Ford's Focus RS is the latest competitor in the ultra-hot hatch scene in Australia. This European machine is now being imported by Ford Australia and competes with Subaru WRX STI and the Mitsubishi Evo X. We have just done our first road test review of the stunning Focus RS.

The Ford Focus RS was introduced in Europe in 2009, but high demand slowed its entry to Australia. The good news is that It's now here, the bad news is that only 315 Ford Focus RS have been allocated to us. Those who want one should contact their local Ford dealer as soon as possible because almost all are already spoken for.

 

Virtually every panel on the three-door Ford Focus RS body was extensively modified to make room for larger wheels, improve aerodynamics and, let's be honest to give it an ultra-tough appearance. The aggressive front bumper splitter and a twin-blade rear spoiler work with the rear bumper venturi are the most obvious changes, but also look at the twin rear over-spoiler that juts over the rear window .

Certainly not a car for the shy and retiring driver, the Ford Focus RS will be offered in three strong colours; Ultimate Green, a shade that's guaranteed to draw attention, then there are Performance Blue and Frozen White.

Powered by a turbocharged Duratec RS 2.5-litre five-cylinder engine the all-new Ford Focus RS puts out 300 horsepower, or 224 kW in non-muscle car terms. Better still, the big five-cylinder powerplant has peak torque of 440 Nm. That huge grunt begins with the engine spinning at just 2300 rpm and continues all the way up to 4500 rpm. The redline is set at 6500 revs but the engine can be revved to 7000 for a few seconds if you really need that extra bit of performance, such as during track work.

Normally that sort of torque would overpower the front tyres of a car with drive only to the front wheels. But the Ford engineers have designed a special differential with the somewhat overpowering name of Quaife Automatic Torque Biasing Helical Limited Slip Differential. This reads the amount of torque coming in from each side of the car and adjusts accordingly. The Quaife diff is complemented by a new type of front hub called RevoKnuckle that allows more precise control of the steering.

By using this trick differential Ford Focus RS has been able to avoid the extra weight of a four-wheel drive system as used by the Japanese engineers to tame the Subaru STI and Mitsubishi Evo X. Quite what the extra weight would have been is something that, oddly, Ford doesn't seem to know.

The RS has sports suspension and a high-performance braking system to complement the big power from the engine. The 19-inch alloy wheels are fitted with 235/35 R19 Conti tyres designed specifically for the Focus RS.

On the road the torque steer is, amazingly, barely noticeable, in fact there's just enough there to make driving interesting, without it being scary. Having said that, this isn't a car for the sloppy driver who only has one hand on the wheel.

The steering is astonishingly precise in bends and the Focus is quite simply the most controllable, best steering front-wheel drive we have ever experienced.

Inside, the Focus RS has Recaro sports seats in partial leather trim. These support nicely and during our initial road test out of Melbourne we were surprised by the comfort offered by a car with this dynamic performance. Some bumpy roads do catch it out at times, but other than that it's remarkably good,

This is no stripped down performance special. The Focus RS has dual-zone climate control air conditioning, automatic wipers and rear mirror, an eight-speaker Sony audio system with six-disc CD player and USB input facility for iPod/MP3 player. Bluetooth hands-free is also installed.

Ford's Key-Free System incorporates keyless entry and start via a start/stop button.

With a recommended price of $59,990 (plus on-road costs) the Focus RS offers full-on sportscar performance that will appeal to those interested in moving down from a Ford XR6 or XR8 to enjoy the nimble feel of a smaller, lighter performance machine.