Ford at the London motor show 2008

By Ben Barry and CAR reader reporter Jacomoseven

Motor Shows

23 July 2008 12:27

Ford's stand is one of the undisputed highlights at this year's London motor show, with something for visitors of all persuasions. Like hot hatches? They don't come much hotter than the new Focus RS, a 296bhp rocket that looks set to rip up the hot hatch rulebook. Prefer your cars to be more parsimonious? Then the Fiesta Econetic manages a saintly 98g/km of CO2 and 76mpg. Something for everyone.

Motor show visitors on the Blue Oval's stand are greeted by ad after ad announcing the new Fiesta, with choice quotes from all the motoring titles. ‘Stunning,’ said CAR Magazine, apparently. And, yes, it is.

Amazing to think back to Paris 2006 – the new Mondeo wasn’t in production and the Kuga was only just being revealed as the outlandish Iosis X concept. Less than two years later and designer Martin Smith’s Kinetic Design grand plan is almost fully formed: S-Max, Mondeo, facelifted Focus and new Fiesta are all out there. Pretty much all of the Ford range now looks modern, dynamic and very stylish – leaving the C-Max looking badly in need of a re-fresh.

Seeing the new 296bhp Focus RS in the metal for the first time. It's great to see Ford playing on its loud and lairy RS heritage – and that lime green, RS1600-inspired paint job could make production, we hear. We're driving the RS in December 2008, so stay logged on for all the latest on the hotshot Focus.

Even with six new Fiestas on display, Ford’s elevated main stage area still looked a little sparse, while the Focus RS was much less prominent. Our take? Focus RS on the main stage – it’s a world debut after all – flanked by the best RS models through the years.

The London show’s most exciting debut? It gets my vote.

Click here to go to CAR's London motor show A-Z homepage

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By Ben Barry and CAR reader reporter Jacomoseven