Home News Motoring Turning heads in the new Ford Focus

Turning heads in the new Ford Focus

Tuesday, 05 January 2010

Last year the red Alfa Romeo MiTo I drove was the car that had attracted most attention during a test week. However, it has already been overtaken this early in the New Year. Recently I drove a green version of the Ford Focus RS and it attracted even more attention and turned hundreds of heads, mainly those of young males. Some even took pictures of the car on their mobile phones. If you are lucky enough to win or share the Lottery or your prize bond number comes up I think the Focus RS would make an ideal gift for a teenage son who is really into cars. The RS, which Ford re-introduced after a six-year absence, is available in Frozen White, Performance Blue and Ultimate Green, which is a colour you just couldn’t miss. In recent years I have had two test runs around Mondello Park, which were a bit scary. This Focus RS, which can get from 0 to 100 kmh in 5.9 seconds and has a top speed of 263kmh, is probably the nearest most of us will ever get to rally driving. I’m a paid up member of the Ford fan club and I like everything with the famous blue oval. While I didn’t dislike the RS, I’m obviously too old for such a sporty car. Still, if I could turn back the clock to my late teens or early twenties I can appreciate how attractive it would be. This is a two-door model with a 2.5 litre engine with lots of extras like 19 inch polished alloys, blacked out rear windows, twin exhausts and black spoiler to give the motor a rally car effect. Internally it’s much the same as the regular Focus, except there are three small dials mounted high on the dash and you have a touch-screen effect to select your favourite radio station. The front seats are really comfortable and your back will fit snugly. But the seats are not very flexible if you need to let your back seat passengers in or out. The boot is the same size as the regular Focus, which is a decent size. You also get Sat Nav, reversing camera and parking sensors. And there are lights on the side mirrors which can be useful if parked in a dark area. There is keyless entry and the car will start up once the ignition key is in your pocket or anywhere in the car. Your regular Focus will cost you just over 21K. But this model starts at e43,565. That means that you could get two regular Focus for the price of one RS. Road tax on the new 1.6 diesel Focus will only cost you e104, but the road tax on the petrol RS is over e1,000 per annum. We tend to drive sporty cars like this a bit harder than normal and that can result in a very thirsty engine. So if you want to impress a young male this year go for the Focus RS, or if you want something attractive for a young lady then the red Alfa Romeo MiTo could be the one.