Road tests often compare different engines in a single model,
but it's rare to assess a manufacturer's entire range back-to-back.
Mark Hales went to Castle Combe circuit to try a lot of Mazdas

The performance diesel is a modern phenomenon, but it's welcome. Emissions legislation has made the naturally
aspirated gasoline engine ever less responsive while shifting all the real power towards the top end.

	On track: among the models put through their paces were Mazda's 6

Diesels have always delivered their power at lower revs, but because most of them have a turbocharger as standard these days, their bottom end has been much more muscular.

Modern technology and electronic management have now stretched the diesel's power band to maintain the muscle further around the rev counter, so cross-country trips in a turbodiesel are relaxed and at least as fast as their gasoline counterparts. The GT diesel is definitely with us.

The Mazda3 2.0 slots right in to this performance sector with 141bhp and a six-speed transmission, but its refinement is particularly noticeable and there's an extremely wide rev range, too. It pulls hard from 1,500 to almost 5,000rpm, so you can make good progress without feeling obliged to stir the gearlever.,

The engineers have concentrated on driver involvement, so it's more about a sporting manner than ultimate comfort, but the rest is standard modern sedan, which as always these days should be taken
as proof of competence rather than damning with faint praise. It remains one of the more understated
options in the market and prices start at £16,750. In common with most of its fellow manufacturers,
Mazda's UK arm has been making some effort to promote the sporting aspects of its volume models.
To this end, the company recently took a brave step and brought its whole range to Castle Combe,
a fast, flowing racetrack near Chippenham, Wiltshire.

	...the 3 MPS

It's a step manufacturers are usually loath to take because experience tells them they can lose a few cars, but for us it's a perfect opportunity. It's becoming harder to find anywhere to research the limits of modern cars: they grow faster and more capable by the year, yet are intended for roads that are ever more crowded and regulated for profit rather than safety.

A closed track was at one time seen as an irrelevance because the cars weren't designed for it, but now it's almost the only sensible option. Meanwhile, if intense competition and rampant legislation have brought conformity in styling and dynamics, the differences between segments of the market remain huge. It's rare that you get the chance to compare and contrast them - especially at the limit.

A new aero bodykit and suspension package have spiced up the mid-sized 3 MPS, which already lays claim to the title of most powerful front-driven hatch (at 260bhp). And since no range is complete without a performance oil-burner, a slightly more understated version of the same body
has been equipped with a new 141bhp turbodiesel. There was also the bigger, four-wheel-drive
Mazda6 sedan, plus a pair that really should set the company apart without the need for extra PR:
the latest version of the MX-5, the small two-seater that has almost become a separate brand, and
the unique four-seat, four-door coupé that is the rotary-engined RX-8.

First up was the diesel, which was followed by the earlier, non aero-kitted MPS that
already felt insanely fast for a road car. It's an awful lot of muscle to put in a relatively small hatch
and 260 horses made the traction control work overtime through most of Castle Combe's fast,
bumpy bends. It wasn't exactly scary, more that you were aware of having entered a part of the
envelope that you didn't know existed.

	...the evergreen MX-5...

I then stepped into the new aero version with its lowered suspension, stiffer springs and slotted roof-mount rear wing, plus larger, 18-inch wheels and 215 section tyres that are standard fit. I just couldn't believe the difference. The car stayed flatter over the crests, the traction control was less busy and there was of course a whole lot more grip. The lap time would have put me well up the grid for the following weekend's sedan car race, but - as with the previous model, only even more so - you simply couldn't have got anywhere near its limits on the public road. And it's not even a sports car… 

I then tried the Mazda6, a bigger sedan powered by the MPS's 2.3-litre turbo engine, although in this
case surplus turbo torque is directed via all four wheels and more sophisticated wishbone suspension.
It's heavier overall and the track and wheelbase are greater, but the dynamic differences were
immediately obvious. The car almost glided over the crests, lazily nosing ever wider as the front tyres
and brakes wilted. Meanwhile, the traction control light never so much as blinked.

Then, finally, I tried the MX-5. After the turbos and the Wankel, even the latest 2.0 model felt a touch breathless on the track. That, though, prompted me to enjoy a lighter, more nimble version of the RX-8's rear-driven balance to try to catch any colleagues out on the circuit in more powerful models. Its strengths might not look so impressive on paper, but they provide a different kind of involvement.

So apart from reinforcing what most of us might have guessed - that the public road is too narrow, too crowded and too heavily regulated to be pleasurable, let alone safe - what did such an arbitrary investigation reveal? That rear-wheel drive is still the most elegant solution for good handling balance and, once you have that, you don't always need a massively powerful engine to enjoy the drive. That weight is the enemy of vehicle dynamics.

That size matters if we're talking track and wheelbase. And that if you've got surplus torque from a turbo, you probably need to share it among more than just a pair of tyres. Even if you do, though, it won't automatically make the car faster. You might have to go to a circuit to prove the point, though.