Ford Focus RS

It wears one of the most famous badges in the performance car world,and the Focus lives up to its RS billing with outrageous styling. Itticks all of the fast Ford boxes, and even stands out from the otherwacky racers in our line-up.

Its deep sills, huge rear wing,bulging wheelarches and bonnet vents ensure the RS attracts plenty ofattention on the road. This was never going to be a car for shy andretiring types – and so it proves. We know from testing the Ford on itsEuropean launch that it lives up to its looks as a devastatingly fastperformance car, but how will it fare on British tarmac?

It’sclear within only a few miles on typical A and B roads that calling theRS a hot hatch does it an injustice. There are cars that cost threetimes
as much as this Focus that would struggle to match its point-to-point pace.

Eventhough the maximum torque from the engine isn’t delivered in first gear(to help preserve the transmission), the immediate response of thefive-cylinder powerplant is key to the RS’s appeal. Acceleration isincredible, and every lift of the throttle is accompanied by a twitterfrom the turbocharger and a pop from the exhausts.

When itcomes to drama, the Focus doesn’t disappoint, but the real acid test ishow it copes with bumpy UK roads. With 301bhp going through its frontwheels, the UK’s crowned and uneven surfaces are unlikely to be itsfriend. Under hard acceleration, you can feel the front wheels tryingto follow the camber of the tarmac as the steering wheel tugs from sideto side in your hands. But if you’re sensible with the throttle this iswell controlled, and in the dry there’s plenty of grip from the stickyfront tyres.

Body control is superb, and there’s tremendousfront end bite in corners. However, despite its impressively sharpturn-in, the steering weights up as you apply the power and you’realways aware of the RS’s hefty 1,467kg kerbweight. This doesn’tcompromise its punchy in-gear performance, and from a standing startthe fast and agile Ford sprinted from 0-60mph in only 6.2 seconds. Itdoes contribute to poor fuel consumption, though, as the RS returned21.0mpg.

On the test track, the tyres and brakes also have towork very hard, which means the Focus won’t be a cheap car to run ifyou drive it enthusiastically. Fast Ford fans will love it, though, andthere’s no doubt the latest model to wear the famous RS badge lives upto the legend of its predecessors.

Its in-your-face styling won’t be universally popular, but at £24,995, the Focus RS is something of a performance car bargain.

In detail:
* Price: £24,995
* Engine: 2.5-litre 5cyl turbo
* Power: 301bhp
* Torque: 440Nm
* 0-60mph: 6.2 seconds
* Economy: 21.0mpg
 

Details

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