Here in Australia the Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore have been the mainstay of the taxi industry for years… not in Norway where one taxi driver has got himself a Focus RS.

IN THE TOWN of Odda in Norway Evald Jåstad has just clocked up 127,000 kms in just 18 months in what is fast becoming the most popular taxi in Norway. And it’s not hard to see why, I mean, it’s a Focus RS. In Norway.

Locals have nicknamed Jåstad’s taxi, Blue Lightning, for obvious reasons. The first job of the day for cabbie, Evald, is a 16-kilometre round-trip from Odda through breathtaking Scandinavian scenery to take his son to nursery before locals and tourists call on him to take them across the Trolltunga cliffs, in style.

“There are not many people who can say they live their dream. But I am definitely one of them,” says the 36-year-old father‑of‑two. “When I drive him to nursery, all the way there, Martin shouts out ‘Bånn gass! Bånn gass! – More gas! More gas!”

The Ford Focus RS runs a 2.3-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine making 257kW and 440Nm of torque. It’s mated to a six-speed manaul and has all-wheel drive.