Ford Focus RS test

Ford Focus RS
It’s been months since we had this much fun in a car…





as Ford proudly says, the Focus RS is a cure for the crisis….that may seem a bit much but it just might be true!

To begin with it is the most powerful compact sedan on the planet thanks to the 305 brake horsepower, 440 Newton metres of torque producing five cylinder turbo; throw in the fact it needs a scant 9.5 litres of petrol per 100ks at €33,650…add it all up and this RS is unbeatable.




The radical style is straight out of the world rally championship. Every change has been done with performance in mind…Ford paid particular attention to down force as you can see with the air intakes, the extractors at the back and the double blade rear wing…and it all comes together nicely. Throw on some superb standard issue 19-inch wheels, engine cover intakes and twin pipe exhaust…and this Focus RS is ready for the Rally GB…well it won’t go unnoticed, anyway. At 1450 kilograms, the power to weight ratio comes to 4.8.

Now, for the motor: it’s a five cylinder turbo that sounds like a proper street rocket should….with a top speed of 263km/h…that’s right this Ford isn’t limited to 250km/h! The 2.5 litre turbo red lines at 7050rpm and the six-speed gearbox follows right in step.


Now, you might be asking how can all the 305 horsepower be transmitted through just the front axle?

Ford may have made a serious engineering break through with its new Revoknuckle system. Employing a combination of front suspension geometry voodoo and lowered torque spin you can plant your foot down as hard as humanly possible and it won’t step a centimetre out of place…the combination of a lowered roll centre, wider track and, of course, limited-slip differential, make this car a contender, the fact that it costs and weighs less than an its all-wheel drive rivals, make it a champ.


The interior has everything it needs: matching body work Recaro bucket seats….carbon fibre finish, snub nose shift lever, purpose built three-spoke steering wheel, aluminium pedals and most importantly…three indispensable gauges…turbo, temperature and oil pressure…all of this standard kit, even the Ford Power button.

It doesn’t take long to understand you’re at the controls of a monster. The RS has handfuls and handfuls of grip and can stop on a dime. The gears are ideally staged and shifting is done with a flick of the wrist. The RS runs flat and fast but in complete serenity. The sensations procured are remindful of those of the Escort RS and Sierra Cosworth, like the kick in the back it delivers and the sweet sound of the waste gate, but with today’s engineering advances.

No matter how hard one might try to find fault with a road car, it must be said that RS logo has never been more merited.

The RS doesn’t really have a rival. Renault’s Megane RS isn’t as fast; Subaru’s Impreza Sti is all-wheel drive, as is Audi’s A3 with just 265 brake horsepower. The Mitsubishi Lancer Evo costs €11,300 more…we’ve tried our best but nothing comes close to matching the quality/price ratio of the Ford Focus RS.