AH, THE MK1 FOCUS RS. IT'S FAIR TO SAY WE'VE had something of a rollercoaster relationship with Ford's early-noughties superhatch over the years - and on more than one occasion it's been a genuine whiteknuckle ride. Dickie Meaden was first to drive it back in 2002, on the handling circuit at Ford's Lommel proving ground in Belgium (issue 048). His conclusion: that the RS's 'ground-breaking fusion of front-drive hot hatch ability and packaging with the punch, presence and performance of an all-wheel-drive rally-bred saloon makes it everything we were expecting and more'. Five stars and cigars all round? Not quite...
In the same issue we took another example to the Yorkshire Dales with a Clio Cup, Cooper S and Impreza WRX for company, and the Ford struggled with the occasionally lumpen topography, the stiff ride proving bruising, the torque steer distracting. It was much better, though, on smooth tarmac. 'When it works, the Focus RS does so truly brilliantly,' wrote John Barker, and we gave it a slightly hedging-our-bets four stars.
Then at the 2002 evo Car of the Year another Ford supplied car proved a torque-steering liability. 'On an open, bumpy road, every time you get on the gas it feels like you've lit a firework,' we said. 'When will the bang arrive? And which way is it going to go?' The Focus, it transpired in the months and years that followed, was particularly sensitive to set-up and sub-par tyres. There were also rumours that Quaife made unpublicised mods to the diff to endow the car with even more grip on a racetrack. After subsequently driving a couple of well-behaved cars supplied by owners, we bumped the star rating up to four and a half, but a few months later an extensive test of another privately owned car seemed to confirm all our worst early impressions and the RS was demoted to the ignominy of three stars, where it stayed for years.
Denne historien er fra August 2023-utgaven av Evo UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Denne historien er fra August 2023-utgaven av Evo UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
BMW M135 xDrive
The M135 has lost an and gained chassis revisions and a restyle. Is it enough to make it a benchmark hot hatch?
Audi S5
S5 by name, S4 by nature, is Audi's new mid-size petrol-powered saloon a step in the right direction?
Lamborghini Urus SE
Lambo's super-SUV gets a major mid-life overhaul, going hybrid in the process. Has it become any easier to like?
HALL evo OF FAME
The evo Hall of Fame was established to recognise the great and the good of our corner of the universe. Prepare to welcome this year's inductees
CIRCUIT DAY
After three days of assessing their behaviour on the road, it's time to head to the Circuito de Navarra to find out how our nine contenders respond when their handling limits are explored
EVO CAR OF THE YEAR 2024
Nine brilliant cars, from flyweight roadsters to bombastic supercars to a be-stickered estate(!), do battle on some of Europe's finest and most spectacular roads. Which will emerge victorious? Place your bets now.
Porsche Panamera GTS
It lacks the raw power of its hybrid rivals, but does the new GTS’s more traditional approach give it its USP?
Alpine A290 GTS
The new electric Renault 5 has won plenty of plaudits. Is the hotter Alpine version a car to win petrolheads' hearts too?
BEST BUYS BMW M CARS
THE PERFORMANCE CAR LANDSCAPE WOULD HAVE looked very different over the last five decades without BMW. Its M division, founded in 1972, has produced some of the best driver’s cars ever to hit the road, and in the process has provided a stream of benchmark models for its rivals to chase. In recent years, stricter emissions regulations, downsizing and electrification have seen some of those rival cars falter, yet by and large BMW’s M machines have remained strong. In fact, some rank among the greatest the department has made think of the eCoty-winning M2 CS and M5 CS while others are the only options worth recommending in their respective segments. Price tags have risen with performance, however, putting those latest offerings out of reach for many, but the marque’s popularity means there are numerous earlier M models available on the second-hand market for far more attainable figures. Here are four of our favourites.
TYRE 2024 TEST
Want to fit the very best tyres to your performance car? The annual evo Tyre Test identifies the cream of the current crop
