NOT FOR LEARNERS OR FOLK WITH PACEMAKERS

+ Click to Enlarge MAZDA3 MPS: Nothing else on the road looks like it and few other cars go like it - but it's a four-door so great for quick school runs.

November 30, 2009
By Peta Lee

It's a slick, beautiful piece of machinery and, when you blip the throttle and pull off, the new Mazda3 MPS lives up to every expectation.

OK, so the torque steer could give a learner driver or pensioner with a pacemaker a small coronary but then they're not the target market for this sporty and rather aggressive car.

Its 2.3-litre turbocharged engine (a huge 190kW at 5500rpm and 380Nm at 3000rpm) guarantees a blistering ride and performance second to none. Throw in that lovely sculpted profile, those big and seductive headlights and the beefy twin tailpipes and you've got a head-turner of a car that will blow the opposition out of the water.

Once the MPS is in full swing its special (firm) sports suspension has you feeling totally in control – and a good thing, too, as the top speed of this mean machine is 250km/h.

It's difficult to drive it slowly, though. I tried – and at times had no option, particularly in stop-start peak hour traffic – but revelled in the freedom of the open road and a particularly fine stretch of the N2 between Mount Edgecombe and the Sibaya off-ramp.

Long fast straights are perfect for the Mazda but it thrives even more on twisty sections where its awesome road-holding comes to the fore and is particularly conspicuous.

Mazda hasn't stinted on creature comforts, either. The interior is immaculately designed, with a host of items that would be "features" on other cars – such as a Bose sound system with 10 speakers, aircon, leather seats, multifunction steering wheel, keyless entry, anti-lock brakes – and a limited-slip differential.

All of this, plus the incredible performance, for R316 400!

Many moons ago I inherited a canary-yellow Mazda 616 (a marvellous promotion from the Morris 1100 I'd bought as my first car!) but despite the two bearing the same name there's absolutely no comparison between what Mazda is producing today and what rolled on to the showroom floors back then!

Says a deservedly smug Mazda: "Seductive styling and the soul of a sports car have epitomised the essence of every Mazda, never straying from this path, and always pushing to become even better.

"This philosophy has led us to a car so unique, so powerful and with so much style it will capture the heart and soul of those looking for something exceptional. This is the Mazda3 MPS. The ultimate Zoom-Zoom experience."

Indeed!

The Mazda3 MPS comes with a four-year or 120 000km warranty and a five-year or 90 000km service plan.

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