hi guys been thinking about getting a mk1 focus rs in the next month or so as iv always wanted one and think they look fantastic .I was thinking about an mk2 st3 but every second car i see is an st and after driving one i think they're nice to drive just a bit front heavy and more of a cruiser.Iv never driven a mk1 focus rs though and have a couple of questions that hopefully somebody can answer. What are they like to drive on bumpy roads and the odd pothole? roads around where i live are fairly bumpy and seen a few people saying that when it hits a bump or pothole the diff makes it jump across the road a fair bit? Also what are they like at a highish speed?will it be a right handful? and finally if i was to buy an example around the 60000 miles to 80000 miles and the clutch hasn't been changed am i likely to end up buying one fairly soon? seen somewhere that the standard clutch is fine for about 40000 miles? checked plenty of buying guides ect and hopefully i will love it to bits!

 

I went from my ST3 to my mk1 FRS and I much prefer my RS over the ST.

It is so much more fun to drive, handles a lot better, looks better (IMO) and it will hold its value a lot better than an ST225 will.

The interior isn't to everyone's tastes but it doesn't bother me that much although I think the seats could be a lot better than they are as they don't give you a lot in the way of support in the twisty bits!

Mine has got nearly 92k miles on it now and it drives tighter than my ST did with 28k when I sold it. As long as you get one that's been maintained and looked after, I don't see you having a massive issue with it. Of course all cars have things that break and go wrong and have their common issues but that's to be expected.

As for the pulling all over the road, it does pull a little bit on camber changes and things like that but it doesn't drag you across the other side of the road and into the bushes like a lot of people make them out to do! Lol!

When you're having a play on the twisty bits and you put your foot down round a bend, that's when you realise why the ATB diff is there, it actually helps to pull you round the bend which I found quite strange the first time I hammered it round a bend!

As for how they are at high ish speeds, mine feels very stable and well planted, so much more stable than my cossie was at speed but that's not really saying much!

As far as I'm aware mine is still on the original clutch as I have no evidence of it being changed before I owned it and mine has a complete full service history and it has now covered nearly 92k miles. It all depends on how they're driven.

A lot of folk seem to sell their mk1 RS's, buy something else then eventually sell whatever replaced the RS and go and buy another RS!

Go and have a drive in one mate, I'm sure you'll enjoy one!

 

I love mine, just not in the position to keep it permanently,

Iv never had any complaints about the ride comfort, done 1300 miles in the last 2 weeks and still can't complain.
They're only a handful sometimes when they hit boost, but once your used to it they're no problem, everything feels tight and connected.
I'm on 82,000 and no evidence or proof of a clutch change
As kitchen devil says, people sell them for other cars, the end up with another one because nothing is quite the same

 

Thanks for the info guys much appreciated

 

Great cars but if you do hit a pothole it certainly let's you know about it. Mines got just over 300 bhp and if you catch any tramlining in the road surface when it comes on boost it can be a handful, more so than a standard car but as long as you are ready to catch it you can control it. I'd like to get the mk2 in a few years but if possible I will still keep the mk1 as it's a great car - there's not many people that have had one and been disappointed.