THE noughties Mazda 3 MPS was a bit of a bang-for-buck hero. A hero, though, of the largely unsung variety. The 2010 makeover should change that – although hatches this hot are never going to be all that common.

And make no mistake, it is hot.

With the 2.3-litre turbocharged powerplant from the bigger Mazda6 under the bonnet, the smaller sibling could hardly be otherwise.

The performance figures are impressive: the benchmark sprint to 62mph comes up in a whisker over six seconds and top speed is a largely academic 155mph.

But impressive as they are, the bare figures don’t tell the full story.

Power is unchanged at 256bhp but now achieved with lower emissions from a quieter exhaust.

With all those horses and more importantly 380Nm of torque driving only the front wheels, no wonder that full turbo boost is not available until you are in third gear.

Having damp roads for most of my couple of days with the MPS, I was quite happy for the technology – it also has traction control and stability control – to save me from myself.

What does come as a surprise, though, is just how much urge there is once you hit third gear and the shackles come off.

The engine pulls cleanly and eagerly from way down the rev range.

Hit 2,500rpm, though – peak torque is at 3,000 – and the revs and speed double incredibly quickly.

How hairy is it with all that urge going through the wheels you are trying to steer with?

Less so than the earlier MPS and many predecessors.

However, while it isn’t wayward, with all that power and wide, low-profile tyres, you cannot expect seams and gutter edges to pass unnoticed.

But the new chassis – it’s 41% stiffer – feels quite trustworthy and were I fortunate enough to get to play with Welsh B-roads like those lucky Top Gear types, I’m sure I’d have had a whale of a time.

It’s no one-trick pony, though, and with six gears and bucketloads of low-down power, it should prove a pretty relaxed cruiser.

And a fairly fuel-efficient one, too, being what I am assured is the first volume production car with a completely flush underfloor to cut drag.

It’s no bad looker, either.

With those 18-inch alloys, bonnet power bulge, twin exhausts and rear spoiler, the German-designed bodywork sits happily between the understated and the lairy.

The driving position is good with a generous footwell with plenty of room for pedals, size-10 DMs and a left footrest all finished in perforated aluminium – all except the DMs, that is.

The instrumentation is clear and the cockpit well laid out.

Up against some of the most iconic cars on the planet, Mazda have made sure that the MPS lacks nothing on the kit front. In fact, there isn’t even an options list – it’s all there.

The seats are part-leather and the fronts are heated.

There’s a smart keyless entry system, a 10-speaker Bose surround sound system for the 6CD changer with radio and MP3 capability.

There’s cruise control operated from the steering wheel, which also manages the tailor-made small-screen satnav and Bluetooth phone. The satnav is card-based, and so can be updated.

Dual zone climate control, heated screen, auto lights and wipers, and rear parking distance sensors help make it a comfortable and easy companion on the daily round.

And a safe one, too, with radar-based rear vehicle monitoring from the Mazda6.

Wide-angle radar units monitor traffic behind and warn the driver of an approaching vehicle before they have a chance to move across into a busy lane by mistake.

The system also detects vehicles in the blind spot but does not monitor cars following behind in the same lane.

Safe but exciting helps broaden the MPS’s appeal.

Yes, the suspension is firm. Firm enough to get the bits my New Year resolution should soon be getting rid of wobbling well over the Press sleeping policeman.

But not firm enough to loosen my fillings.

And while the red that is shot through the black of the cloth upholstery and the red graphics might not be to all testers’ tastes, there is no denying the quality of assembly.

Nor the practicality.

Five doors, back seats that take a couple of adults and a fair-sized, well-shaped boot mean that the 3MPS does the dull, everyday things just as well as the exciting ones.

Good at the dull things, it excels in the dark, as I found on late-night and early-morning drives from and to work.

The bi-xenon headlights are literally brilliant and the adaptive front lighting system – another standard bit of kit – means they swivel in the direction of any turn.

Hitting the apex of a left-hander at night has never been so easy.

And accelerating out of it has rarely been more fun.