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The seat feels supportive, the driving position is low-slung, and when you twist the key you enjoy one of the few stylistic flourishes – the hitherto blank dials glow red with the missing numbers. The turbocharged 2.3-litre engine (borrowed from the Mazda 6 MPS) sounds humdrum and the gearshift is workmanlike, so the little MPS seems wilfully ordinary… right up to the moment when the throttle pedal meets the carpet.
With a gritty four-cylinder bark, the MPS blasts up the road. Remarkably, there’s no scrabbling of tyres and no fight at the wheel, illustrating how effective the various traction control measures are; there’s a torque-biasing differential and the engine’s full 280lb ft is tempered in the first four gears. While the pace is fast and furious, the action at the front wheels is commendably calm, even over bumps that might unsettle them, so the last line of defence – electronic traction control – is rarely activated. Indeed, if you didn’t know better, you might think the MPS was four-wheel drive.
On smooth roads the ride is fine, tightly checked by the lowered suspension but with acceptable suppleness, but on lumpier B-roads the nose can start bobbing as it gets out of phase with quick-fire sequences of mild bumps. Attack a choppy corner and the steering’s limited feel isolates you from the mild scrabble that ensues as the inside tyre tugs at the apex, while grip is impressive once the nose has tucked into the turn. It’s a very nose-led experience, the rear refusing to budge even when diving in hard on the brakes. High marks for effectiveness, then, and a middling score for involvement.
Mazda at Millbrook
Although the Mazda is driven from the opposite end to the BMW and its traction is managed by multiple control strategies (though not electronic traction control, which we switch off), a similar low-rev take-off yields exactly the same 6.1sec to 60mph, while its 14.3sec time to 100mph is a second quicker.
The car is amazingly effective, even with its electronic traction control still engaged. Neat tends to be quick, and TC was hardly triggered during the lap, the chassis’ reluctance to let the tail swing feeling like a hindrance only through the quickest turns. The brakes don’t feel great but, back in the pits, there it is on the laptop screen: best lap 1:31.3, a new record.
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