The Focus RS is a true drivers’ car, everything we hoped it would be: an inspiring, spine-tingling fast Ford

When it was launched almost four years ago, the Focus RS failed to win the hearts of the evo team. In fact, in our 2002 Car of the Year test it finished twelfth or, to put it another way, last. On bumpy, tricky Welsh roads it bucked, weaved and torque-steered so hard that all your concentration was consumed by the effort required to keep the thing on the road.

So why are we now suggesting that the RS makes a great second-hand buy? In recent months we’ve driven a number of privately-owned RSs and we’ve come to realise that customer cars were very different to the ones we originally tested. Whether the press fleet machines were ‘optimised’ for performance- testing we don’t know; what we do know is that they were all the same, and we could only report what we found. Our thoughts earned us plenty of stick from otherwise happy owners, but there were no dissenters within the evo team – the RS was condemned unanimously.

The frustrating thing was that we could tell there was a good car in there somewhere, and we wanted very much to find it, because on paper the Focus looked right on target. The RS was packed with impressive hardware, and if you took it away from the road and onto a smooth race circuit it was terrific – balanced, grippy, adjustable and capable of turning in a very decent lap time. But as soon as you put it back on the highway, all of its composure seemed to desert it.

It was three years before we drove one again, but when John Barker got behind the wheel of an RS last summer (evo 083) he was astonished to find it deploying its 212bhp progressively, with little or no torque steer, even over the roughest of surfaces. Without this disorderly distraction he was able to drive it properly and found the steering detailed, the handling taut and controlled. He went on to describe the experience as ‘brilliant’. A total contrast to what had gone before.

A month or so later I found myself behind the wheel of a different example and was just as surprised as Barker. The Focus RS is a true drivers’ car, everything we originally hoped it would be: an inspiring, spine-tingling fast Ford.

If you missed the RS first time around, we suggest you do what we did and take another look. You might very well be tempted to buy one. And in case that happens, we’ve put together a comprehensive buying guide covering everything you need to know…

Evolution
At the time of the Focus RS’s launch in October 2002, Ford stated that 4501 examples would be built, and it’s thought that around 3000 of those came to the UK. Although each RS was individually numbered, they weren’t always in sequence; early cars are straightforward, but some of the last cars built were numbered 2500-3000.

All RSs were identical – Imperial Blue was the only colour and there were no optional extras. That said, there were a couple of production variations, and if you chat to RS enthusiasts they will soon begin talking about ‘phase one’ and ‘phase two’ cars. The latter can be identified by extra stitching in the base of the front seats to help prevent sagging (although this can be added retrospectively by any main dealer), an easily spotted pink grommet on the throttle cable (to reduce throttle pedal vibration), the addition of the legend ‘Engine Start’ around the green starter button and, oddly, the removal of the dimmer button for the clock.

More importantly, though, these detail changes were accompanied by an upgrade to the engine mapping. Early cars were supplied with the ‘AE’ map, while phase two cars had the ‘AF’ version. Admittedly, the changes were small, but the new map improved fuel economy as well as power delivery and starting. Main dealers are able to upgrade any early car to the more advanced map and many owners have now had this done. If you’re looking at an early RS be sure to ask the seller if their car has had the upgrade.

Ford states the power output for the RS as 212bhp, but in the original brochure this was described as a ‘minimum figure’ and many owners who have put their cars on the rolling road have seen figures as high as 230bhp.

Ford Focus RS checkpoints