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.
Although it's a specialist car, there shouldn't be too many worries about the quality of the RS Focus. Some 30 a day are going to be made, and they roll down the same production line as the standard Focus. In fact, the main reason that the Focus RS took so long to reach the market was because productionising the car took longer than expected. Focus RSs can be bought and serviced at any Ford dealer, and the warranty is the same as for any other model in the Focus range. That said, Ford has used aftermarket suppliers such as Quaife (limited-slip differential) and AP Racing (clutch) and has modified the five-speed gearbox for the Focus RS, and these components haven't yet been customer-proven like in the standard car (though they have all been chosen because they can handle the power). The carbon insert on the dash, unique seats, steering wheel and trim all appear of pretty sound construction. But though our test cars were pre-production models, one suffered from some minor squeaky trim. Given the stiff suspension, this maybe isn't so surprising.
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