fast but will not worry a supercar in the slightest.

Just watch the depreciation, Mazdas drop like a rock (I sold a Rx-8 and still am in therapy over the loss).

The Mazda 6 comes in MPS form as well and it looks pretty similar to the 3 saloon! I would lose 2.5 k if I sold mine on autotrader at current prices, I wouldnt but if I did sell it, it wouls easily be worth every penny!

Sqaull20 wrote: »

How do you find it on fuel Stealthy? What did you come up from?

How is it when its not on the straights?

I came up from a 1.2 fiesta! :eek: big jump. But I was driving an Astra VXR for 6 month before (I got insured on my mates car while he was away in another country)

It has a bit of understeer as you would expect but not as much as you would expect! when you come off the throttle the back snaps inline and lift off oversteer is easy with traction control off! Not much body roll on the corners (Im going to upgrade the suspension next year for the craic anyway!). Light bend high speed corners are where she excels, as there is so much grip in the chassis!

There is a really tiny clip of me on the track at 18:30 on this vid, the only people lapping quicker than me were that gold civic (stripped out and 300bhp!) and the 200SX (unfortuantely you cant fast forward to it so pron not worth a look unless your interested!)
http://www.vimeo.com/3145799

On the b roads, the you do feel the bumps and you do notice when your pushing it the moments when the two front wheels are not planted! Not as fast as a mock rally car, but could give the sports saloons a good run for their money!

Class comparison website by the way! I'd never seen it before!

Kenny_D

€2400 for insurance with 123. Looks like I'll have to wait another year or two before looking at something like this.

omega man

OP i had one but sold it a few months back. My last insurance fc policy was about 800 euro with axa, i was 30 with about 5 years ncb. Fuel averaged about 26mpg. Loved the car but after a year and a half i just got bored with the looks. I had kids so it was very practical for me at the time. Loved the stealth thing and people just didnt believe it was a 2.3 with 260bhp, that can be good or bad depending on your view. To be honest i sold mine with a big loss but i gained by buying another car that had depreciated as bad so swings and roundabouts i guess. One thing for sure is you dont buy one for its looks.

Kenny_D

It's not that fugly

btkm8unsl0w5r4

GStormcrow wrote: »

It's not that fugly

It not usually that modified as standard.

Kenny_D

Calliope Slow Viewfinder wrote: »

It not usually that modified as standard.

Haha I'm well aware of that.Stock they are a bit plain but deffinitely not that bad looking. Can look really nice as above with some mods though

stealthyspeeder

I wouldnt alter anything visually on mine, I wanna keep the sleeper effect.

Having said that, If I get new suspension next year she may end up sitting lower and I am also considering RX8 wheels due to the increased grip. Performance mods are the only way to go IMO!

Henry Ford III

Fine performance sleeper. Bit too bland for me though.

Táck

super car.

if anyone is thinking of buying one in ireland, shop around. they are a car most dealers will not let you leave the fourecourt without leaving a deposit. if you have one in stock, lots of people want it, until they find out its 2.3 turbo! i'd say once every 2/3 monthsa potential customer came in to buy one. and sometimes they jsut wanted to drive it. the buggars!

mazda will probably never bring any into the country again due to the country being in ****e and the majority of irish people who buy mazda's dont buy 2.3's from new. oh and the tax is in the highest bracket now. so anyone who can afford a 08 will be the owners of the last ones. so something to think about. but as omegaman said, they depreciate massivly so beware before you buy.

im in america at the moment and the amount of them on the road is unreal. over here they have saloon versions as well. when i was in toronoto, on a friday night i counted 12 in a row drive by me. i dont think over the last 3/4 years collectively mazda ireland even had 12.

stealthyspeeder

The 2010 models are in the 2nd highest tax bracket, and the ones pre 2008 ones may have been registered before the emmisions to tax regulations, but still, its not a common car.

Tack, are you sure there are mazdaspeed (this is what MPS is called in states) 3's in saloon form? I have never seen or heard of these before!

qz

Love the MPS, unbelievable sleeper! (But I'm still waiting on that spin stealthy!)

stealthyspeeder

qz wrote: »

Love the MPS, unbelievable sleeper! (But I'm still waiting on that spin stealthy!)

Did you see my post on the last page? was that MPS the OP refered to not going a bit cheaper when you told me about it?

You'll get that spin at the next meet! (320 bhp now!)

Táck

stealthyspeeder wrote: »

Tack, are you sure there are mazdaspeed (this is what MPS is called in states) 3's in saloon form? I have never seen or heard of these before!

positive. i also have never heard of one but i have seen 3 or 4 saloon mazda 3's with the same mps alloys and a 2.3 badge on the side over the arch. now, they could be fakes under the bonnet, but i've seen more then one and if they are fakes, they've all been identical.

next time i see one il take a closer look. il try get photo's, even though taking photo's of another persons car on the streeet goes against my beliefs!!!

Táck

seen one tonight but the flash on my camera is broken so i didnt even bother with the photos.

had a good look though. basically it still has the 2.3 over the front arch, seems to have bigger discs on the rear wheels but not overly bigger. and the one i seen tonight had a bigger fornt and rear bumber, but imo it was the same kit that came on the 08 limited edition sakata models. bumber with a bit of an arse on it.

il get photo's. unfortunatly you cant just read the tax disc and see exactly how big the engine is.

but the very fact that i've seen more then one might indicate that their not all fakes. although whether they have a turbo i cant confirm. i might email a friend of mine in mazda ireland to see if he has ever heard of them. although historically speaking, i knew more about future models and specs then he ever did.

qz

stealthyspeeder wrote: »

Did you see my post on the last page? was that MPS the OP refered to not going a bit cheaper when you told me about it?

You'll get that spin at the next meet! (320 bhp now!)

Don't remember the price exactly but I think you could be right, I think it's a grand or two more now!

BArra

incredible sleeper car, however its looks arent its selling point in my eyes

shes quite the dog in the looks department :pac:

MetzgerMeister

I've got an RX-8 and I've had it for nearly 2 years. Unreal car. I drove the 3 MPS after I got the 8 and I must say I'm not regretting anything. The 3 is front wheel drive so the front wheels are doing everything.

The Mazda 6 MPS is all wheel drive...brilliant car. If you want a sleeper, go with the 6MPS. If you want a 10,000 rev bonkers car, go for the RX-8!

tossy

einheisserschre wrote: »

I've got an RX-8 and I've had it for nearly 2 years. Unreal car. I drove the 3 MPS after I got the 8 and I must say I'm not regretting anything. The 3 is front wheel drive so the front wheels are doing everything.

The Mazda 6 MPS is all wheel drive...brilliant car. If you want a sleeper, go with the 6MPS. If you want a 10,000 rev bonkers car, go for the RX-8!

Only my opinion but i would take the 3 MPS over an RX8 any day,the 6 MPS doesn't even appeal to me.

bumble1

Buy a focus RS they a far better car 305bhp 440nm of torque top speed 163bhp the 0-60 time is 5.9 secs but that is because ford had to hold the power back in first because the power would explode and transmission there has been no bad reviews and has been compared to supercars

bumble1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdAGKNogdAw

watch the whole video

Kenny_D

That's all well and good but show me where you can get an 08 Focus RS for under 15 grand. Any hope of getting insured at 22 on an mps goes out the window when you look at the RS. It's no sleeper either. Two different cars aimed at different people tbh. Don't get me wrong, I'd love an RS but I wouldnt really call it an alternative to an mps

ION08

Táck wrote: »

positive. i also have never heard of one but i have seen 3 or 4 saloon mazda 3's with the same mps alloys and a 2.3 badge on the side over the arch. now, they could be fakes under the bonnet, but i've seen more then one and if they are fakes, they've all been identical.

next time i see one il take a closer look. il try get photo's, even though taking photo's of another persons car on the streeet goes against my beliefs!!!

Yeah the MPS are great cars, im in Australia at the moment and there are so many of them around, 6MPS's & 3MPS's. In fact, there are so many Top Spec versions of every car around it really gets me jealous... its such a pity Ireland has such a subdued and diluted view to motoring

@Tack - Regarding the saloon 3 MPS, i think what you may actually be seeing is the Mazda 3 "SP23".. its the same 2.3 litre engine but without the turbo

bumble1

i understand where your coming from what about a Focus ST or Golf GTI they are both nice and my mate bought a 2003 subaru STI 2litre 280bhp with all the extras lovely car and very fast for just 8000

biko

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

Are you sick with disgust that you didnt buy the Lancer Evo instead? :pac:

No, cars with little go-faster wings on the boot are ugly.

Biro

tossy wrote: »

Only my opinion but i would take the 3 MPS over an RX8 any day,the 6 MPS doesn't even appeal to me.

I like the 3MPS, but it's the bottom of that pile, the RX8 and 6 are both better.

bumble1

was reading the latest topgear review magazine and in the hot hatch section the MPS got 3 stars and the GTI , ST , OCTAVIA RS and LEON CUPRA all got 5 stars

cabrwab

bumble1 wrote: »

was reading the latest topgear review magazine and in the hot hatch section the MPS got 3 stars and the GTI , ST , OCTAVIA RS and LEON CUPRA all got 5 stars

Dislike the 3MPS much?!!!
Yeah the RS is amazing, id love to own one! But god does it stand out, i like the ST focus its a sleeper in blue, but the MPS is a proper sleeper.

Having read top gear, they have never being a fan of the mazda 3 in any form!
But with every other person driving a GTI id rather having something mildly exclusive. Even the Octavia vRS is everywhere these days.
With the MPS your exclusivity is ensured now that they hit the highest tax band.

Saying that i nearly would be torn between the RX and the 3, im just not sure about the 6.
But don't have the money either way, but the car in the op is still a freaking bargin.

rocky

Then how come it doesn't sell even though is the cheapest 08 MPS in the country, maybe has mechanical problems?

stealthyspeeder

bumble1 wrote: »

Buy a focus RS they a far better car 305bhp 440nm of torque top speed 163bhp the 0-60 time is 5.9 secs but that is because ford had to hold the power back in first because the power would explode and transmission there has been no bad reviews and has been compared to supercars

So did Mazda when they made the MPS, so did Opel when they made the Astra OPC.

When done properly (which most reviewers do not do) the MPS gets to 60mph in 5.9

Mine is currently at 320 bhp and with the money I spent modding + the price of the car (if I'd bought it new), I would not be close to getting an RS for that money. I have yet to try the car and test the handling, but I am aware that I could get improved suspension and a mechanical diff for my MPS and still be under the price of an RS! If you were to do the mods I have done to mine, on the RS you could eaisly afford an FQ EVO 10 which has better performance (and that kind of aggresive look).

As someone else mentioned, they are different cars aimed at different personalities in the market primarily due to aesthtics.

stealthyspeeder

rocky wrote: »

Then how come it doesn't sell even though is the cheapest 08 MPS in the country, maybe has mechanical problems?

Because few people buy performance cars in Ireland, buying a top of the range common car is rare, as the Irish public seem to prefer to get a bottom of the range car of a bigger or better model instead!

bumble1

i dont want to make it look like i dont like the MPS i do and i agree the GTI is everywhere and i amnt a big fan of them i own a Blue ST haha i love it

Táck

here is some pics of the new mazda 3 saloon 2.5 lt. will never be out in ireland but im sure the sport model will look similar, apart from the twin exhaust.