tommallett

The last few cars have not really been for the common man. The Ford Focus Mk1 fills this brief admirably though. It topped sales charts from its inception in 1998, and for good reason. It redefined how a family hatchback should drive.

In 2002 Ford released the Focus RS, with 217 bhp and a clever diff. It split opinion, with some complaining of torque steer, but in general it was loved. It also looked great, and importantly for this study still looks fantastic today.

It’s not perfect by any means, the interior build quality is average at best, and we’ve already mentioned the torque steer. But it is all the more characterful for it, and history loves characters.

Even better for values is the predilection many Focus RS owners had to modifying their new cars. So, if you can find a really good example it should be a sound investment.

The best Mk1 Focus RS still fetch over £10,000 and I don’t think they will drop too much further. There were only 4501 built and it represents the start of what I expect to be a long line of RS models.