Well, it seems like such a long wait from putting the deposit on it last Wednesday, but today I picked it up
For those that don't know it's a 57 with just under 2500 miles on it. 2.3l turbo giving 260bhp and 380nm.
Seats are mega comfy

I have some work to do on it as the paintwork isn't up to the standard I like, so hopefully I will get the opportunity to fully detail it before winter arrives.


A brief stop around the corner from the dealer to adjust the seat etc. and to get the first photo's of the beastie.













At it's new home.




















Of course the most important thing to do within 30 mins of getting the car home is to swap the orange indicator bulbs. Luckily the ones I removed from the Swift fit the rear of the Mazda3.








Also the dealership sticker has gone from the rear window. Plus the dealer tax disc holder was taken off and replaced with my black Richbrook one (also nabbed from the Swift before sale)











Driving home required a lot of concentration to keep it at a legal speed!

congrats on a stunning car!!!!nice to see the mods starting already!!!any other plans for her?painted calipers would look sweet!

Very nice Zoe bet its a beast to drive

Nice one all you need now is the rear offside light cluster from a left hand drive model and a red LED bulb for the Fog light and you'll be all clear at the back

Verrrrrry nice indeed boss

yuck.. what a disgusting car! Bet its bloomin slow aswell... let alone when hills get in the way.


Only joking Xorro, very nice too I do like the new gen of Mazdas now... nice to see a new breed of real "hot hatches" coming back to life!

Thanks Ninos, I'm still getting used to the power I have. It's OK when driving normally, it's the big-dollop-of-turbo-power-while-going-round-a-bend-in-second-gear I'm yet to perfect

Faznloz, since the gen3 style/platform came out I've found the interior of the Coupe to be claustrophobic, which is a shame as I really like the SIII.

TBH I still miss my ZS. Loved the V6 engine and the handling was awesome - although the 3 is faster, I'm yet to find that it handles as well as the ZS. I couldn't buy another ZS as 1) they've stopped making them and 2) it's only got a 2* NCAP rating

I remember when I saw my Coupe I loved it and knew I must have one. But there doesn't seem to be any cars around like that any more. They are all boring and shared platforms.

For instance the Mazda3 is based on the C1 platform which is also used for the Focus and Volvo S40. No-one seems to want to be unique any more.

Oops gone a bit off-topic there

Hi Xorro

Nice motor! My neighbour has the 6 and the damn thing flies! I'm actually the main reason he's got it because I saw it at the Geneva motor show, liked it and if I'd needed 4 seats would probably have one myself.

Also, to my surprise, it kept up with my Z the couple of times we had a play so I'm guessing the 3 being lighter would cause me a problem and if it's remapped...

Glad you're enjoying it!

Mark