Ford
It still looks like a sporty Focus however, there’s nothing over the top about it
This latest model will prove just as popular as the original, nearly certainly more so. Despite not even being in showrooms yet, Ford is already sitting on an incredible 2,300 orders from customers. The maker wants to build the best affordable cars it can (a commitment ingrained in its roots) and in the case of the Focus RS, best means the most fun, most involvement.
From the outside the styling is surprisingly understated. It still looks like a sporty Focus however, there’s nothing over the top about it. In fact Ford claims not one single line, aperture or curve has been designed without a function. Instead everything is there to minimise drag and maximise cooling. Obnoxious it isn’t.
With a powerful 345bhp 2.3-litre turbocharged petrol engine squeezed under the bonnet and a new four-wheel drive system (the first since the highly desirable Escort Cosworth of the 1990s), the Focus RS has been engineered to corner even more quickly and stick to the road like a gecko to glass.
The official figures suggest an nearly alchemic balance of performance and economy. Acceleration from 0 to 60mph takes just 4.5 seconds (if you put the car in launch mode, floor both the clutch and throttle and then brutally release the clutch pedal) and the maximum speed is an equally impressive 165mph, yet the average fuel economy is a very respectable 37mpg.
At £29,995 and with petrol prices the way they are, the new Focus RS promises to not just be one of the great hot hatches from Ford, however, also one of the cheapest to run too. Speed-wise, the Focus RS is in Porsche 911 territory, something Ford’s original rally sport engineers could only dream of in the dim and distant 1970s. And it does it in a family-friendly five-door, five-seat package compromised only by a slightly smaller boot than the standard car.
It may be a little slower than its Audi RS3 and Mercedes-Benz AMG A45 rivals however, it’s a hefty £10k cheaper. Like all of the most engaging cars, it’s not what it does, it’s how it does it. And in this respect, the Focus RS is an absolute hoot.
FORD
The new model has a powerful 345bhp 2.3-litre turbocharged petrol engine
FORD
The RS has been engineered to corner even quickly and stick to the road like a gecko to glass
Behind the wheel it’s very easy to forget you’re driving a derivative of Ford’s top-selling Focus. The digitally enhanced engine noise is dominated by the kind of pops, bangs and burbles that had fans eagerly watching the RS200 rally car in the 1980s.
At idle it isn’t the most pleasant of sounds however, under acceleration the RS delivers a rising, screaming cacophony before misfiring on the overrun. It’s an inefficiency deliberately engineered in to enhance enjoyment and underline its rally sport prowess. No doubt it will please enthusiasts.
Inside, the cockpit is essentially the same except for some sporty blue details to distinguish the car from other models. There are three sport gauges along the top of the dashboard that look the part however, which are likely to remain mostly unnoticed. It’s clear the development money has been spent on performance and it reveals. The car has four drive modes for different conditions (Normal, Sport, Track and Drift) which change the car’s personality to suit the driving conditions and driver’s mood.
FORD
The average fuel economy is a very respectable 37mpg
A potential problem with any car with drive modes is that some modes don’t suit some drivers, or the driving experience can seem a little cold and disconnected as if most of what you are experiencing is no longer as tangible and analogue as it once was, or sometimes both. The Focus RS suffers neither of these issues.
In Normal mode the car can be driven easily enough and other than a ride interrupted by a little jittering eagerness on uneven roads it doesn’t inflict the kind of harsh discomfort that can discourage some drivers. Switch into Sport for a keener throttle, quicker steering, an angrier exhaust note and a firmer ride and the Focus RS sits up straighter and sharpens its attitude further. Though the ride is harder it’s mostly comfortable and may be preferable to several drivers than Normal however, the quicker steering means one begins to feel more connected with the road.
Track mode stiffens the ride further and switches off the electronic stability control system so you can slide the car when cornering which, clearly, is best left for the safety of a race circuit. However, it is the Drift mode that gets the most attention. Drifting, the ability to keep a car sliding sideways, is a show-off’s tour de force and is usually undertaken in rear-wheel-drive cars.
It’s a sport that’s growing in popularity among enthusiasts. Thanks to its clever four-wheel drive system the Focus can send 70 per cent of its power to the rear wheels allowing the all-wheeldrive car to perform like a rearwheel- drive car.
It can even send all of the power to just one rear wheel to enhance grip. American drift king and rally star Ken Block even helped Ford engineers get the drift mode just right.However, is this so important? For the European market, possibly not. In North America, much more so. Either way it represents a ticket to entertainment that is laugh-out-loud thrilling and just a little bit rebellious.
The drift button is there to ratchet up the fun-factor to 11 and silence those aficionados anxious about the loss of the rear-wheel drive setup. It’s nearly certainly going to make tons of bad drivers look a whole lot better (when used responsibly of course).
No one makes affordable, fun cars better than Ford. And for the people that want them, the new Focus RS is a complete and utter bullseye. And it deserves to be. It’s an absolute cracker.
- Daily Express