Never underestimate short people (especially short girls) or small cars.  It seems to be true across the board that if something is small, this doesn’t mean that it is weak or wimpy. It’s not true of bantam roosters or chilli peppers and it certainly isn’t true of the Ford Focus RS.  Let’s just say that this is not your grandma’s little five-door hatchback.  This is a sports hatch – and how!

Those of us who remember back to physics class in high school may remember that acceleration and speed are dictated by the amount of force acting on an object.  Small objects don’t require much force to move, but big ones require a lot of force.  Apply a lot of force to a small object and it doesn’t half travel!  This is the basic principle behind the Ford Focus RS.  At first blush, you may think that a 2.3-litre petrol engine in a hatchback isn’t going to be able to do much.  Think again: with 257 kW of power at 6000 rpm and 440 Nm of torque throughout 1600–5000 rpm, the Ford Focus RS can do a lot. A whole lot. Throw in launch control and you have a performance car that can put many a big beast to shame.  As any woman could tell you, size doesn’t count but vigour does…

However, if you have a good look at the Ford Focus RS, you are not going to be fooled into thinking that this is going to be a little granny car or a hairdresser’s car – mind you, this does depend on the granny or the hairdresser.. You don’t have to be a cap-turned-backwards guy under the age of 25 to enjoy driving fast. Anyway, the deep, deep air intakes on the front, the front splitter, the side skirts and the rear spoiler give the game away that this car is built for one thing: speed. The 19-inch alloy wheels also look the part – and did you catch a glimpse of the blue callipers for the Brembo disk brakes?

Actually, it’s built for a few more things.  Safety, comfort and good handling are the main ones here.  With a car that’s small and powerful, safety is paramount.  Fortunately, the Brembo disk brakes are just the start of the active and passive safety features in the Ford Focus RS.  The brakes come with ABS and EBD, like all good brakes should.  The Ford Focus RS also has been tuned for different driving modes that allow you to select the perfect fine-tuning of the already excellent RS sports suspension so you can get things right for the type of road you’re on.  The drivetrain is set for full-time AWD with launch control (oh boy!) and the transmission is a 6-speed manual, putting you in full control of everything.  Dynamic stability control with traction control and brake assistance, airbags (front, side and curtain), torque vectoring control and hill launch assistance also add to the combination of safety and good handling.

Parking a smaller hatch like the Ford Focus RS is usually easy even if you like to do it yourself without any aids. However, it gets even easier with the rear parking sensors and the rear view camera.  Auto stop-start, Ford’s Easy-Fuel capless locking system and cruise control also make life very easy for the driver.

As much as we would like to take the Ford Focus RS out on the test track all the time, reality dictates that we will occasionally have to do everyday driving, like a run to the shops, going to work and picking up the kids from school (and your kids certainly won’t complain about being picked up in a hot sports hatch like the Ford Focus RS).  This means that people have to be comfortable and it’s good to find a way to pass the time in traffic while waiting at the lights (the Ford Focus RS hates this as much as you do).  Dual-zone climate control and super-comfy Recaro sports seating in the front take care of the comfort department, while entertainment is catered for with the nine-speaker audio system, which is all set up for USB and iPod integration as well as CD and radio.  Audio information is displayed on the 8-inch colour touch screen, as is the satellite navigation system.  Bluetooth preparation comes as standard, as does voice control for the phone, the audio, the climate control and the satellite navigation system (looks like you’d better know now to pronounce the name of the place you’re headed or the One Shot voice control system on the sat-nav might get it badly wrong).

If you can’t wait to get your hands on the leather-wrapped RS-badged steering wheel or the leather-wrapped gear shifter in the Ford Focus RS, you’re certainly not alone!

Current model series include:

•  Ford Focus RS

For any more information on the Ford Focus RS, or for that matter any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181. If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quotes requests out to our national network of Ford dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours. Private Fleet – car buying made easy!