COSTNEW
£23,950
VALUENOW
£15 0 0
96 MODERNCLASSICS
BUYER’S FI
Expert buying advice to help you choose yourperfectcar
2006-2007
MAZDA 6 MPS
Affordable prices (and dwindling numbers) make
for an overlooked performance bargain
ot everyJapaneseperformance
sa loonwasbonkerslairyin the
Noughties,youknow.
Pl entywere,mind.By 2006,
en dlessiterationsof Mitsubishi’sLancer
Ev olutionandSubaru’sImprezaTurbowere
uppingtheaestheticandperformanceanteto
th e pointwhereit wasall gettinga bit silly.
Mazdasensedthattheremightbe some
moneyto be madein thegapbetweenfast
co mpanycar andin-your-facerallyrep,so the
MazdaPerformanceSeries(MPS)wasborn.
Despitea competitivepricetag,rustand
Essential
CHECKS
N
Engine
Basedon
th e 6’s
- 3-litre
four-pot,
MPS spec
added direct
in jectionanda turboto the
mi x. As Mazdaleftit, it’sa tad
st ressed– andit canbe fatally
fr agileif a previousownerhas
de cidedto up thepower
throughthe wrong
combinationof mods.
Tu rbosandtimingchains
ar e theweakestpoints.‘It’llbe
on e or theotherthatneeds
doing,’explainsCharlie
Je nkins,ownerof MPS
specialistCJ Performance.
‘T hechainactuatorandVVT
pulleysgivethemosttrouble.
Th e chainsshouldbe swapped
at 50,000-mileintervals.’Later
6 MPSshaveslightlystronger
un its,but theirdesignlifeis still
li mited– they’llgivea death
ra ttleon start-upandclatterif
th ingsaren’tas theyshouldbe.
Checkalsothatit idlesOK – an
un certaintickovercouldmean
it ’s losingcompression.
Enginesuse– andburn– oil,
somakesurethe6k change
in tervalshavebeenadhered
to. Turbos(andturboseals)
ar e similarlyweak,as are fuel
pumps.‘It’srareto seea 6 MPS
in standardtunenowadays,
but evenfromnew,thepump
un sympathetic tuning decimated 6 MPS
numbers in the UK. It and its smaller
counterpart, the 3 MPS, sold far better in the
USA and Australia, generating a much more
healthy overseas tuning market.
Even so, a tight-knit tuning community did
spring up in the UK, bolstered by a very active
and enthusiastic owners’ club.
If you’re put off by the usual Teutonic
suspects or unimpressed by tasteless rally
stage posturing, the 6 MPS represents the
best of both worlds – especially if you have
a family to trundle about with.
is workingreallyhard,’Charlie
sa ys.Budgetforreplacingthe
fu el pump’sinternalsif they’re
st ill standard,andif a remap
ha s beenperformed,check
who’sdoneit – sometunes
ar e betterthanothers,andif
th ey’rebadlydone,a rodcan
ex it theblock.
Gearbox
Th e six-speedgearboxis
pr ettyhardyin service,
al thoughhardstartscanhurt
th e syncromesh.‘Makesureit
doesn’tpopout underloadin
second,’saysCharlie.
Th e 6 MPS’sall-wheeldrive
sy stemis alsoprettysturdy.
Itselectronicallycontrolleddiff
co uplingwasMazda’sfirst,
an d its controlunitrarelygives
tr ouble.Dubbed‘ActiveTorque
Split’by Mazda,thesystem
sh untspowerto wherever
ne eded,andonlyswitchesoff
ful ly whenyou’reparking.
Watchthereardiff mounts,
th ough;if a previousowner
madea habitof pullingaway
ha rd,therearLSDmountscan
br eakoff thesubframe.
Cheapandmismatched
ty resacrossaxlescanhurtthe
al l-wheeldrivesystem,too.
Id eally,theyall needto be the
samebrandandreplacedat
th e sametime.Don’tworryif
th e car you’relookingat is
running225/45/18sall-round
in stead of the standard
215/45/18 specified from new;
it’s a common ploy by owners
to save on tyre bills. The larger
width is far more affordable
and has not been shown to
giveanyill effectslongterm.
Suspension
Not muchto sayhere– many
ca rs will haveuprateddrop
lin ks,bushes,springsand
sh ocksnow,but they’llhave
been swappedto make thecar
Intercooling
wi tha rattle
th rownin.
Doesn’tlook
li kemuchbut
is , er, much.
