Hey guys,

My names William and im 25 and live in Essex. i currently own a modified and tuned Corolla Compressor and i am looking for a change. I want something more practical but with some fun and understated and a bit of a sleep, WHICH the MPS is :-D . My problem is i want a more economical car and i know an MPS isnt the right car. Ive got a few questions if u guys can answer for me. Thanks

1) How much is tax? i believe its around £415 a year? will it be going up again next yr?

2) Whats the economy like? and average price to fill up a whole tank?

3) do u need to use Super unleaded fuel or is standard 95 RON ok?

4) Maintenance price i.e servicing and parts?

5) what to look out for wen purchasing an MPS?

Sorry for the silly questions, but i dnt know much about these cars. I hav always wanted one wen they first came out :-)

Like i said i really like understated cars. My current car is a Corolla compressor, originally a Tsport but added and compress(supercharger) on a later date and got a smaller charger pulley and FMIC and mapped with a Dastek Unichip and is now pushing out 230 hp with 200+ ft lb torque, nothing compared to an MPS, but still a lot of fun and understated. The list of mods on my car goes on. Will uploaded photos for u guys.

Hope u guys can help

Pics of my current car:


Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

I'd say go for the 3 for economy and you could possibly get more stuff in.99ron for economy and power Sweet roller

_________________
Eco warrior lol

Take no notice of him, just another jealous 3 owner The fuel economy is the biggest enemy of these motors, beyond that they are great cars. I have always found standard parts and servicing to be very reasonable, as for road Tax, i'm not sure if it will go up but at the moment you are right on the money. You should only use 95 to get to a proper petrol station and fill up with 98 or 99. It currently costs me £65 to fill up with V-power and that gets me about 260 odd miles.

Personally i think the 6 has it all, dashing good looks, huge power, understated, and practicality, wait a minute thats an exert from my lonley hearts ad

If you really want a AWD 4 dr saloon then the 6MPS fits the bill. However they are not cheap cars to run. The RT is £445 per year and you won't get much more than 22mpg in town driving, 30 mpg on open roads. You might be lucky and find a late 55 or early 06 on the "old" RT of £245. On top of that you might be stung for a new turbo (£1500) if you are unlucky.
I would go for 3MPS MKII. They are more economical and RT is £245. They also have the sorted turbo - it is said. Everything Mazdaspeed6 says about the 6 is however true.

Buying a 6 MPS is the same as buying just about any other car. Caveat Emptor and all that.

Be prepared to travel to find he right one, as they are very thin on the ground. I don't know how many Mazda UK imported, but it can be many. I'm the 2.5 years I've had mine I've only seen 3 others on the road.

Check the history of the car. Mazda use a digital service history system to verifying the history of the car is very simple indeed. Personally I only ever buy cars with FDSH, and mazda make it easy to check. As has been stated, some older cars fall into the older road tax brackets, and will save you a few quid, but personally I wouldn't let what amounts to a few extra quid a month be a deciding factor. Get the latest one you can afford. If you can find one that's had some of the more usual faults sorted under warranty, then that's a very positive sign. I had a new turbo on mine recently as there was an occasional puff of smoke from the exhaust. No doubt other cars have had the same.

There's very little to choose from in terms of equipment on the cars. Satnav was about the only option officially available, although some cars have a traffic angel device, or reversing sensors as well. Again, unless you really really want them, don't let the absence of any of these be a deciding factor. TomTom make a better navigation solution, and you can have the reverse sensors fitted for pocket money.

Otherwise, all cars came with xenon HID lights, Bose audio, electric everything, including drivers seat with memory functions (3 on the seat, and a memory for each key),leather, and climate control. Later cars have a 20Gig hard disk built into the stereo that's bloody useful too. Not all cars have the "MPS" badge on the dash.

Practicality wise, it's very good. I've managed to get 2 mountain bikes and a weeks holiday luggage for two into the boot on several occasions. Or a Full set of luggage for four, followed by a relaxed comfortable cruise to the south of france. This car can demolish long trips with consumate ease. Its comfortable, has plenty of pace, and the ability to maintain the drivers interest. Mines been to the Med on at least 3 occasions, and as far south as Andorra in the name of interesting driving. It also transported me from Provence to London in a little over 10 hours on a slightly more urgent trip! Don't believe the press about not being able to lower the rear seats either. You can, you're just not supposed to be able to.

Servicing is cheap, on a par with the Toyotas I ran before. Ive paid around £120 to £180 for most services, £280 for it's recent major. The only problem is it's need for services every 9000 miles.

Economy is probabley the average would be owners biggest concern, but I get around 28 to 30 mpg from mine. I don't worry about economy though, mpg misers should buy a diesel and be done with it. Anyone expecting 50 to the gallon from a 2.3 turbo in an all wheel drive car is clearly deranged. It's just not reasonable to expect it. In my job I have the use of a never ending array of hire cars delivered to me that all get similar mpg when asked to the deliver the kind of driving I expect from a car. I don't drive like a nutcase or anything, but when I put my foot on the pedal, I want the car to respond. Most modern cars just can't do it. For instance I spent a coupe of weeks in the company of a new Insignia SRi, and it delivered an average of 25 mpg whilst still failing to get anywhere near the pace of my MPS. The need to thrash it to make it move with any conviction demolished it's makers claims of 40mpg. If you expect the same then you'll find it's actually not to bad.

One last thing, dont buy one of these cars expecting it to be an Impreza or Evo type of experience. Its not. This car is a comfortable, relaxed saloon that just happens to be very good in corners, have excellent traction out of corners, and the ability to thoroughly entertain you on the straights. But it's not some rally bred hooligan dressed in a Hugo Boss suit. It's good, but don't expect it to pull off the sort of monumental feats of agility that make the average IQ deficient Evo owner think he's Seb Vettel.

Hope this helps.

Nice car

I am not sure you will find fuel consumption much better (if at all) from what you are getting in the Toyota.

I am averaging 27.3 at the moment,in the 3, with a mixture of motorway, country roads and town (about 50 miles a day). To fill up is about £60 which lasts around 270 miles (ish), I expect this to drop a little now the cold weather has arrived.

Tax - as above you are bang on but who knows if this will change ?

When looking for one just watch out for the normal stuff, Jones in Chelmsford (moulsham street) are good dealers but these cars very rarely turn up at dealers (especially the 6). The last 3 I saw was a cosmic blue (like mine) at a dealer in Basildon i think??

Good luck with the hunt and let us know if you need any more info

EDIT - sorry hello and as well

_________________
Useful threads and FAQ's (members only)

I think all the bases are covered now Look out for snatchy clutch and corroding alloys

_________________
Titanium 6MPS, Cpe XL TIP/CAI, AEM Filter, PTP HPFPI, NGK Plugs, Forge recirc valve, C&C Custom 3'' System, Cpe RMM, J-Speed SSP, Eibach pro springs, Gloss Black RX-8 Wheels, Falken rubber, M-Tech D&G disc with yellowstuff pads all round, HEL BBL, DOT5.1 Fluid, Red Calipers, Black out badges and Tints.
To fit = Hd lip, Sure Anchors
289bhp & 295ftlb

Future Mods = Corksport TMIC

Hello and

_________________
Asuka Racing alloys 225/40/18 Kumho rubber.2.5in Power Flo cat back,BBR Hybrid Turbo,BBR Downpipe (200 cell cat) 3 port boost solenoid Upgrade TMIC, HPFP, Simota SRI & Tip, Forge re-circ dv. colder plugs. Front and Rear DBA slotted discs braided lines & Hawk Pads.H&R springs & B8 Bilstein shocks.Rolled archs, debadged.Corksport front strut brace.CP.E rear engine mount Barone stage 2 short shift plate & bushings & heavy shift knob.LED tinted rear light cluster.Oil temp Boost & oil pressure guages Tinted windows Carbon Fibre badges and interior

Oh yeah hello and

_________________
Titanium 6MPS, Cpe XL TIP/CAI, AEM Filter, PTP HPFPI, NGK Plugs, Forge recirc valve, C&C Custom 3'' System, Cpe RMM, J-Speed SSP, Eibach pro springs, Gloss Black RX-8 Wheels, Falken rubber, M-Tech D&G disc with yellowstuff pads all round, HEL BBL, DOT5.1 Fluid, Red Calipers, Black out badges and Tints.
To fit = Hd lip, Sure Anchors
289bhp & 295ftlb

Future Mods = Corksport TMIC

Thanks for the replies ppl :-)

The major problem is the fuel economy. I know the MPS isnt the best on fuel, but was hoping it wud b better than my car, which its not lol.

I really love the 6MPS but in the situation im in now, im not sure if its the right car :-( i do quite a lot of miles a week and 260miles a tank isnt that good.

But i wont start properly looking into cars till next yr. So fingers crossed things might change and i will opt for the 6 :-)

Oh yes, the other cars im looking into r Skoda Octavia VRS diesel, Lexus is220d and Honda accord 2.5 vtec. Non of which r n e where near as fun as the 6 but better on fuel economy. TBH the Skoda looks like the better choice bcos of its tuning potential and economy.

I know a lot of ppl will read this and think i shudnt even consider looking into the 6 bcos im looking for better economy, but like i said ive always been a fan of them and always wanted one.

Yet again thanks for the comments. :-)
Will

What?!

You guys get all the cool cars...

That car looks sick

Really?




Tried one of these, thought it to be to cramped, and nowhere near as fast, comfortable or economical as Toyota would have you believe.. If you test drive one, make sure its a long test drive, as I found the ride quality wasn't up to much either. The old version of IS was better.


You said you're 25, right? 25?

TWENTY FIVE!... YES DEAR!... TURN YOUR HEARING AID UP!... IT'S TIME TO GO AND PICK UP THE GRANDCHILDREN... NO, I HAVEN'T SEEN YOUR READING GLASSES. DID YOU LEAVE THEM BY THE WIRELESS? </old farts drive Accords stereotype mode...>

Might be a bit early in life for an Accord, but give it a go...

To be fair, a colleauge of mine bought one of these last year, and its rather nice. Lots of toys and gizmos, and it looks good too... Athough I should point out that he's retiring in January.



You. Read. My. Mind...

For reference, it is possible to get better mileage out of these cars. Mazda entered the 6 MPS in the annual mpg marathon in 2006. The event is entered by many manufacturers, and over the c.400 mile course, all on a mix of public roads, the 6 MPS returned an average 36.7 mpg... Best in its class.

The mk2. 3MPS performed well in last years event, returning an even more impressive 41.7mpg

If interesting, sporty, but economical saloons are what you're after, but you'd rather have something a little left field, how about a 2007 ish Subaru Legacy Diesel?
Theyre subtle, but good looking, have more equipment than you could shake a stick at, have a proper, centre diff equipped AWD transmission, and a brilliant 2.0 4 cylinder "boxer" diesel engine. They are a superb car, area also easily tuneable and can be had for pocket money. And they do 50mpg... Of course, if you weren't such a mpg miser you'd go for the 3.0R Spec B version, with its 240 bhp 3.0 flat 6 cyl boxer engine... Yum.



Best of luck with your seach.

If we talking about the same 3, the price has dropped a couple of grand over the last month! Major steal!

Good luck with the search!

The old IS 6 banger was garbage, the only engine worth having was the 4Pot Beams.

_________________
.