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Opinion on rs focus



  Octavia VRS


What do u guys and ladies reckon to the rs focus? I had one behind me coming home from work today, looks pretty good, quite damn wide! Anyone had a test drive or know someone whos got one?

Still want a 182 tho!
 


i really like em. if there driven properly they go like stink. tryed keepin up with one in the valver and it pulled a decent gap in a short time. dont think any of the clios would keep up (in a straight line) if there driven hard.
 


i just wish they came in more colours, and with 18 inch multispokes.

apart from that, there an amazing machine lol

driving position is a little high though (something i dont like)

ive sat in one :)
 


I nearly bought one. I do a lot of B road driving and it really didnt feel at home there. An amazing amount of steering pull - left and right. You had to keep your wits about you. Very hard work to drive smoothly and fast.

JOnathan
 
  Clio 197


Bit of a silly car actually. Should have been built as a proper 4WD car like the Scooby or Evo.
 


I really like them and would love to have a go!! mmmm!!

I think i would rather one of them than a 182 but thats IMO

vix :)
 
  black golf v6 4 motion


not that much quicker than a cup as far as i know bot .2 or.3 seaconds but cost ALOT more money, more kit though and a bigger top end but then again it does have turbo!
 
  Trophy 263 + 265


nice car but also a nice price.

didnt jeremy clarkson slate the handling on the country road test?

all over the place he said.

wonder what hes going to say about the 182?
 

dk

  911 GTS Cab


had a ride in one round a tarmac rally course at motordrive live last year and I must say, when driven properly (was a Ford Rally Driver) it does absolutely fly and handles like a dream, but only if you know how to drive it properly, if you dont, you would have some trouble!
 
  Nippy white cup


I think thats the problem...if you arent on a nice flat surface (not many round here) then its supposed to be a handful. I think they look excellent but the real deal will be the Cosworth version thats on the way.

Chris
 
  Megane 225


My opinion is the Focus RS is a flawed masterpiece. Real shame - just not enough thought went into it from Ford.
 
  williams and trophy


hehe..........kept with 1 on the bypass in keighley, pulled a little on the roundabout then started comin into traffic but must say they have fukkin fantastic brakes.......i was on the brakes a long time before him n slowed to same speed at same time.....after hed pulled the gap back of course, so on the twisties i reckon theyd have the willies on the brakin lol
 
  300bhp MR2 Turbo


Quote: Originally posted by Eddd on 18 March 2004

Bit of a silly car actually. Should have been built as a proper 4WD car like the Scooby or Evo.


I think the official reason was the price, £20,000 for a 2wd 215bhp(?) car was pretty steep as it was. The 4wd Cossie is gonna be expensive if and when it comes. Think back 10 years to the Escort Cossie - £27,995 if I remember - possibly more for the Lux modles. Im sure back in 95 when they came to am end I saw one for about £36k!
 


Ive just traded my 172 for one, I pick it up on Wednesday so Ill let you know the verdict then! Didnt feel a lot faster on the road test but to be fair it was raining! Looks the part though.



Hardest thing will be saying goodbye to my clio, its been such a fantastic car, the focus has a lot to live up to!
 


Quote: Originally posted by Chris nnic on 18 March 2004


I think thats the problem...if you arent on a nice flat surface (not many round here) then its supposed to be a handful. I think they look excellent but the real deal will be the Cosworth version thats on the way.

Chris
its because of the diff. When the power goes down on uneven surfaces (especially uphill) it skips all over the place. Thats pretty sh*t for a wannabe road rally car IMO.
 

KDF

  Audi TT Stronic


I like the RS, and am considering one for my next car, but they are way overpriced so I may just end up getting a Integra Type R instead..muhahaha.
 


It was either the RS or an Evo V11/V111 but I just dont think I would want to stomach the running costs! Service interval every 4000 miles, sickening!

The FQ 300 I tried last week was awesome though, just so fast from point to point it was untrue, and that was in the wet!
 


the RS really should have been a cossie 4wd rally sl*g, whenever i see one, i get the feeling it could have been a legend like the escort cossie.

ITR for your next car _KDF? I think mine will be either R32 Golf, Evo 7 or 350Z, i mean, have you seen the NisMo one?
 

Jamie

ClioSport Club Member


i think that they are gorgeous but are slow in a straight line for what it is (60 in 6.2) compared to the evos an scoobies. for the kinda money u wud have to pay for a gud rs it hardly seems worth it, u wud jus have to get a 2nd hand evo 7 IMO for the same money it wud cost you for a good rs.
 


Thought about buying a Focus when I bought my Evo, Im happy I didnt well overpriced for what it is really when you consider that you could pick up brand new WRX for less than 20k they have the 4WD system and four doors and a boot! Ive spoken to other people that have nearly bought one or there other half had them. And surface to say not one of them had a good thing to say about them. Dreadful power delivery and the car made small pot holes feel like creators! Ive seen them on the track and there a fast car, but any front wheel drive car with around 200bhp will be fast on a perfectly smooth surface! And when you consider that the CTR and the 182 are all around the same ball park figure for BHP how can ford justify that 5K price tag over other cars that are as quick and as well made? The front diff Ford are making a song and dance about has been around for years. At the end of the day its only the new Escort RS Turbo and the Escort Cosworth was only £23,499 so who can Ford state that a FWD version that doesnt even have the Cosworth name cost nearly as much!
 
  Octavia VRS


I remember now JC in Top Gear testing the RS.

Thats right - he did say it was a handful and if you are not concentrating 100% u could end up in a field! Watch out Carlouk! When I saw the RS yesterday tho I thought it was pretty smart, but the guy wasnt really ripping it. At the end of the day tho, it is a Ford. But heres to the future Cossie

By the way, on the way to uni today I had 2 grannies in a Scooby behind me! I should have got out at the lights and offered to swap motors!
 
  Ph1


You might have been able to pick up a WRX for the same price as the FRS but at the end of the day the RS will p*** all over it when it comes to depreciation......dont forget there was only 4500 odd RSs made and thats including Europe
 


Theres a lad with one in my village. Got to say it was a great sight walking out of the petrol station shop the other day to see his Focus RS parked next to my just-waxed Williams (does anyone else notice that their Williams goes purple in garage lights?). The thing is, while both are covetable, both are FWD and both are blue, only one of the two cars I could see on the forecourt is a finely-honed homologation special with Group A rally pedigree.

Ford spent ages letting early pictures and design info "leak" into the press - and in so doing created a mountain of expectation. The very existence of the Escort Cosworth didnt help matters of public perception either. When they released something more akin to a hot hatch than a rally replica, Ford dashed a lot of hopes.

To be fair, the RS is an RS - not a Cosworth - and isnt meant to be the very best rally replica. But the market has moved on. At the one end it was snapped at the heels by the CTR and at the other end the Subaru Impreza muscles in with motorsport cred.

Ive never driven one, so cant pass comment, although I hear that its best on smooth tarmac. I doubt anyone who bought one would think it was a pig (like a Golf), but its not undisputably the best nor has it got the biggest street cred. Theres a big Fast Ford brand faithful crew out there, so the depreciation is taken care of really.
 
  VaVa


Ive driven one, several times. Took it for about a 18 mile round trip through twisty A roads in the wet on one occasion. Nearly went side-on into a van when overtaking it due to torque steer. Horrendous in the wet. Really hard to keep the thing going in a straight line, and for your average driver (like me!) hard to drive quick and smooth. Shedloads of grip in the dry though, little body roll either. Fast, with brakes to more than match speed. Gear change is awesome, short and sweet, leagues above the Clio IMHO. Seats were brill, as is the push button start.

For what its worth, I think they look nice too.

I dont want to start a Vs thread, and Im sure a Cup owner will argue, but IMHO ( and Ive driven all three -172, Cup, FRS and been involved in some, ahem, battles against a FRS) the FRS is definitely the quickest of the three.

My mates FRS leaves my 172 standing as the speeds get higher, although there is not that much (IMHO) between a Cup and FRS off the mark, but I think thats more to do with traction than anything else..
 
  300bhp MR2 Turbo


If your a Ford enthusiast (as ALOT of people are) its a great car. I think they look great standard and have so much potential for power.

You can knock it for only being 215 (?) bhp which is not much more than CTRs and 172s but for a small amount of money that could be tuned to well over 250bhp.

Turbo powered cars are in a different league when it comes to tuning the engines.
 


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