Remember when you were at school and the resident bully would pick on the quieter and smaller guys? And remember how one or two of them would run to their bigger brothers for retribution?
Well that's pretty much how the wheel has turned for Ford's Focus ST. On paper the ST is a definite hot-hatch contender, pushing 166kW of turbo power through those front wheels.
But in tar-terms the car ran a 7.9sec 0-100km/h time at our test facility at altitude, meaning it played second fiddle to the lower-powered Golf 5 GTi (147kW, 7.7sec) and Mini Cooper S (128kW, 7.3sec).
It was certainly outgunned by stronger rivals such as the Opel Astra OPC (177kW, 6.8sec), Seat Leon Cupra (177kW, 7.2sec), and Audi S3 (188kW, 6.7sec).
But, as we used to say in school, the "back-stop" has arrived, and it seems the Focus RS will claw back every bit of reputation which the ST lost. Under the bonnet, as in the ST, sits a 2.5-litre, 5-cylinder turbo, but it's been thoroughly reworked internally and amongst other things scores different pistons, conrods, and camshafts.
The result is that the RS makes a full 224kW and 440Nm. Translated into the hot-hatch rankings, let's just say that the 6.3sec 0-100km/h time, and the 14.3sec quarter-mile time the RS achieved in testing should worry all you hot hatch drivers.
And there's more to those figures.
Besides it being windy when we tested, which is known to hamper performance, the rev counter in the RS is a little deceiving. We suspect it's straight out of an ST, with a redline starting at 6500rpm and markings ending at 8000.
In testing, however, I was pushing as high as 7600rpm, for two reasons: there didn't seem to be a cut-off even as high as that and the turbo was still boosting strongy.
But even at 7600rpm, when the rev-counter needle's almost off the clock, you're doing a little less than 100km/h in second gear - and I suspect that if the gearing was ratio'd slightly differently you'd probably get to 100km/h in second and do a six dead.
Owners with zero mechanical sympathy, willing to rev past eight (which I've heard is actually possible), will also get closer to breaking six seconds. Either way, that 6.3 time makes the RS a serious bruiser and the quickest front-wheel drive car in our price guide.
Our test car was Ultimate Green in colour, a name which doesn't really do it justice. Based on the reactions of passerby and petrol head alike it was more like psychedelic green, and was seriously wicked.
In fact, there's not a single fit or finish on the RS which doesn't come out the badass catalogue - big wheels, hectic roof spoiler, wider track, racing seats, RS steering wheel, two big exhaust pipes, you name it.
And though not the vroomiest of engine sounds, the exhaust has a loud whoosh of a war cry when the turbo is boosting hard, which ends with a pop when you hook the next gear.
And I'm pleased to say that it's a bona fide track tool too, with a traction control system from the later-rather-than-sooner school of thought. Wheelspin off the line isn't too much of an issue while torque steer (of which you'd expect big doses in such a muscular front-wheel-driven turbo car) was minimal.
This is thanks to a piece of trickery called a RevoKnuckle, which is located on the front wheel hubs and combats your steering wheel juddering left to right.
We know that Ford was also playing with the idea of all-wheel drive for the RS but we're glad they went this route as the RS doesn't have the early understeer typical of all-wheel drive cars. It turns in crisply and neatly and the handling is very convincing.
The gearshift also felt smooth and precise, even under pressure, and I thought that our 11.4 litres/100km fuel-consumption average was very decent considering the type of driving we were doing.
VERDICT
At R487 900 the RS is not exactly cheap. Besides being around R188 0000 more expensive than an ST, the RS buyer is also firmly in Subaru Impreza STI territory. The Japanese rival offers similar power (221kW) at a similar price (R474 000) and is all-wheel drive.
But the STI is also a much more aggressive dragon, demanding a specific driving style.
The RS is quick yet comfortable, making it the more enjoyable of the two to live with on a daily basis. There are also only 60 RS's destined for SA (and all have been spoken for), meaning it will hold value and no doubt become a collector's item.
One thing's for sure though, the Focus RS has taken the hot-hatch fight a significant few notches higher.