Ford Focus RS Long Term Test

"Is this your car?" said the two policemen that had come up behind me as I filled the boot one night. I nervously remembered the motoring journalist who found himself pinned to the tarmac after unwisely lunging for the glovebox of a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow to show his papers (the police thought he was going for a gun, which may say something about the image of Silver Shadows). However, I need not have worried – the officers wanted to check out the RS and their uniforms meant they could be a little more detailed in the examination than the punter who quizzes you at the petrol station while you fill up with Super Unleaded . Within two minutes, it progressed from "Can we sit in it?" to "Can you give us a ride?" Taking them down the road for a quick demo, they were in heaven. "This would be the perfect car for chases around council estates", which is a road test criterion that had not occurred to me. The highlight of the drive was when I wanted to make an illegal U-Turn – "That is OK, sir – you are on official police business."