just saw a new focus rs in the metal

[Tinkshusband]

MrBarry123 said:

I'm really surprised you thought that OP.

I saw a Nitrous Blue one a couple of days ago and I thought it really struggled with presence. Other than the colour, it didn't look any more impressive than a ST.

It was a big disappointment for me; especially given how great the Mk2 RS looks.

Saw an St the same day , have to disagree . the RS was a different beast, looks a lot more agressive , a lot lower, much more imposing front end. Where the St just looks to my eyes like a bog standard focus with a bodykit.
That's just my opinion though.

[Butter Face]

I saw a white one last weekend (customer bought it in to show us) I thought it looked very 'subtle' (that's the word I used) in white.

Didn't tickle my pickle, looked a bit like a Zetec S with some bigger wheels and a bodykit!

Sounded ace though, and very fast (for what it is)

Not for me, but then I'm not into Fords!

[Far Cough]

I think I saw a Blue one in Lewisham

[jjr1]

Nickbrapp said:

David87 said:

Good luck with that. Have you seen the prices of Mk2s? Crazy!

That's thanks mostly to RS direct who buy all the good ones in the market and sell them at inflated prices because they are " the premier " dealer that is " blessed" to have such good trade. They have already bought and sold 8 new RS, no doubt for too much money

This so counterintuitive I don't know where to start. RS Direct can not inflate the prices of these cars they can only buy and sell dependent upon supply and demand.

[MrBarry123]

jjr1 said:

This so counterintuitive I don't know where to start. RS Direct can not inflate the prices of these cars they can only buy and sell dependent upon supply and demand.

I think his point is that they're buying up all the good [Lux packs, recognised tuning work done etc.] ones so if you do want a good one you have to go to them, meaning they can fix prices to the level they deem suitable. They do seem to have a lot of stock that hangs around for a while so his view does have some credence.

I don't necessarily agree with his point however. To me they look like a company who latched onto a good thing [the Mk2 RS] and have been successful as a result.

[300bhp/ton]

Tinkshusband said:

After posting that Ive realised that I saw a miura and a mp12c the other day ! Still, coolest realistically obtainable car.

As I say, I have nothing against them at all. But I reckon seeing a new Mustang is way cooler than any Focus, any day of the week and twice on Sunday's. And there are plenty of cars arguably cooler than the Mustang on the roads.

That said, if it pleases you. Then no worries

[k-ink]

Pints said:

How would you categorise it?

As I said, a full sized family car. It just happens to be a fast one.

[EnglishTony]

So according to this forum the Civic Type R is wrong because it has too many Halfords style bits nailed on and the Focus RS is bland and boring because it hasn't.

Hysterical.

[Blaster72]

Pints said:

k-ink said:

However this large size of modern family car is no hot hatch, so everyone can forget about calling it that.

How would you categorise it?

Of course its a hot hatch. Daft to call it anything else.

Sadly from a distance they are easily mistaken for a Fiesta. I think Ford have missed a trick with the styling but I guess they threw all the money at the engine, drivetrain and suspension which is no bad thing.

[k-ink]

rb5er said:

This size of car are indeed hatches and the hot ones are indeed hot so they will confinue to be called that whether you like it or not.

This is also a hatch. It is also hot. Therefore under your rules this is a hot hatch...




Except we all know it is not. It is just a family car, which happens to be fast.

[daemon]

k-ink said:

rb5er said:

This size of car are indeed hatches and the hot ones are indeed hot so they will confinue to be called that whether you like it or not.

This is also a hatch. It is also hot. Therefore under your rules this is a hot hatch...




Except we all know it is not. It is just a family car, which happens to be fast.

Thats categorised as a 4x4.

The Focus is a hot hatch. Its a car from the small to medium sized family car sector thats been upgraded significantly to the point were it can be refered to as a hot hatch.

[carlove]

Saw one last week, I liked it, but I saw an ST not long after and preferred the ST.

[k-ink]

daemon said:

The Focus is a hot hatch. Its a car from the small to medium sized family car sector thats been upgraded significantly to the point were it can be refered to as a hot hatch.

"Hot hatch" means small. The focus is not small. It is a full sized family car. The fiesta is the small size, so that alone counts as the one and only hot hatch available from Ford (assuming it has a nippy engine fitted).

Otherwise if we are allowed to slap the title "hot hatch" on larger size cars from a manufacturers range, we get to call this a "hot hatch" too...





Hatchback. Cosworth engine. AWD. Fast. So under your rules it is a hot hatch.

Except it is not. Just like the Focus is not.

[Blaster72]

I think you're an army of one in this crusade old pal, everyone else thinks the Focus RS is a hot hatch

[k-ink]

Oh I am sure all the young kids do. But I will see a Focus on the road I think "not a bad family car". When I see a real hot hatch like a Clio Williams, R5GT, 205 GTI, etc I'll think "Cool hot hatch!"

[Blaster72]

Can't remember the last time I saw Renault 5 on the road, I know what you mean. One of those would probably fit in the back of the RS if you folded the seats down

Times have changed, cars have bloated up that is for sure.

I had one of these as my first hot hatch, it was 3 years old and I couldn't really afford it.

I loved that flaky French pile of st even though it threw me off the road backwards - twice...and broke down with some fault or other every month or so of the 4 years I had it.

Edited by Blaster72 on Saturday 30th April 13:59

[k-ink]

Yes all cars have bloated up. The new fiesta is more roomy inside than the old escort I grew up riding in the back of. Yet we are not only applying the label "hot hatch" to even larger cars, we are also applying that label to the next car size up as well. So if this trend continues the label will soon be added to cars which are two sizes up from the base models. Which means everything gets called a hot hatch! Including the likes of these...



This is no more crazy to me than calling the Focus a hot hatch. They are both large, comfy, fast family cars with a sporting edge. If that is what you want, that is what will happen. Everything is a hot hatch.

[daemon]

k-ink said:

"Hot hatch" means small. The focus is not small. It is a full sized family car. The fiesta is the small size, so that alone counts as the one and only hot hatch available from Ford (assuming it has a nippy engine fitted).

Otherwise if we are allowed to slap the title "hot hatch" on larger size cars from a manufacturers range, we get to call this a "hot hatch" too...





Hatchback. Cosworth engine. AWD. Fast. So under your rules it is a hot hatch.

Except it is not. Just like the Focus is not.

A full size family car by Ford is the Mondeo.

A medium size family car by Ford is the Focus

A supermini size car by Ford is the Fiesta.

Yes, cars have got bigger, however the Focus Mk3 still equates historically to the Focus Mk2, Focus Mk1, and before that, the escort

The notion of a hot hatch is taking a small to medium sized hatchback and upgrading it.

Just because bigger cars are the norm doesnt change the principal of what a hot hatch is.

Also, its not a tightly definied concept. Its a loose term that evolves.

[k-ink]

But no one used to call the old Escorts hot hatches and that was medium sized. That term was only applied to the smallest car in the range. If the rules are being changed then you have to call everything with a hatchback and fast engine a hot hatch.

[daemon]

k-ink said:

Yes all cars have bloated up. The new fiesta is more roomy inside than the old escort I grew up riding in the back of. Yet we are not only applying the label "hot hatch" to even larger cars, we are also applying that label to the next car size up as well. So if this trend continues the label will soon be added to cars which are two sizes up from the base models. Which means everything gets called a hot hatch!

No. We're not. Medium sized hatchbacks have got bigger, but they're still classed as medium sized hatchbacks. No-one said, "right lads, this new focus - it cant be described as a medium hatch anymore because its a bit too big". Its still classed as a medium sized hatch because thats where it sits - below a mondeo and above a Fiesta.

Noone has said - right a hot hatch can now be up to X metres in length - and because that has been increasing over the years we're going to eventually class a Range Rover as a hot hatch eventually. The car size on which it is based has grown, not the definition of what a hot hatch is.