I HAVE to admit to a soft spot for Mazda as it was a brand that was going places just as I was starting out writing about cars back in the mid-1980s.

It was a period when Mazda made the transition from being a niche Japanese player to be very much a participant in the global Ford empire.

At the same time the Japanese car giant had some massive hits with the Mazda 626 and 323 with the latter finishing up in the number one spot for Japanese car sales, overtaking the Toyota Corolla.

Never slow in catching the proverbial worm Mazda then helped to revitalise the global sports car market with the hugely popular and iconic MX-5 sports car - the car which went on to become the world's top selling roadster.

In more recent times my latest Mazda moment came with a road test exercise in the company of the latest version of the Mazda3 MPS.

In the past few months there have been cosmetic changes to this popular car which include a new gunmetal finish for the 18-inch wheels along with new Black Mica finish roof spoiler, mirror cappings and bumper inserts.

A quartet of new colours are also offered - Aluminium Silver, Black Mica, Crystal White Pearlescent and Velocity Red.

The performance remains the same with the 0-62mph dash coming in just a little over six seconds while the maximum speed is a limited 155mph.

While perhaps not everyone’s  hot-hatch choice, the MPS still has the pace to keep up with the current crop of young contenders.

The car’s recent makeover has resulted in the MPS looking well fresh compared with some hot hatch rivals such as the new Ford Focus ST and the Renault Megane Renaulsport 265 Cup.

Seating is comfortable and the inside story is one of much roominess and practicality within the standard five door set-up enjoyed by the whole Mazda3 range.

Although the cabin may perhaps not be quite so appealing as the VW Golf, there was a sturdy feel to virtually everything you turned your hand to while the reassurance of its rating for mechanical reliability in the 2012 JD Power Customer Satisfaction Survey can also be a big plus to the average car buyer.

With 260bhp on tap, there is stacks of fun to be enjoyed in this high order performance motor, particularly when you take into account the thought that has gone into the wide variety of safety devices thoughtfully placed within the cabin.

The MPS also comes with a decent sized boot and, while there’s some clear visibility courtesy of  a low waistline and deep windows, access and egress turned out to be pretty user friendly, too.

Keeping the revs high the 2.3-litre turbo petrol engine proved very fast indeed and, with some pretty fine handling to be had there is excellent body control to hand along with bags of grip.

Overall, this distinctive hot hatch delivers a quite agreeable, if slightly firm ride. Quick out of the traps, it delivers some strong mid-range clout and provides safe and sure progress thanks to a well balanced chassis.

In fact, it ticks most of the boxes the average driving enthusiast would expect.