Ford's new focus drives like a supercar and handles like a dream, writes MICHAEL McALEER, Motoring editor, but beware the temptation to push it to its limit.
A LUMINOUS LIME green Ford Focus RS awaited us at the dealer among a collection of silver Fiestas and Kas, as boorish as a teen offender at the church bingo. Even the nearby Transit seemed slightly terrified.
There is nothing discrete about a lime green car, but you may be excused if it’s a supermini, on the understanding that some firms coat their cars with “fun” colours to distract from the fact they are otherwise as exciting as a tumble dryer.
This car, however, is different. It’s a motoring magnet for spotty teenagers, but grown-ups will maintain the persona of apathetic adults – until, that is, you blip the throttle.
They spin around, mouths open, fingers pointing, falling head first into the time warp that returns them to the school playground.
There’s something about these road-going racers that can crack the world-weary façade of most males and rekindle wide-eyed awe. One minute they’re spouting the usual dirge on the collapsing economy, the next, their vocabularly is restricted to a mix of four-letter expletives and wolf whistles.
The Focus’s styling is based on Ford’s World Rally Car – hence the colour – and the blue-oval brand is arguably the only one to properly leverage its rallying activity on forecourts. Citroën may challenge for the title, but where is its high-performance derivative?
The RS comes with two exhaust outlets that could double for Port Tunnels, tinted black windows and gorgeous 19” alloys. For the owner, it means a lot of attention. For his or her driving licence, it spells one thing: trouble. Admittedly, the look is too laddish for many, but that’s a real shame; in pure motoring terms this is in a class of its own.
We have come across supercar owners who molly-coddle their cars in heated garages and never drive them over 60km/h. In some instances that’s understandable, if not quite sane.
You could never do that with the RS. This car is made to be driven. Pottering around town at 50km/h in this is as pointless as booking a week in the Bahamas and spending it in your room watching UK Gold re-runs.
In terms of competitors, while there’s the Golf GTi and its ilk, the only car that comes close is the current Mitsubishi Evo, but it’s over €21,000 more. In terms of performance, it’s hard to think of any similarly-priced rivals offering more than an initial 200-metre challenge. The RS – in performance and dynamics – is closer to supercar appeal.
But it’s not just about raw power. I’ve driven wide-assed Ferraris on back roads, struggling to keep them between the ditches. I’ve tested Porsches that would swat the RS on any track faster than Obama squishes flies. 300bhp? These cars put that out in reverse.
Yet the RS proves that fast and fun are not the same thing. While €150,000-plus supercars have beauty and laser-guided handling, pit them against a regular Irish country road and they become as unwieldy as a Derby winner in a point-to-point race.
The Focus, on the other hand, was created with mucky back roads in mind. It can claim some of its pedigree from Ford’s WRC efforts, and the lessons are well applied.
Its natural habitat is the laneways of Leitrim, and it enters every bend and corner with an unerring sense of confidence that reassures even the most cowardly driver. With every mile, you get more impressed with its incredible ability to tackle the basic laws of physics.
It simply should not be this good to drive. It’s front-wheel drive; putting 300bhp through the same wheel you try to steer should be like trying to reign in a racehorse with dental floss, but the reality is a steering system that’s a work of genius.
Previously, the rulebook said that 200bhp was the most you could put through the front wheels without the steering wheel wrestling your arms out of their sockets. Ford broke that rule some time ago, and continues to set new records.
The firm has some of the best chassis engineers in the industry, a fact exemplified by the dynamics of models like the regular Focus, the Mondeo and even the new Fiesta. Its cars may not be the fastest or even the most stylish, but they are nearly always the most fun to drive. It’s hardly surprising, then, that the RS performance variant is so intoxicating.
Hit the throttle too vigorously and you’ll find yourself in a pretty vicious fight with the steering wheel. Kick in too much power on uneven surfaces and the car will perform its own dance, bouncing around in search of terra firma. Yet on the whole, as you get to know it, the car offers phenomenal control over a remarkable amount of power.
The new engine is another feat of engineering. The previous RS packed a mighty punch and to this they have added 90bhp – the equivalent of throwing in a Fiesta engine for good measure. All this energy is tapped through a six-speed manual transmission that’s as short and snappy as anyone needs.
Power delivery is immediate and explosive. Accompanying this is a set of brakes that could anchor a fighter jet.
For the driver, this gives the confidence to at least attempt to find its limits, although the chances of reaching such heady heights are slim.
The one downside to getting the most out of the RS is that passengers spend their time either hanging from the seatbelts or buried in the Recaro seats. It’s a great drive for the owner, but a rodeo ride for the rest.
And €43,565 may seem like a lot for a Focus. However, there are very few cars at this price that offer so much fun.
One problem we’d have with the RS is its potential impact on your licence. There may be a great temptation to unleash its power – and the consequences could be a few years on the bus.
Our other concern would be its image. Volkswagen has arguably got the styling just right with the Golf GTi – a more menacing look than the average Golf, but it won’t scare the elderly. The Focus looks like it would run over your granny for fun.
It’s also a magnet for every idiot on the road – particularly BMW owners – who want to race, or overtake you on blind bends just to say they’ve taken an RS. The fact that you could leave them in your wake with the flick of your right ankle won’t deter them. That’s where the RS starts to lose a lot of its lustre.
Overall, it’s an incredibly fun car to drive. We’re just not so sure we’d want to own one.
Factfile
Engine:a five-cylinder 2,522cc turbocharged 20-valve unit putting out 300bhp @ 6,500rpm and 440Nm from 2,300rpm
Specification:ABS anti-lock brakes; ESP stability control with traction assist and emergency brake assist; front airbags with front and rear curtain airbags; car alarm; heated windscreen; rear privacy glass; Sony radio/CD with eight speakers; air conditioning; Xenon headlights; parking sensors; all models come in "frozen white", "performance blue" or "ultimate Green"; 19" alloys; Recaro seats
L/100km (mpg):urban - 13.5 (21); extra-urban - 7.0 (40.3); combined - 9.3 (30.5)
CO2 emissions:225g/km
Motor tax:€1,050
Price:€43,565