my local dealer has taken delivery of a white focus RS as a demonstrator so i popped down and took it for a quick spin this afternoon.
First impressions..........Well I think white is the best colour out of the three, this car looks really good and has good presence though I would imagine a lot of hard work would be needed to keep it gleaming. The 19 inch rims fill the arches nicely and the two large rear silencers sit nicely astride the rear diffuser.
Inside.......Well those recaros may look comfy but there is limited adjustment, seat height is one of two positions fixed by torx screws in the workshop so you choose your height and thats what you get. The only other adjustment was back/forward and seat back position, all that said I did manage to get reasonably comfortable quite quickly and I suspect with the seat in the lower setting I would get a pretty good position so not bad. The cabin plastics were OK on the upper dash but lower plastics were hard and a tad disappointing, basically there is no difference inside over the standard ST. I did not like the silver on the centre bezel of the dials, they looked a bit too Halfords aftermarket but thats nit picking. I am 5'8" and with my seat set there was loads of room in the back and getting in and out was OK but do not expect your arthritic grandparents to get in there.
NOW.....the bit you probably want to know the most..........WHAT'S IT LIKE TO DRIVE ??????
Start the engine and immediately you are surrounded by a deep bassy throb, almost intrusive but this car is telling you something here, this is no armchair civilised cruiser, this car means business !!!!! So, set off down the road, the clutch is not too heavy but the gear stick is short and low down making changes less smooth than I would like (I think this would be improved with the seat lower) Bear in mind my current and last car is/was DSG so perhaps my manual box skills are just out of practice...lol
Driving at town speed in traffic the car feels at ease and is pleasant with no straining at the leash, that is until we leave the comfort of the 40 zone and I get to open the taps. Shifting up at 5000 RPM I am up rapidly up to and beyond the NSL, this thing is deceptively quick. I approach a favourite S bend that also goes through a dip and hold a steady speed whilst playing with my lines. This is where things go up a gear, no way would the rocco respond like this even my old MKV GTi would struggle....I am smiling from ear to ear. Next up a large roundabout, circulate this at a fair old lick and try to tighten my line significantly, guess what, the feccus responds perfectly whereas the same in the rocco would of lead to nothing more than tyre washout and bags of understeer. VW, are you taking notice ? If the rumoured R20 golf cannot handle like this then spirited drivers are gonna placing orders for the blue oval. For the record and those that do not know me, I like to drive quickly and push a cars limits (CTRNutter will know what I am saying about the roccos handling and understeer when pushing hard) so perhaps I am being harsh on the rocco as its a pretty solid everyday car. But, and its a big but, if its the way a car handles and drives that gives you a buzz then in my opinion the RS delivers in spades.
Ok, coming off the roundabout and its time to test the red line. There is a distinct induction roar as you feed in the throttle accompanied by a gorgeous bassy five pot exhaust note that builds and builds to the red line, up a gear and more aural pleasure
and a glance at the speedo says all I need to know, ahem ....sorry officer 
One thing it does not do as well as the VW TFSI/TSi units though and that is pull well from low revs, its out of puff below 2500 and things do not start to get going until 3000. Its no sluggard but I think we are lucky in the VW to have a well documented power unit that pulls strongly from 1500 revs. I am sure a few miles and my driving would adjust to compensate but then this thing goes fast without trying so maybe it was deceiving.
Now you are probably thinking "did he notice any torque steer" and the answer to that is YES. You certainly have to keep a hold of the wheel when going for it but its fairly well contained but there enough to warn you to not be complacent (the APS 330BHP edition 30 Golf was better in this department)
Would I buy one ? Thats a hard question, on handling alone its an absolute yes, on noise then once again a yes but I did not think the interior was as nice as you would get in a VW or Audi and when specced with NAV and Bluetooth with IPOD connectivity this car will set you back 28400 quid. You can go on Broadspeed and get an S3 for £24282 before options. Spend 3k on options plus a Milltek and remap and you are in similar price territory but with a helluva nice capable car. Tough decision but I urge you to get a test drive if you are lucky enough to find one and I defy you to not be impressed with its abilities.
This car is probably as quick as you will get from A to B down a twisty road, its certainly made my next car choice a lot tougher.
EDIT: There is also a Mountune conversion coming out in due course, this is a Ford approved conversion so full warranty cover. Details have not been released but the Mountune ST goes from 225BHP to 260BHP and in this guise is quicker than the RS (aqpparantly in this months EVO) so I would expect the Mountune RS to be pushing upwards of 340BHP.
