Category: Affordable Sports 
Price Range: £26,995 to £26,995
Sensational drive, storming performance, unbelievable traction, decent ride.
Cabin doesn't feel special, driver's seat mounted too high.
Ford hatches a new performance icon.
Ford has finally unleashed the long-awaited sequel to its Focus RS and on the 40th anniversary of the RS brand it had better be special...
Actually, special isn't quite the word. On paper the second-generation Focus RS goes well beyond the extraordinary, freefalling into the realms of lunacy. Here's a small family hatch that packs a frankly ridiculous 301bhp, tops an incredible 163mph and sprints to 62mph in a blistering 5.9 seconds.
In the flesh the insanity continues. The RS is an assault on the eyes with its swollen body panels, gaping vents, chiselled front splitter, twin blade rear spoiler and sharpened rear venturi.
Set to go head-to-head with the likes of the fire-breathing Mitsubishi Evo and Subaru STi, the Focus shuns the competitions' computer-controlled 4x4 drivetrains, preferring instead to channel all its might through just the front wheels.
How can that be possible? Shouldn't the Focus RS be borderline undriveable, torque-steering its poor driver towards the nearest ditch?
As you'll see, Ford has a secret weapon called a RevoKnuckle. That, along with the thorough job carried out by Ford's performance division Team RS, helps make the new RS one of the most satisfying performance cars we've ever driven.
