Grinding machine. What is it like to drive a “hot” Mazda3 MPS in cold winter conditions

No sooner said than done. It's minus fifteen degrees outside, the snow crunches underfoot, and the wind cuts through even several layers of winter clothing. A worse time for a test drive couldn't be imagined. Cursing the weather, I set off to pick up the car, pondering on the way what color it would turn out to be. A "hot" hatchback, no less?! The gray-blue Mazda seems to make the surrounding air even colder. A little more and I'll freeze to it. Although, come to think of it, in this color the car even wins compared to fiery red — it looks like a true hidden predator. And from the outside, it's almost indistinguishable from regular Mazda3s with the Sport suffix. But if you look more closely, you notice the enlarged exhaust pipe, the widened air intake in the front bumper, the hood with its characteristic "hump" (otherwise a horizontal intercooler simply wouldn't fit there), and the MPS badge. Speaking of MPS. It's not the Ministry of Railways and not "Mazda — Master of Speed," although the second option is closer to the truth. It stands for Mazda Performance Series. And these three letters, which, alas, few people think about, change everything fundamentally! The final touch to the portrait: 18-inch wheels shod with non-studded Pirelli Sottozero tires in size 225/40 R18. Such tires, by the way, are fitted to some supercars. That didn't make it any easier for me, though: these tires are designed for winter asphalt, not for the few centimeters of snow that had covered Moscow's streets. So I managed to get out of the parking lot only with the help of a couple of responsive passersby — the Mazda's wide front wheels flatly refused to pull the car out of its snowy captivity. And so I crawl along the capital's roads, which are also packed to the brim with cars. In such a situation, the number of horsepower and the type of drive don't matter at all — look, that Subaru in the next lane is barely moving, not overtaking the trolleybus in front of it at all. In a traffic jam, everyone is equal, and the Mazda3 MPS is just like everyone else here, at any time of year. The first thing you notice in city traffic is the stiff, short-throw clutch. And that's pleasing — it's exactly what the two-liter Mazda3 with the pompous Sport suffix lacks! But, crawling in a traffic jam at pedestrian speed, I already began to doubt: "And what's so extreme about this?" There's enough torque at low revs, and my legs, accustomed to my Renault Clio Sport, don't get tired at all. You drive, listen to music playing through the Bose speakers… and gradually forget that you're behind the wheel of a "hot" hatchback. Inside, by the way, almost nothing gives away the car's extraordinary character either. Except for the seats — they try to look sporty (though in reality they lack lateral support) and are adorned with MPS embroidery. Otherwise, the cabin of the powerful MPS differs from regular "threes" only in the pedal covers and the speedometer, marked up to 280 km/h. However, even the interior of the "civilian" Mazda3 versions sets an aggressive tone — the same comfortable three-spoke steering wheel and the pleasant gear knob of the six-speed manual transmission. However, every traffic jam eventually ends. So it happened here: I finally got onto a relatively clear highway and took the "pole position" at a traffic light. Now I'll find out what 260 horsepower is all about! Green light, pedal to the floor! And in response… silence! Hey, where did my "herd" run off to? Betrayally blinking the yellow light of the traction control system, the MPS reluctantly accelerated, trying to get its extra-wide "snowshoes" to grip any solid surface. And an old man in a Niva grinned smugly and easily overtook me. Bummer… But just a couple of hours later, the road crews finally cleared the main highways of snow and generously doused the spike-wounded asphalt with anti-icing reagent. Now let's see who's who! However, a quick start from the traffic light won't work here either — on the first two gears, all the power goes either to the DSC or to wheelspin of the driven wheels. But once the Mazda3 MPS gets a grip on the asphalt, rivals who had time to rejoice suddenly turn into a small dot in the rearview mirror. And this happens so swiftly that it seems everyone around has simultaneously engaged reverse gear. After 3000 rpm, you get such a "kick" in the back that I deliberately stayed in the "turbo lag" zone to enjoy this insane "surge" again and again. But if in a traffic jam you can calmly crawl and listen to music, then in "combat" modes the Mazda3 MPS won't allow such luxury! During intense acceleration, the steering wheel literally tries to tear out of your hands, and in ruts at high speeds, you feel almost like a rally driver on a special stage. Yeah, it's a tricky thing! However, owners of powerful front-wheel-drive cars will feel right at home. The rest will have to get used to it. But what the Mazda can confidently get a "five" for is its powerful brakes and excellent stability! You can only throw it into a slide with outright provocative actions, and the brakes don't "tire" even in very intense driving modes. However, there was also a quite objective drawback. And its name is the fuel tank. Its volume of 55 liters is simply humiliatingly small for a powerful turbo engine that by definition can't suffer from a poor appetite. According to the official data, in the urban cycle, the Mazda3 MPS consumes 13.5 liters of premium 98-octane gasoline. But such consumption can only be achieved if you don't put anything heavier than shoelaces on the gas pedal. In "combat" modes, the "matryoshka" happily gulps down a good 4 liters more. Appetite comes with eating! And I experienced real delight not on city streets — only kamikazes enjoy themselves there. Amazingly, while Moscow authorities for some reason treat dry asphalt with that notorious "cocktail," the winding country roads offer a true gourmet dish: they're dry, smooth, and empty. Here you can let loose to the fullest! Here both the asphalt tires and the limited-slip differential, which allows you to confidently open the throttle even before the apex of a corner, come into play. Magnificent! Adrenaline thrill! Thoughts began to creep into my head: "It's not all that bad! Even in winter, you can drive fast in such a car." But the real cold shower came from the sessions at our friends' training circuit — the "Master-Class" driver counter-emergency training center. The car categorically refuses to drive on packed snow and ice, helplessly polishing it with non-studded tires. Nothing helps here: neither the traction control system nor the differential lock. And only by starting in second gear and immediately shifting to third can you still somehow maneuver between the cones without spinning the wheels in useless wheelspin. And I won't even mention understeer. Installing studded tires would solve some winter problems, but at the expense of asphalt performance. And no one makes high-speed "studded" tires. Oh, somewhere in warmer climes, this car would be an ideal gift for speed lovers. Fast and nimble, with excellent handling and brakes, yet practical and affordable. But here, all its killer accelerations, when you can't tear yourself away from the seat, and its fantastic cornering confidence are all crossed out at once by the first snowfall. And from November to March, the owner of a Mazda3 MPS will be forced to watch the constantly blinking yellow "eye" of the DSC. Waiting for the April sun…