Australian Resource for Car Reviews, News, Advice
October 6, 2008 by Alborz Fallah
Watch the Mazda3 MPS as it secures a worthy victory in the showroom class at this year’s Tasmanian tarmac challenge.
Driven by 20-year-old rally star Brendan Reeves and his co-driving sister Rhianon Smyth, the MPS3 finished eighth outright, secured a convincing showroom win and a top ten finish after two intense days of racing.
Print it: 
Mazda Showroom win at Tasmanian Tarmac Challenge
Mazda Australia has secured a convincing showroom win and a top ten finish at the Tasmanian Tarmac Challenge.
Finishing eighth outright,
Mazda considers 2009 ARC Campaign
After its initial success in the Targa Tasmania earlier this year, Mazda will use its performance in the upcoming Tasmanian
Mazda3 MPS Extreme Concept
July 2009 Update: Read our Review of the new Mada3 MPS.
When we saw the Mazda3 MPS Extreme in Sydney last
Mazda 3 MPS Targa Tasmania
Well it seems that Mazda is trying to build some credibility for the Mazda 3 MPS. The Hot hatch which
Spied: All-new Mazda3
Earlier today our spies got the first good look at the upcoming 2010 Mazda 3. This all‑new sport compact is
Better result than I would have expected with the MPS3 – looked like some mighty sensible driving from Brenden and Rhianon, especially in the wet. Well done Mazda
Anyone who has driven a 3MPS knows that they are actually frighteningly quick motor vehicles. Their in gear acceleration will surprise the pants off alot of people! You think the in gear acceleration of an EVO or STI is good? These are quicker.. Unfortunately their FWD make them very slow to launch, and grip out of corners is an obvious downer, but their suspension is set up very well and they can hold very hast cornering speeds.
On a race track or rally event, they raise alot of eyebrows, the reason they aren’t viewed in the same light as alot of other hot hatches however is because they aren’t particularly “fun” to drive. To get speed out of it you have to be very smooth and consistant, if your a clot on the throttle or like “chucking a car around” then this probably isn’t the car for you. But if your a very technical and analytical driver then its very very quick. I personally however like chucking a car around lol
Results aren’t surprising at all. The 3 MPS has always been a weapon, and is the undisputed king of Hot Hatches.
For all the niff nuffs out there, beat it before you bag it.
Yep i have driven one, and the in-gear acceleration is astonishing! 80-120 is stupidly fast. It isn’t the funnest hot hatch to drive because you really do have to be smooth and consistant to get speed out of it, you can’t throw it around, but my goodness its quick… For the price, you can’t get a quicker car, but you can get a more fun car…
A lot of power, not an easy car to drive very fast. Impressive results.
Undisputed king of hot hatches – I dispute that, as does every other hot hatch tester worldwide.
It hasn’t knocked off the GTI from that lofty perch.
There will always be people who struggle with the concept that the fastest car is not necessarily the best car…
Reckless1, can you please name one single performance criteria where the GTI is superior to an MPS3?
Lap time? NO
0-100Km/h? NO
100Km/h-0km/h? NO
0-400m? No
0-1000m? NO
Laptimes Oran, Wakefield, EC, Willowbank, Nurburgring? NO
Lateral G’s? NO
In gear acceleration? HELL NO
If i have missed anything, please enlighten me.
Hard numbers is the only true measure of performance. It takes the bias out of opinions. The numbers dont lie. GTI is a brilliant car, and perhaps a better car, but not a better performance hatch
Ben Larden – read my posts again, it’s well acknowledged that the 3 MPS is the FASTEST hatch, and therefore yes, the best performance hatch, however it is not the best hot hatch because, believe it or not, their are other criteria’s other then outright performance figures. Have you driven a 3 MPS fast before Ben? I have, and i’m hear to tell you it’s not easy, my VRX lancer is easier to drive on the limit! The 3 MPS is very snatchy, struggles with power down and if you try and throw it around you will end up upside down backwards and on fire!
Best performance hatch? yes, best hot hatch? no, the golf gti is more fun to drive, more comfortable, more refined and generally better. It’s just not as fast
Richo, I own an MPS 3 you clown. Also, of course your VRX is easier to drive lol. Thats because it takes 10 seconds to get to 100, and 17 seconds to cover the standing quarter
lol, fair dinkum
p.s. If it’s not easy to drive, no offence but you may need to address your driving skills.
Let’s see, compared to GTI,
Mazda = +300cc
Mazda = +43Kw
Mazda = +100NM
Mazda = +70kg
And no sh!t, it’s faster.
But it is still not the best Hot Hatch.
Owning one and being a self-confessed genius driver doesn’t change that.
The Golf is a far better daily driver, as has been reported by most world-wide testers.
Sorry guys, I’m with Bin Laden here.
I have driven the MPS on most tracks around Australia and was lucky enough to receive the first pre-production pilot before it’s release to familiarise myself with it thoroughly on the road so I can say from fact (and NOT from being a self-confessed genius driver) that the MPS 3 is a sharper tool in every way than a GTi (of which I have also spent plenty of time with in similar environments).
But Australians have this stigma deep-down that a Golf is some sort of prestige car (because the brand name is European and the indicators are on the left) and therefore a better car (they’re built in S’Africa).
I believe it has this reputation with the international press because of it’s heritage as the previous hot-hatch benchmark (something the Mazda unfortunately doesn’t really have).
So stick to that belief if you will about the Golf but it’s reign is over and a new king presides.
Long live the MPS3…the only hot-hatch!
Ben – no wonder MPS owners are fast earning the reputation as wankers who turn aggressive when challenged. You like the 3 MPS and think that if anyone dissagrees with you then their driving skills must be questionable.
I have already stated that i think the 3MPS is an astonishing car, incredibly fast and generally a very good peice of kit, I just do not think its the best hot hatch you can buy for the price, an opinion that is shared by wheels, motor, top gear, most internet journo’s and most newspapaer journo’s.
You need to accept that other people have different opinions to yours, and in this case, the MAJORITY have a different opinion then yours.
As for it being difficult to drive, let me put that into perspective, its not that its difficult to drive around, its just difficult to drive at the limit IN COMPARISON to other hot hatches such as the GTI.
Can you handle all of that? or is it a little beyond your capacity?
Richo, driving a car over 100Kw sounds like it’s beyond your capacity. Comparing your VRX to an MPS 3 just shows how inept you are on this topic.
I dont give a shit about your opinion. Performance is not based on opinion. Is that too hard for you to understand. 1+1 = 2. That is fact. If your opinion is that 1+1 = 3, your entitled to that. That is your opinion.
This is what im pointing out to you, but i dont think you have the mental capacity sort opinion from fact. FACT is MPS 3 is a superior PERFORMANCE HATCH than the GTI.
Now, for being known as wankers, have you heard of tall poppy syndrome? If you cant beat them, bag them.
NOW, Reckless1, +300cc, +43KW, +100Nm= a lot more bang for your buck. You just kicked your own ass lol
Incredibly i’m with Richo here. I have sold Mazda’s (GP) and Vw’s (austral) and i have to say the GTI is the better all round packadge… VW have been doing this kind of stuff since 1974… The MPS is fast (faster than a 911 between 80-120 third gear) but it’s just a 3 with a big motor. At the cost of some other stuff. And the weirest exhaust noise in a passanger car.. cant describe it.. whoosh?
Plus the interior and build quality felt better in the GTI. Plus the GTI sell’s alot more (6 to 1).
Anything else?
Ben – i didn’t compare it to a VRX, i simply made reference to a VRX having easier on the limit handling. At no point did i say a VRX is a better car, what the hell is wrong with you ofcourse it’s not?
And are you incapable of comprehending english? I said on a number of occasions that the 3 MPS’s peformance is far superior then the GTI or any other car in that price bracket. I AM AGREEING WITH YOU YOU SPAZ!
All i said was that the Golf GTI is a more fun car to drive on the road (there is a difference between how a car drives on a race track and on the road btw), is more comfortable and is more refined. As a result not just me but most motoring observers view it as a better car then the 3 MPS.
NOW WHAT ABOUT THAT CAN YOU NOT UNDERSTAND!!!
As i said, 3 MPS owners are fast gaining a reputation as overly defensive wankers… Ben is doing his best to maintain this fast growing stereotype
Richo, sorry for being overly defensive. You are right, we MPS3 drivers are wankers, you beat us hands down. But can I ask before I go, it seems to me that GTI is not as fast as MPS3, I still have been able to figure out why you said GTI was faster, or I just kick my own ass. Going now…, still confused a bit so it would help if anyone can enlighten me.
Ben – read my posts again, and pin point exactly when i said the GTI was faster??? Try and comprehend english for a moment because i am only going to say it one more time. I have repeated myself a number of times already but seen as you still struggle to understand, I KNOW THAT THE 3 MPS IS A FASTER CAR! I have no doubts what so ever that it is a faster car and having driven one on a number of occasions i can vouch for the fact that it is an astonishingly quick motor car. I just think the GTI is a BETTER car, i know that its not a FASTER car, but it is a BETTER car.
The fastest car is not always the best car. Do you understand now?
seriously Ben you cannot be that stupid, i said OVER AND OVER AGAIN that the 3 MPS is the fastest car for the price and faster then the GTI, i repeated it so many times it’s not funny, yet you still come at me saying “how can you say that the GTI is faster when it clearly isn’t” Like do you have a dissability or something?
There are too many people on here whose experiences stop at the back cover of Wheels and Motor: Richo, DanMan, Reckless 1 – I’m talking about you.
FFS, go out onto a RACETRACK…..yes, you know – the black squiggly things they put lots of pretty pictures of in those magazines you love so much???…Honestly, go and actually drive both of these cars around some corners instead of forming your opinion on an what $8.95 worth of glossy print says.
I help develop and have raced production series variants of both of these vehicles and the GTi is nowhere near the MPS. Not even close. Spunky shopping hauler with a bit of pepper for the wife to play with? Yes, the GTi fits this bill well, but a hot hatch it aint.
Richo, obviously you are not very smart either. Look again at what “Ben” wrote, these are not his words, how can a person admits he is a wanker. This was not from “Ben”, it was someone who makes a fun out of Ben, which is me. Get a life man, why argue a simple thing over and over again.
Yep, it’s true – Mazda MPs drivers are wankers, just read all the above for confirmation.
They can’t read, are blind to what they don’t want to see. Can’t accept compliments when they are given to their choice of car, and pour crap on everything else. Pity their choice of car can’t compete with the same size engine, though, they have to go much bigger, and their Ford brethren need to go bigger again and add another cyl.
Thank god they don’t drive GTIs, they’d reduce the VW driver average IQ quite a bit.
Level the playing field – let them compete against a chipped Golf with 190Kw and 400nm (which is a stage 1 flash), and their precious car will get wiped by the superior GTI chassis.
Bystander – you go onto websites and pretend to be someone else to make fun of them, but then accuse me of having no life???? i see…
Benito – i think i clearly stated on a number of occasions that on a racetrack the 3 MPS is the far superior tool, i stated this a number of times mate! But fact is most people buy a car for how it goes on the road, not the race track, and on the road, the GTI is superior. If you want to buy a car for the 1 or 2 times a month you get on the track then thats great for you, but most people will buy a car for how it drives the other 98% of the time
sorry to but in guys,
Richo,
you cant honestly expect to jump in the mazda for a session and know the cars limit, and be able to achieve its maximum.
the VRX is a car i assume you have driven every single day for quite a while. one would hope you felt more at home in it, and were able to drive it on the limit easier.
^^^maybe when i “But” in i should do it with 2 T’s
Andrew I’ve said it before and i’ll say it again, as far as outright performance and race track ability, their is NOTHING better for under 50k then the 3 MPS. Full stop. Please no one make me repeat this again!
fck sake…
By the way my reference to other cars being easier to drive on the limit is intended to mean on the road. On the race track most cars are fairly controllable on the limit, but on the road, which is an unpredictable surface, the MPS’s limits can be more difficult to judge and mid corner bumps can suddenly loosen its line, which means you have to be very aware of the car when you drive it. You can’t just pick it up and chuck it around which is exactly what you CAN do with a golf GTI, renault clio sport and other such hot hatches, and yes even a VRX however you may be right and that may just be me because i am so use to the car. Could even be the tyres, as well all know tyres play a HUGE roll in the handling of a car, and the 3 MPS has some bridgestones from the factory which i personally don’t really rate
settle down Richo.
at no point did i say you thought the MPS WASNT a quicker car.
i merely pointed out that your method in evaluating the easier to drive on the limit motor vehicle in your day in day out drive was flawed.
you think people are saying something they are not.
what i have read about the MPS is that it is different to drive from a performance perspective.
many journos have said it was difficult to drive at first, and then taken back their comments once they understood the car.
you are always going to find your own vehicle easier to drive than one you have just been plonked into for a session.
i picked up my new FG XR6 on monday Arvo, and i reckon i would put the one i traded around a track quicker than the newbie even though the FG is quicker on paper and has better suspension, better brakes etc.
familarity plays a big part in being comfortable in putting a vehicle on its limit
Funny that in all major publications available in the states (Automobile, Car & Driver, Motor Trend, Road & Track, Almost all Web sites that do comparisons) the MS3 (as it’s referred to here) spanks them all. Please reference for me all the publication that have the GTI winning head to heads. Most don’t rely solely on speed for their numbers and the GTI still looses, imagine that. I guess your opinion is just that, YOUR opinion that doesn’t match most others.
why is everyone arguing so much? mps is faster then a GTI end of story. GTI is a better car because of the quality inside out, interior plastics cost a lot more then plastic in mazda 3 mps , GTI doesnt struggle to put the power down, and u can get it APR TUNED for 1500 dollars stage 1 and u got 188kws, and over 350nm of torque, then it will have a chance against mazda, or if u get stage 2 APR tuning u ll have over 430 nm of torque and about 210 kws, i ve driven both golf GTI stock and mazda 3 mps, 3 mps has a short power range, most power s gone by 5 000 rpm, i even driven the 2009 model mps, and i can tell ya my sp 23 felt faster, mazda has ruined their new 2009 model, it feels heavy and like its missin 50 kws,