Healthy demand and a limited supply (just 1000 will make it into the UK each year) means that used prices should stay high and depreciation shouldn’t be too painful. It falls into insurance group 17, which is a massive jump from the 2.0 Sport model below it which is group 8. Mazda parts and servicing tends to be good value. High performance Y-rated tyres are needed as the car can top speeds of 150mph, but these are more expensive to replace than ordinary ones.

Fuel consumption – at 29mpg – is pretty good for a hot hatch.

The MPS is a polluting model with emissions of 231g/km of CO2 and fuel economy of 29mpg. However considering the power and performance on offer, this is reasonable.

It’s been a long time since Mazda built a performance model like this, so it’s something of an unknown. That said, the firm has an excellent record and is fastidious when it comes to ensuring the highest production standards. The Mazda6 MPS (which uses the same engine) has proved as reliable as the rest of the range.