The revised Mazda3 MPS is a powerful hot hatch that is a lot of fun to drive, writes Catherine Lawler.

It doesn’t look much like a sporty car, so would be perfect for anyone who wanted the powerful motoring and fast performance but in something a little more subtle and – dare I say it – practical (it is roomy, has four doors, Isofix child seat fasteners in the rear and 340 litres of boot space), although insurance costs are quite high. There’s no doubt that this is an exhilarating drive, although it was a little on the thirsty side and I found myself visiting the petrol station once too often in my week’s test drive.

The 2.3-litre MZR DISI Turbo petrol engine generates maximum power of 260PS and 380Nm of torque (at just 3,000rpm). There’s plenty of grip and strong body control, steering is precise and it handles really well.

The turbocharged engine means that this car is quite a mover, although unsurprisingly there is a fair bit of road noise, especially at speed.

The recent changes to the Mazda3 MPS are purely cosmetic, with a new gunmetal finish for the 18-inch alloy wheels, while the inner roof spoiler (beneath the unique MPS wing), door mirror housings and lower rear bumper trim are finished in a sleek black mica finish.

Kit includes Bluetooth connectivity, sat nav, Bose stereo, climate control, heated windscreen and heated front seats all offered as standard features, although this is the first week in a long time I haven’t needed to turn the heated seats on, so spring is definitely here.

For enhanced ‘active’ safety appropriate for a high-performance model, the Mazda3 MPS comes with bi-xenon headlights with swivel-type Adaptive Front Light System (AFS), front fog lamps, a radar-based rear vehicle monitoring (RVM) system and larger, 320mm diameter ventilated front disc brakes.

Other safety features include blind-spot warning indicators and headlights which turn into corners, airbags and stability control. It also has a five-star score in NCAP crash tests.

The upgraded Mazda3 MPS is available in a choice of four metallic/ mica/pearlescent colours – aluminium silver, black mica, crystal white pearlescent and velocity red – free of extra charge.

Car maintenance is recommended every 9,000 miles, and tyre life will be shorter than usual due to the strong power.

Fact file:
Car: Mazda3 MPS
On the road: £23,995
Top speed: 155mph (limited)
0-62mph: 6.1 seconds
Fuel: 30.1mpg
CO2 emissions: 219g/km