I had the test drive yesterday and thought I would share my experiences.
Upon approaching the Velocity Red MPS 3 in the showroom my first impressions were the size of the gap between the wheel and the guards, it was quite high and some lowering would be needed to increase the agressive stance this little beast portrays!
However upon closer inspection I quite liked the evolution from the first gen model, it seemed to look tougher while still being friendly and quite stylish as compared to some of the bland looking cars coming out today!
Sitting inside and everything seemed to be placed well, though felt that quality of materials is a step down from my 6 MPS, particularly dash surfaces and the use of hard plastics, though being one who likes gadgets, I had fun with all the buttons and gizmos.
From here I stepped outside to the demonstrator, which was slowly rumbling towards me with the salesman at the wheel and I was impressed with the stock exhaust note! We proceeded to drive away, with yours truly in the passenger seat and it was a ride alternating between blissful hippy like cruising (as there is a police academy near the dealer) to one of hell bent stomach wrenching fury! We proceeded to a stop and I climbed out and admired the beast and thinking to myself, "can I live with this...?"
Well, we shall see... I slid into the driver's seat and pushed the "Go" button and she burbled into life, slipped her into first and off we went. I moved off slowly to familiarise myself with the feel and being careful to avoid the "boys in blue" who were on their way home, once clear I relaxed the limiters on the right foot and hit the Loud pedal hard and was a little surprised at the smoothness of the little beast! Sure she felt quick and the gearshift felt slick but something was amiss! So I asked if I could push her a little quicker and got the green light from the man holding the key!
The next several corners showed me how much speed can be carried through the bends before she become unsettled and how much fun this could be but all the while I'm thinking that for all her shiny new looks, buttons and beeps, there's not too much more on offer from my 6 and she felt a little cheap!
So enough of the poetry.
Overall 8.5/10.
Pros: Looks, bang for your buck (performance/handling/grip), standard features.
Cons: Step down from the 6, similar dollars buys you a WRX, didn't feel like a massive leap forward!
Apologies for the long windedness