Ford Focus RS

Pocket rocket, small missile, call it what you like but this is a weapons grade compact hatch.

Don't be fooled by the rest of the Focus range because the one you want is the RS. It's a wild machine. We have spent two weeks terrorising tarmac in this 4 cylinder rocket. No roads have been safe, we have been in the city and the country and have loved every KM of it.

When you stand back and have a look at the car you quickly realise this is no standard Focus, the front looks aggressive and the rear with the massive exhaust pipes and the wing on the top of the boot give it a stance that just looks cool!

Our test car was fitted with the 19 inch silver RS wheels and a set of Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres. The tyre size is 235/35R19 and is a perfect match for the rims.

When you open the door and climb into the factory Recaro seats you can't help but think where is the nearest track. These seats are pure race, but that said super comfortable for everyday driving.

Our Focus was equipped with the Apple carplay technology which is perfect, just plug your phone in and away you go. Sony are taking care of the speakers so you can rest easy as the sound is on point.

Now there are several things you really need to know about this car before you drive off, the first is that this it has four quite distinct driving modes. Let me run you through them!

1. Normal Mode - aka nana mode make sure you turn this off.
2. Sport Mode - aka perfect for making it back fire and sound awesome.
3. Race Mode - when you see a track on your way to Hamilton then hit this.
4. Drift Mode - be careful here as you don't want to run out of tallent.

In sport mode it's awesome fun, the car turns into corners like no tomorrow, backfiring as you change gears or decelerate. This just adds to the theater of driving it, plus it sounds so good.

Acceleration is awesome with Ford quoting a 4.6 second 0 to 100 time. This is pretty impressive if you consider it's a 6 speed manual gearbox.

When you put the car in race mode the suspension stiffens up even more, on the city streets this becomes pretty hard and you do start to feel like you might chip a tooth, but on the track its perfect.

Of course a car with 350Hp is going to need some serious stopping power and the Focus doesn't disappoint here at all. With Brembo brakes you feel like it would stop on a dime, and to some extent it does. The brakes feel really positive and assured and the Michelin tyres work hard for you as well.

Overall this is one of the most fun cars we have driven, its a total weapon no matter where you drive it. It’s fun and it's super fast in a straight line and around corners.

If you are thinking about a hot hatch then I would totally recommend you check out the Focus RS even if it's just for a cheeky test drive.