On Thursday I went down to Wiltshire to drive the new Ford Focus RS.

Now this is quite some machine. Well, ok, that’s an understatement. It’s just awesome. Put your foot down and you accelerate out of this normal world and into a video computer game at what seems like manic speed.

There is 305PS from the five-cylinder engine, which alternates between a big, deep basso boom from the exhaust to the shrill warble of its brilliant five-cylinder engine, occasionally accompanied by the pop of the turbo wastegate.

Intoxicated? You bet I was. I like Fast Fords. Cars like the Sierra Cosworth 4×4. Remember that? A complete nutter of a car. But one – like this latest Focus RS – that’s pheeeee-nom-in-al to drive yet quite docile around town. And with its hatchback configuration, surprisingly practical, too.

Before I had belted up and launched myself into motoring hyperspace created by the Ford RS, I spoke about more sober things with Ford’s marketing director Mark Simpson. The government’s announcement about electric vehicles was current and I asked Mark about his thoughts on electric vehicles and Gordon’s green dream.

“We’re trialling Focus electric vehicles in London at the moment to work out the infrastructure issues,” replied Mark. “That’s the critical thing. Before anyone can really invest in electric cars, all these issues must be thought through. You really can’t have abandoned electric cars clogging up the roads because they’ve run out of juice.

“In the meantime you’re not going to change personal mobility demands. So what we have to do is to make our products less environmentally harmful while still making them affordable and sell them to more people. That will have a greater effect than a few expensive hybrid cars, for example.

“My view on electric vehicles is that vans are the best answer at the moment for this technology. They have a contained infrastructure. Vans make a delivery, and then return to base where they can be recharged. That’s why we’re supporting Tanfield Smith who make electric van versions of our Tourneo and Transit. The Connect will be our next electric van product.”

I know this is a long blog, but I think Mark’s analysis of the issue is a good one. As I’ve said before in this blog, while Gordon’s green dream is absolutely laudable, it’s the smokescreen for Budget inaction now because there’s nothing left in the Treasury coffers. What small businesses require is some action now – like getting rid of the fuel duty increase the government quietly slipped in on April Fool’s day. Such items are the nitty-gritty of survival in this recession.

For further commentary on fuel, see blog Fuel prices creep up. And also read Mark Bursa’s editorial in our sister publication Business Van Manager. If you want to know more about the next Connect EV, then read our Geneva Show report from Business Van Manager.

You can also read our exclusive story on Ford and electric vans in Business Van Manager here – Exclusive: Government should put electric focus on vans

Conversation with Ford’s Mark Simpson