Perhaps this is the answer Bob. You need to go old school. Not necessarily a Quattro but something fast with soul.

Another classic to polish.

Lancia Delta Integrale. F**k it, just do it...... ahahahaha

What's the spec of the RS Bob?

I've not driven the Focus RS but I have sat in one at the showroom, the Audi seems a nicer place and a much higher quality than the Ford. I'm sure he Ford is a hoot to drive though and driving he RS will be a completely different experience than driving your diesel.
The diesel will be quite lazy with bags of torque low down, the RS is the opposite, in dynamic mode it holds the revs at 4000rpm minimum to keep it on the boil, but with an 8500rpm redline it feels a little unnatural at first to hear the engine revving away. But what a sound!!

You really need to test drive it.

Post the spec up or a link to the car if you can.

I did go and take a look at this RS5 at Stansted Audi. A fantastic car but £29K seems a bit steep for a car with fewer extras than my current Tdi. Also the running costs look like they would really hurt.

Nice car but at the moment the best deals seem to be on the A5's. The new A5 seems to have Audi flooding the market with nearly new pre-registered current shape cars. There are two silver 3.0tdi's at Essex Audi. This one and This one.

The one I am currently closing in on though is a mid 2015 Sepang Blue with under 8K miles. We are currently discussing the value of my trade in. If they become a bit more flexible then it might be mine.

Im still in the camp of keep your A5.

Maybe get something more exotic on the side . Something older that will appreciate.

This one is a good spec and in that price ball park.

As for servicing, factor in 10ltrs of oil for the engine and then there's the 3 differentials and gearbox that need oil as the car ages. If the cars out of warranty then this can all be done much cheaper at a specialist.
The wave pattern front brakes can start to vibrate if you give them abuse but that's the only real gripe I've read on these cars and it only seems to be the US market that suffers, I've not read much on the UK forums.

Try and drive a car with the DRC suspension, it transforms the handling so there's no boy roll or pitching, an option worth looking out for. The link above has it. I'm not a fan of the silver window trim but if you feel the same, you can have a black vinyl wrap fitted for not a lot of money.

Audi have just provided a trade in value - OUCH!

I had clearly done some research on sales prices with the Parkers and Glass's and had a trade value in mind. I also got a "We buy any car" quote which was, as expected lower than trade in values.

Audi though were even lower than that though, £1500 lower

Bloody hell! That's shameful.

A focus RS over 10 years will not depreciate, an RS audi will.

A Ford with an rs badge is the holy grail, look at any previous iterations. All drive brilliantly, have a cult following, easily tunable and loose no money if loved. RS500's are now fetching 75k. Speaks volumes.

I'd swap my jag for a cossie if it would accommodate the family, the coupe may well make way for a Ford RS badge.
Audi may feel nicer inside but the driving experience is shite, well documented and I picked the jag over an RS6 after driving both.

An Aston is another league, buy a V12 and you'll be on a winner!

With that amount of cash burning in ones pocket a pininfarina badged Italian might be an option.
Have you considered a sexy Maserati Granturismo Bob?

The RS of old that we are all so fond of were limited run cars, the new Focus RS has no limit on numbers made so won't have the same appeal in years to come.

I'd have to disagree on the "well documented shite driving experience" i watched Chris Harris slate the RS5 and then rave about the RS4, it's exactly the same fricking car with a slightly different shape body, just shows the quality of some of these "well documented" reviews.
And what are you looking for, a race car or a car that's great to drive day to day yet have the potential to turn it up if you want to?

Well said and il second the fact there isnt a limited number for the new RS plus it feels cheap inside like all fords do unlike the Audis. Chris Harris also said the RS3 didnt handle well compared to the A45 AMG and BMW 135M but on the road it is such a better car than the other 2.

I'm still casting about. I think I'm going to try the A45 again but I do think it's just too capable to be properly fun on the road. I've even thought about an SL350 - 14-plate is half the price of a new car. Been thinking about Porsches too: Cayman, Boxster and even Panamera.

Those A45's do look Interesting

Alternative to the SL, a bit old school maybe, but an XK is a nice place to be, good to drive and fairly cheap to run.

To be really fun on public roads, one probably needs to stay smaller, lighter and go for less power. Anything really powerful is at illegal speeds before the load pedal has it the floor.

The new ones are living on old glory. They are holding money where other hot hatches are not as there is a real following.

I've no doubt car reviews are as much the mood of the reviewer, weather and what they were driving before.

The RS audis are renowned for their dullness. Im sorry if that's not what you want to hear but it is a fact.
Most of it is because the 4wd is too good and the steering feel is too vague.
day to day this probably has zero impact on your driving experience or enjoyment of the car. It's also personal choice and opinion, one man's grey is another's broom yellow!

The ford feels cheap from a more expensive marque like an audi does from a more expensive one. You're comparing a 50k+ car to a 30k one.

The XF felt much nicer in side that the RS6 I drove but then my 1989 XJS feels far nicer than both.

*my opinion only, the RS6 was still very solid and felt expensive, just wasn't for me.

Oh I really couldn't care less so no need to apologise.

The M3 I'm guessing is renowned for its amazing performance, so I'll just leave This here as an example of real world driving, not just a car driven to the limits on a track that most reviewers seem to base their opinions on.

"All RS Audi's renowned for dullness" is surely not a comment that any motoring enthusiast could ever truly agree with Such provocative comment is usually the preserve of fan boys.

I guess such "dull" comments come from journalists testing cars on circuits. But as we on the FCCUK know if you make a Coupé good for the track it becomes a bit of a pain to drive and live with on the road. My Coupé for example was brilliant around Spa and it looks good lowered. But it is now horrible on anything other than a billiard table smooth A road

Lack of steering feel and nothing that's RWD are the main reasons I wouldn't ever consider Audi. Looks are a personal thing but Audi does nothing for me in that department either (mind you, none of the German usual suspects are great). Horror stories from family and close friends regarding repair costs on the quicker Audis (S8 and RS6) are pretty scary too though performance always comes at a cost.

RS Focus and I'll leave this as a case in point for low depreciation.

Nice video, only 2 comments for me.

1) it's much harder to follow
2) the comment "this turns well for an audi"

Very impressive performance.

The gist from the review for me was "inspires confidence" which, i guess, is the "dull" view of other reviews. A very capable car will feel dull, especially one that has 4wd, to reviewers who are used to wild rwd supercars and tricked hot hatches.

I can see the advantage and disadvantage that this brings and shall try and refrain from calling the RS5 dull in future.

Deposit paid on my new A5 today.

It's another 3.0 tdi S-tronic. This time a Black Edition in Daytona Grey with quite a few options added. The main additions are active sports dampers, drive select and the rather expensive sports diff.

I've been stuck between keeping my current car, going for a newer (2015) lower specification demonstrator or this three year old loaded car.

As soon as I saw the car, which has just come off personal lease I wanted it. It might be the older car with more miles but it is immaculate and looks stunning.

So much for offsetting my mortgage against my savings last month!

When it came down to it the Focus just didn't do it for me I was really tempted to place an order and spent a good few hours pawing the brochure.

But the last ten months with my current A5 have spoilt me. On the test drive I just kept picking holes in the focus, poor quality plastics and sadly general overall quality of the car. Couldn't believe you still have to prop up the bonnet with a metal stick?

Pictures Bob, pictures.


Oh and congratulations.

+1!

It's still better than the wooden ones on a coupe

Pictures will come, it looks really good

Just teasing us now Bob....

As you know I've loved the driving experience of my black 3.0 A5 but I've really been blown away by the new car.

I collected the car yesterday and had it set in "comfort" mode for my run to work and when driving home this morning. When I got up I decided to explore the sports diff and active suspension a bit. With "Dynamic" mode selected the car is completely transformed The sports diff could almost have you thinking it was a RWD car. The speed through, and out of corners is bordering on being a bit scary, but is a lot of fun. The suspension, especially on B roads is a bit too firm but I think with a bit of playing about in the settings I should be able to get a good balance.

This version of the car has similar torque and power to the last but the bands are much wider. Torque comes in earlier and stays for longer and it really shows. The dash from zero seems to be about the same as the old car, a fraction quicker according to the manual. But the top end is so different. The older car seemed to fall off a cliff at higher RPM, with the DSG snatching another gear to compensate. The new car is quite a bit more eager to rev and it's all a lot more urgent.

I knew I was buying a nicer car, it is like new inside, but I hadn't fully realized how the options fitted were going to make it so different / better.

Couple of shots at the dealer, I was inside trying to do the deal