M5

You're suggesting the Focus RS is *not* a sack of wobbly s**te, on an average bumpy UK road ?

And yet you say you have driven one ?

Something is very wrong somewhere :)

Reply to
Nom
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Have you driven one, really *driven* one on an average uk bumpy road then Nom? Or did you just read that it wasn't any good? I read that Bert (of Bert & Ernie fame) ate someone's hamster. Does that make it true? I didn't see him do it.

Douglas

Reply to
Douglas Payne

Why? Because *you* say so?

So f*ck. I have grown to disregard opinions of the "motoring press" as I believe their reviews to be biased and either unfair, or totally OTT. I also don't think what you're reading is the true reporters opinion, rather what he's paid to say.

I have driven an RS, and have to say that all this "pulling all over the road at every camber change" hype is nothing but that - hype. It's made out to be a machine that wants you dead, but the diff isn't half as bad as the "motoring press" would have you believe.

Ta, G.

Reply to
G-Man

Nope.

You don't need to have driven a car, to know of it's foibles. I know that the Rover 200 Turbo can't even nearly cope with it's power, and attempts to throw you off the road at every corner. I've never even been in one, nevermind driven one :)

Eeeeeeeeexactly. Every Focus RS article I've ever read, has commented on it's dodgy-roadholding (through crazy torque-steer) and total intolerance to crappy surfaces. I think we can safely assume that it's true :)

Reply to
Nom

The diff is not as bad as you would be made to believe and the interior is just that of a tarted up Focus, that's what it is.

Ta, G.

Reply to
G-Man

The dif really is that bad IME.

Reply to
Depresion

Your also very very wrong about that. You are the only person I know who claims to have driven it and says it's not crap on anything other than good roads. If you expect me to take your word over my experience and those of (now ex) owners you must be looking at your colon.

Reply to
Depresion

Because the vast majority of the motoring press, say so. And seeing as they drive every car under the sun, and they're paid to compare them, I'd hazzard a guess that they know their stuff.

Nope. I've never driven one, so it doesn't matter what *I* say ! I'm just telling you what the concensus is.

Er, ok. Please provide a suitable partner, and I'll get right on it.

Just because *you* have grown to do that, doesn't mean that other people have :) Their opinions are an excellent benchmark for the purposes of this discussion.

Well Clarkson said it happened. Road Tester A said it happened. Road Testers B, C and D said it happened. I think it probably happens.

It's only in their interest to tell it like it is ! They have nothing to gain by printing s**te - quite the opposite infact.

Reply to
Nom

It certainly seems rasonable to suggest that if the majority of roadtesters think that the RS pretty much tramlines on roads (follows the cambers) and has poor handling for everyday use, then it would be true.

The stiff suspension no doubt makes it fantastic round a track, but on a bumpy road, every road imperfection violently unsettles the car - or so they say. As a complete everyday package - there are better alternatives?

Nom wrote:

Reply to
Getrich Quick

Precisely... as an all-round package its not good enough. It needs to be special to wear the RS badge, especially considering the cost. Fabulous track car, but for everyday use... forget it.

Yes, soften the diff, fix the interior, remove the Ford badge, call it something other than a Focus and its sorted.

Depresi>

Reply to
Getrich Quick
[...]

The trouble with journos is that they only spend a little time with their subject - they all slagged off Citroen's weird but truly wonderful minor controls because they didn't spend enough time with them - so tend not to get on with anything a little odd.

I trust the motoring press when it comes to describing ride, legroom, tactile qualities of plastics etc. but as soon as something gets slated for being out of left field I know I need to check it out for myself.

I owned a 1967 TVR Vixen, the short one with an 85.5" wheelbase - a car with supposedly vicious handling, which did scare me a *lot* when I first got it despite being used to RWD cars with more power than traction. A couple of weeks later I understood it enough to go rapidly (at lurid angles) with a big grin in complete safety - slide everywhere, steer with the throttle - and over the next several months got to love and respect it. Press reaction was a major factor in TVR adding 4.5" to the wheelbase, leading to a car less lurid on first acquaintance but ultimately less chuckable.

A
Reply to
Alistair J Murray

the problem with most road testers is that they test the cars on tracks and then drive the same on the roads if you were to drive sensibly on the roads you don't get as much tramlining/torque steer/whatever you want to call it as you would expect there is a twitchiness in it yes, I'm not debating that, but it's not as extreme as everyone makes out

"Getrich Quick" wrote in message news:AxaDe.5970$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe1-win.ntli.net...

Reply to
dojj

"Getrich Quick" wrote in message news:hGaDe.4446$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe7-win.ntli.net...

Not particularly, seeing as how I seem to be the only one that has driven one. I noticed a post from "dojj" who's opinion seems symmetrical to mine.

The Focus RS is a special car. It has a diff that needs getting used to, which after 20 miles, I seemed perfectly accustomed to. Fair enough, it's different at first, but that's because it handles so spectacularly. If you spend a good few hours getting to know the beast, you learn to love it. I was gutted when I had to hand it back!

Ta, G.

Reply to
G-Man

I think the advantage that media type people /road testers have is that they have a driven a lot of different cars from a lot of different manufacturers on a variety of different roads surfaces. I havn't driven probably more than a dozen different cars in my driving lifetime (10+ years), but appreciate different handling/suspension setups and know when I'm driving a firm ride.

How l> "Getrich Quick" wrote in

Reply to
Getrich Quick

"Getrich Quick" wrote in message news:WNxDe.1476$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe4-win.ntli.net...

I mentioned earlier in the thread, I have driven a CTR, Golf GTi (Mk5), Audi S3 and the RS.

The CTR, I thought, was a good looking car. The exterior said "fast Civic" and the dials had an appeal of a fast car. The gear stick positioning required a bit of getting used to, but that was academic after 10-15mins of driving. On the road, the car was shit. OK, 200bhp, but at 9 million revs. I found up until 5k, the pull was average for a NA 2ltr, then the fun kicked in to the red line, meaning you had to keep it loud and revved for it to go fast. This was fun when caning the arse on the motorway and A roads, but the constant shifting required on the backroads and the medicore handling let it down.

The 4WD on the S3 proved fun. It took the corners in the wet lovely, and twisties didn't seem a challenge. After a while though, it became the norm and it just didn't seem that special. When I stepped out, I felt like I had just driven another A3, but with a tad more poke. The car itself was ugly, the interior very Audi like (not quite my taste) but in all, felt nicely bolted together.

Golf GTi (Mk5), very bland outside, the wheels looked after market and the car itself didn't turn me on. Sat inside, however, the dash, steering wheel and general appearance was very pleasing to the eye. I drove a LHD model, although I doubt there is much of a difference between that and the RHD. The engine didn't feel turbo'd as I couldn't notice any lag, although it's general noise seemed a tad coarse. Handling felt very moderate. When taking corners I didn't feel like I was in a special car. It felt very Golfish. Very quick in the straights, as the pulling power seemed nice and even throughout, just like the S3. This car could do with being 4WD.

Focus RS. Loved the exterior. The styling sets it off straight away with the vents on the front bumper. The wheels seemed a tad bland, but it was made up for with the rest of the car. Interior felt like a Focus. I'm used to that and don't find it a problem, this was nicer however with the nice RS refinements on the dials. On a straight, the car pulled well, although didn't seem to pick up until 2k. It felt very stable all the way to the, erm, speed I took it to, and when pointing it into a roundabout at a speed I'd consider suicidal on a standard hatch, the car just stuck to the road and didn't want to let go. I went through 4 tanks of petrol on this car before I let it go, and was absolutely distraught handing back the keys. I had read this was a car with a diff that wanted you dead. Hit so much as a slight difference in road camber and it goes finding bushes, so I had prepared myself for a monster. On the B roads, I took it slow and found that I really needed to piss it off for it to want to wander, the camber had to be pretty severe before it started to steer itself, but this is quickly noticed and easily sorted. A second, quicker, blast down the same road found that these problems disappeared. It behaved exactly as I wanted it to, sticking to the road like nobodies business and taking corners at seemingly unreal speeds was not an issue. The Focus RS *is* a special car. It's a white hot hatch that requires a serious driver to appreciate it.

The GTi, S3 and CTR are not hot hatches. Compared to the Focus, they are luke warm.

All in my opinion though...but I feel more entitled to express it seeing as I have driven it.

Ta, G.

Reply to
G-Man

Comparing the Golf GTi is not a fair comparison though... the Golf R32 is a different story altogether... suppose you driven one of them as well?

And you havn't told us how long you've been driving G-Man/your age... presumably your not just a new driver, when you are offering us all such 'experienced' comments.

G-Man wrote:

Reply to
Getrich Quick

"Getrich Quick" wrote in message news:C5HDe.11839$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe4-gui.ntli.net...

He drives an Escort :)

Reply to
DanTXD

DanTXD on Thursday 21 July 2005 11:31 in message said like:

I dont think "drives" is what he does with his escort there are bits everywhere

Reply to
Maz E Ratty

each to their own, but just because Clarkson hoons round a track and then does the same on a country road to see what the difference is doesn't make it the will of the land does it the vectra fiasco just proves what a strong bit of clout he's got, rather than him having anything good to say about it (ok that's a nother subject altogether)

the problem with testers is that the test cars on the limit rather than go shopping in them or give them to the wife to see how many cubby holes the kids can break or get stuck in you have to see the car in an overall light, not just find a fault with it and keep repeating that it's got a trick diff which isn't so trick

Reply to
dojj

Owa G-Man, You have been a naught boy, what have you test driven again ?

Mon the VeeDubs

Reply to
madshagger

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