If any car maker comes close to being a true conundrum, it has to be Mazda. We can’t be alone in wondering how near- genius (MX-5, RX-8) can co-exist with such meticulously executed examples of the mundane as… well, with the couple of exceptions we’ll come to in a moment, the rest of the range.

The dividing line is clear enough. The purist roadster and sporting coupe get the hero treatment, the mainstreamers an intravenous feed of blandness. Why the demarcation has to be quite so stark we have no idea. Wouldn’t it be great, therefore, if just a little of the talent and inspiration lavished on the iconic sportsters could be sprinkled on a few of the more deserving core products?

It’s a thought that must have occurred to Mazda, too. Hence the 6 MPS, an unlikely (but nevertheless welcome) amalgam of almost invisibly ordinary Mondeo-sized five-door hatch, four-wheel drive and, gulp, 256bhp four-cylinder turbocharged engine. It isn’t a great car, but it is almost miraculously entertaining for a 6. Encouraging work. What’s next?

This, the equally imaginatively named Mazda 3 MPS. The formula is all but identical: insert the same 2.3-litre turbo under the altogether shorter bonnet of the Focus-sized hatch, keep cosmetic signifiers to a bare minimum (faint bonnet bulge, 18in alloys, a smattering of subtle spoilers, slightly larger exhaust pipe) and spend the rest of the development programme figuring out how you’re going to transmit all that energy to the front wheels without ripping the steering wheel from the driver’s sweaty fingers. Decide to place yourself at the top of the front-drive hot hatch power table and this is the kind of planet-sized headache you face.

Mazda has gathered a number of technologies to combat the problem. First, the engine management regulates torque delivery in the first four gears to avoid sudden surges of twisting force. This works in conjunction with a special torque-sensing limited-slip differential that seeks to maximise traction while further removing any unwanted twitching at the helm. Then there’s the stiffened driveshafts and yet another torque control system that takes its cues from the steering wheel angle.

The big pay-off, of course, is that your fairly innocuous-looking (frankly, too innocuous-looking) five-door hatch will sprint to 60mph in under six seconds and hit 155mph, poised to redden the faces of 2.7-litre Porsche Cayman drivers and blow Golf GTI pilots into the undergrowth without even trying.

And, indeed, the 3 MPS is very fast. You are aware that not all of the 280lb ft is being let loose during a brisk standing start, but that doesn’t seem to prevent the reflections of other cars in the rear-view mirror shrinking at a satisfying rate. Once on the motorway (or unrestricted autobahn in our case) the little Mazda feels more mighty still, storming to 140mph and beyond in fifth and sixth in a manner that must have spoiled the days of several BMW and Mercedes drivers we encountered.

Stability at very high speed is exemplary, too. As it is on fast country roads. The chassis has bags of grip, fine body control and, amazingly, hardly any torque-steer. Trouble is, travelling quickly in the 3 MPS just isn’t much fun. At least, not by the standards of a Golf GTI or Focus ST. And especially not by the standards of the latest Renaultsport Mégane competing in this year’s eCoty.

The steering, while reasonably direct and well weighted, feels numb and is very short on detail feedback, the engine note is persistently dull and occasionally unpleasant, and although grip and body control are good, the chassis’ act as a whole is distinctly two dimensional, the mild understeering balance being only minutely adjustable with the throttle. Ride comfort is rather fidgety, too.

All of which only confirms something we’ve known for a long time: speed alone isn’t enough. Mazda can give itself a pat on the back for making a 256bhp front-drive hatch manageable, but you don’t get the better of cars like the Focus ST and Mégane 230 with power alone.