2012 Mazda 3 MPS review

The Interior
The comfort of this car has me wanting to sleep in it most nights. Seriously! It's safe to say that the interior of this car is far from boring. The black and red material that complements the seats and doors makes this car warmer in ways. All the way down to the leather trim on the seats, and the MPS floor mats. The small blue lights hiding on the inside of the car's handles and on the roof really light up the interior, along with the dash lights (blue and red/white and red).

This car is equipped with everything you need. From the steering wheel buttons to sat-nav, Bluetooth/hands-free, CD player, easy to use dash, six-speed transmission, electronic driver's seat, huge glove compartment space (the biggest I’ve ever seen – never ending), electronic external mirror control, headlight AFS, auto headlight option, keyless/push button start, electronic windows, massive boot space, cigarette lighter/charger port, stock turbo gauge next to the speedo, reverse sensors, plenty of room in your drink holders, and a very deep centre console.

It is also equipped with dual-zone climate control air-con (one temp’ for the driver and a different temp’ for the passenger) – pretty cool. But my favourite would have to be the Bose sound system. It is ah-may-zing! If it came down to me choosing between the MPS and another car, I probably would have chosen the MPS for having such an amazing sound system. And the great part is, it is stock. What a bonus.

The technology in this car is amazing. For a 2012 model, it is almost up to date with different 2018 car models. I cannot fault anything about the technology, except maybe the front passenger seat not being electronic. But nothing major.

The Exterior
The curves on this car are so sexy. It hasn't changed much from a base-model Mazda 3, although the different front-end grille, hood scoop and rear wing sure make a massive difference looks-wise.

The performance of this car is incredible: 0–100km/h in 6.1 seconds, 190kW@5500rpm (unsure of how powerful ATW), but being front-wheel drive makes it seem so much faster. The torque steer takes a tiny bit of getting used to – 380Nm@3000rpm.

The car is so luxurious that you just glide – it is so comfortable to drive. But don’t be fooled, as this car definitely packs a punch performance-wise. I'm still surprised by how fast it is and how well it handles.

I get about 650–700km to a tank. The brilliant thing is that the MPS can be filled with E10, 91 or 98 unleaded fuels. Not that I would recommend using anything but 98, but still that’s pretty cool.

This car is very reliable, smooth, very practical (especially when picking up items such as beds or other types of furniture. The car's space is so big that the furniture fits). The MPS has many luxury features and comfort areas. I think that Mazda has nailed the interior and performance of this car, although it would have been nice to see a touchscreen dash instead of buttons and controls. It also would have been nice if the exterior was changed up a little more, but overall Mazda has done a smashing job.

I would happily recommend this car to anyone. I did not buy the MPS just for the performance, but boy does it perform well.