Category: Hot Hatchbacks 
Price Range: £16,700 to £22,795
Strong engine, plenty of power, loads of grip and engaging handling, fine brakes, reasonable asking price.
Harsh ride, existence of the much cheaper Clio Cup.
The Focus RS is a superb hot-hatchback, and feels every inch as if it was created for enthusiasts, by enthusiasts. Which is nice.
Hot-hatchbacks don't get much hotter than this. Ford's 212bhp Focus may have been a long time in gestation, but marks the welcome return of the RS (Rallye Sport) brand, a moniker which first appeared in 1970 on an Escort. There have been a succession of RS Fords since then, most of which came with a reputation that the RS will have to try hard to live up to.
Just as well, then that the Focus RS comes well-equipped for the job of Meeting Expectations. Along with that turbocharged, 2.0-litre engine, the Focus RS boasts Brembo brakes, a Quaife limited-slip differential, an AP-Racing clutch, an up-rated gearbox, unique 18" OZ alloy wheels, the same track as the World Rally Championship Focus, and a Sparco interior. Only sixty or so engineers have been working on the Focus RS, and it's claimed to have been created for enthusiasts, by enthusiasts. That could be perceived as bull, but it doesn't come across that way. The Focus has got what it takes to be a stupendous hot-hatchback. And it's definitely worthy of the RS tag.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Ford Focus
wrote on 05 10 2007
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