ZEEROLLA

I seen the top gear review on the Astra and they said it had too much power. They said the golf GTI was still their pick over it. But Im a big fan of the astra coupe. If only they didnt make falcadores!

I also seen another review on top gear. In the UK there is a model of Ford Mondeo and Vauxhall Vectra that are both faster than the Mazda 6 MPS. Both are NA V6 FWD's.

the 6 MPS is too heavy and suspension tune more suited to city driving/comfort.. :( remember it won its class in Targa Tasmania though so with some "performance" oriented mods it can kick ***** ;)

The HSV VXR looks mean, but not a car to have for reversing out your drivieway if you have children about. :P The rear visison is shocking! Wasn't there also one Topgear episode saying it was a heavy understeerer as well? Power understeer or turn in understeer i don't remember but it understeered pretty badly. Was on youtube. And Holden's reputed fit/finsh, reliability and quality is yet to sway me, even the Ford guys have quite a list of quality problems on their XR5s already.

Since Zee missed the deadline for Jap GP, will use his previous picks

Thanks Man! ;) I totally missed the boat on this one and its my favourite track (from playing GT4 :P)! Had to head to airport and by the time i got back past midnight i was too buggered and went straight to bed.

this car came 5th in BFYB behind STI, EVO9, VE SS, and 3MPS so i think it says something about its performance. I had a close look at one and the parts on it are quite performance oriented, eg. its TypeR like sexy Recaros, Advan AD07 tyres etc.. Its the looks i don't like, and it lacks finish/refinement. Mitsubushi could have at least done a better job with the red paint on the egine cover, its also got a tiny front mount intercooler but its not like the 1.5 needs anything too big. I belive this car has performance but for the money spent its personal what people want from the car.

Golf GTI came 20th out of 24! Even the Polo GTI got above it in 18th!

The really interesting one is the Ralliart Colt Turbo which came 5th!

Remember this is BFYB, not PCOTY.

Alfa is not very reliable. Its very tempramental. I never had one, but I can understand why. However, seems like the quality is not like 20 years ago. Shao still have his Alfa. It's around 100,000km now, and 2 months ago I thought it was not high km already since I did not hear any rattles or squeaks. At that time, I thought it was like 40,000km.

40 to 100 thousand K's in a couple of months? I didn't think Singapore was that big, is he commuting into Malaysia or something?

i think Danz meant "he thought" it was around 40,000kms, where in fact it was nearer to 100,000kms.. is that right Danz??

BFYB = Bang For Your Buck award is it?

I won't be surprised, for $40k MPS3 is the one to buy.

yup, when i went to the Mazda Driveday at Oran Park the other day they just finished testing the cars, don't know if the Golf Gti was tested as well, doesn't look like it. In the hot hatch category i think there was only the Astra and Focus, would be good to have the Megane and Golf in it as well. I'll have to wait for the issue to be released to know.

Yesterday I just test drove the Mazda 3 MPS at Mazda dealer, and the guy I met was so kind enough to let me test drive Mazda 3 MPS B)

I had a little trouble launching the car from the start, as I stalled the engine two times, because the clutch wont let me release my left foot quickly as I did on my Corolla manual :D

Honestly I love the turbo rush, from 3,000rpm onwards...and the acceleration is breathtaking :o :o :o :o :o

I did not realize after I had fully accelerated the car, I have done 120km/h in 70km/h zone

Yesterday the weather was hot in Melbourne (30 degrees) and I don't think this car perform the best yet, all it need is cold weather and voila! :D

And now the price, it is just a bit above $43,000 driveaway for the basic version, that works out around $935 monthly payment (that is without balloon, without deposit as well) for 5 years term.

Just wondering to those Mazda 3 MPS owner, how much you pay for comprehensive insurance annually if you don't mind telling? I'm on Rating 1 and I'm just curious to know.

Well that's my short review of Mazda 3 MPS test drive. I love to have it but I think it's too far beyond my budget :D

haha, glad you liked it! :D and the clutch is a bit hard to get used to at first, have to ride it a bit. When i was at the Driveday so many bunnyhopped it or stalled it it was unreal. Same with MPS6 so its not just you. :D My comprehensive insurance is $1500 with NRMA and comes with windscreen cover and pay by the month. I am 24 yrs old, with max ncb and live at Shellharbour city. I think where you live will make more difference to the premium, my mate who is 27 with gold licence and max ncb got quoted $2100 by AAMI for the MPS, he lives in Wollongong.

Also : Mazda3 MPS wins category in BFYB

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Just got the new MOTOR mag, Mazda3 MPS won its price category $30-40k cars from Astra SRi and Focus XR5... no real competition there!!

"The Mazda3 sends its rivals back to their corners bleeding"

0-100m and 400m times are pretty much on par with a 350Z and just a hair off WRX, actually quicker down the 400m than the 350Z (mazda 14.3s/ 350Z 14.4s).

Mazda6 MPS and MX5 got 5th and 6th respectively in the 40-50k bracket.

Overall Mazda3 MPS came 4th behind Commo VE SS, Evo9, WRX STI. Mps6 came 12th.

Seems our little rocket is killing em!!!

Mazda3 MPS wins category in BFYB

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Just got the new MOTOR mag, Mazda3 MPS won its price category $30-40k cars from Astra SRi and Focus XR5... no real competition there!!

"The Mazda3 sends its rivals back to their corners bleeding"0-100m and 400m times are pretty much on par with a 350Z and just a hair off WRX, actually quicker down the 400m than the 350Z (mazda 14.3s/ 350Z 14.4s).

Mazda6 MPS and MX5 got 5th and 6th respectively in the 40-50k bracket.

Overall Mazda3 MPS came 4th behind Commo VE SS, Evo9, WRX STI. Mps6 came 12th.

Seems our little rocket is killing em!!!

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nope Zee, that's called Meguires wet look tyre shine... still the old cruddy Silverstones

ahh ic .. i was actually looking at the "rim guard" didn't notice it protruding that much the last time i saw it at Wakefield Park thats why i thought u got new tyres

Car looks better than when it was new Dylan! Also heard the "rumours" uhh i mean secret.. :P When u gonna teach me how to drive like that Looking at the pics looks like u got new tyres?

bump..

Shao had a s/c Vios and i thought he also has a Mazda too :P a drop top roadster? zoom zoom..

Yeah the mazda is stable, very stable. Oh I love the bonnet design, how smart is that eh? No need for bonnet scoop matey.

A funny moment when i went to mazda is the salesman. I ended up being the salesman because I ended up telling him the specs. And when we return, he ask me, "sure you can't do anything today?" with both of his hand rubbing each other.

hehe yeah they are keen to sell these buggers and agree they know nuts abt the cars.. they are only there to facilitate the sale, the cars pretty much sells themselves, and best to do our own research. <_<

Thanks mate.

I forgot to mentioned, I did test the MPS 3 on freeway. I did use 3rd gear on free way, but only momentarily because I don't wanted to lose my licence as this MPS 3 can build speed without you noticing it. Now that Zee explained how tourqe is limited from 1st - 2nd, I can understand why at that time I felt the car is laggy below 3000rpm, and I didn't notice that 85 percent of tourqe at just 2000rpm. I always sprint 1st to 2nd gear to reach 100km/h. So you need to reach 3rd gear to get the best out of this engine eh?

yup, pretty much Danz. The torque definitely comes on strong after 2500rpm, but you can still drive around easily at 2000rpm though, just not the full on rush at 3000rpm. You also need 3rd gear to reach 100km/h, 2nd gear tops out at 90km/h for me, but to be fast you shift at no later than 6000rpm. 0-100km/h for the MPS3 is 6.1s quoted by Mazda and local mags like MOTOR and WHEELS both got 6.6s.

When i said the MPS really needs 3rd gear on to explore its true potential is partly due to boost limitation in 1st and 2nd gear, also it is not a car you need to go flat out to experience its strength. In gear acceleration done in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th gear on the freeway from 3000rpm on is a demonstration of the MPS's real world performance. I am sure the GTI and GTA are both very strong in these areas. I have done my own in gear acceleration testing not that it is 100% accurate but pretty close to what Madza quoted for 80-120km/h in 3rd gear takes 3.5s, i got 3.3s. 4th gear takes 4.1s, i got 3.9s. I am pretty confident i can repeat it bcus i did it 3 times and got very very close times. But i think you get my point.

Also to Les, the 160km/h description was to describe the stability and overall engineering thrown at the MPS to make it so stable and comfortable, it was not to brag about how quick it is. It wll happily get to 230-240km/h mind you and still feel extremely stable. Again it is to point out the engineering and aerodynamic efficiency. Mazda did not just plonk a powerful engine into the Mazda 3 shell. I do agree the Alfa will pull more chicks though :P

and Zee... soft mate :P

even Dave managed to grace us with his presence in the WRX

That's because Dave doesn't live where i live :P .. too long a drive for my sore back.. taught me to warm up before trying to crack a big serve though..

I stuffed up my back playing tennis this avo after a 5 week layoff.. no driving for me for a few days.. ouch.. :( loking forward to dyno day.. also hope eneryone adhered to speed limits today, had 2 undercover "GTP" cop cars trail me.

Nice reviews Dan ;) Since i own an MPS i have to say u need to drive the thing on the freeway to really FEEL FAST, i got scared sh!tless by ***** Johnson at Oran Park and even i am afraid of pushing this thing. No joke. It's brutal from 3rd gear onwards, 1st and 2nd gear boost is limited. Also the real joy of driving the MPS is during overtaking, the in-gear acceleration is phenomenal due to 380nm of torque and its very close gear ratios. It also has 2 final drives one for 1st-4th gear and another for 5th and 6th gear cruising.

I also want to add to what you said about cars being more and more refined and i agree, the MPS is extremely stable and comfortable at high speeds it has a grand touring feel. Not even the Accord Euro feels like that at high speeds although i think the Accord Euro is the pick of the bunch for me in the mid $30k cars, no doubt thats why there are so mnay of them on the road. The best way to describe the MPS is cruising at 160km/h feels like only 100km/h, you simply cannot feel the speed its doing. I am not sure what the GTI or Alfa is like on the freeway but i guess it will feel similar. The MPS and i am sure the Golf and Alfa as well has a great deal of engineering thrown at it to improve aerodynamics and front end stability. The overall weight of the car also makes it more stable i suppose and i think the extremely heavy bonnet is there for a reason but unfortunately also adds understeer.

I will be there too, hopefully nothing comes up unexpectedly within the next 20hrs

DRIVERS:

M Schuey

Alonso

TEAM:

Ferrari

POLE:

M Schuey

FASTEST LAP:

M Schuey

It better be a good one!!!!

considering its the last meet i will be attending..

Don't be a poo poo head george if you don't turn up to the others I've got a bottle of ether that I'll put to use lol.

Yes Zee...I see you. Are you coming or what? lol

too early to say dude.. will have to wait till friday unfortunately <_< but atm yes.

CANCELLED!!!!!

i will be emailing everyone in the next few days to confirm this.

:( :( Thanks anyway George for organising this.. i think i will be doing these courses on my own..

I can see you Zee...are you coming to this one or not? :P

We have a stalker on the forum!

If i dont get a few more emails by the end of the week or mid next week..im going to have to cancel this group buy...

i've bumped the OzMazda thread again and set a deadline so hopefully we can a get a couple more. What abt other clubs like Honda or Nissan Clubs?

i seen one of these at the moto gp last week, nice car but looks to plain for a sports car and for the power its got.they should have done more to the looks

Hi gengo, i somewhat agree with what you said but Mazda thought otherwise, they wanted to try and not be too "boy racer" and have these cars appeal to a wider audience across the globe. They could have done a bit more though but a keen eye will pick the differences while others will just think its a normal Mazda 3 so its kindof a sleeper.