Ford Focus RS review

[Jason[98.EL]]

saw one of these in white last night and damm they look hot would love to have one

Ford Focus RS

Local Launch
Yarra Valley, Vic

What we liked
>> Stunning handling and roadholding
>> Big torque, big engine feel
>> True to RS heritage, boy-racer looks

Not so much
>> Too few, too late
>> No cruise control -- bye bye licence
>> Like STI and EVO humble origins obvious in cabin

Overall rating: 4.0/5.0
Engine/Drivetrain/Chassis: 4.5/5.0
Price, Packaging and Practicality: 3.5/5.0
Safety: 3.0/5.0
Behind the wheel: 4.5/5.0
X-factor: 4.5/5.0

About our ratings


OVERVIEW
-- Too little, too late?...
Ford Australia has strived to shed its label as the Falcon Motor Company. It's pointed to its expertise in the small car arena -- and had the mass market products to back up its claims. But, and it's a big but, the hero for the brand has remained large, V8 and very, very Falcon.

The German-built Focus RS is the car that could change that situation. Or at least it could have, had it arrived Down Under in its prime. Launched in 2008, the RS has been lauded in the UK and Europe ever since. But until now it's been off-limits Down Under -- and more's the pity. This is the car that would have leapfrogged Focus' acceptance in Oz by a margin. Now, it arrives at the very end of the current model's life and Focus sales are still a magnitude behind its small car competitors.

Though its hero-car value to Ford Down Under may be too little too late, make no mistake it's a cracking drive -- undoubtedly in this writer's opinion the very best hot hatch on the market today. And that's an opinion obviously shared by RS, Fast Ford and hot-hatch enthusiast alike hereabouts -- the Focus RS is already sell-out success -- or close to it.

Just 315 examples of the stove-hot five-cylinder hatch will make it Down Under, with another 35 earmarked for Kiwi customers. And despite a local MRLP of $59,990, stocks of the three-door are already all but gone. Ford insiders say that while some dealers may have unsold examples, most of the cars were snapped up before they even hit the showroom tiles.

Ford allocated each of its 200-plus dealers a single RS. Further allocations were based on demand and the sales ratios of the standard XR5 Focus sports hatch. If you haven't secured yours yet, don't dally...

Though initially it was expected the RS may wear FPV badging in Australia, the iconic nature of the RS nameplate saw the car stay within the main brand, badged as a Ford.

The last RS model to be sold officially Down Under was the 1976 RS2000 Escort, a limited batch later followed by an emissions-compliant locally-assembled edition in 1979. Though the Focus RS shares its rally-car aura, it is manifestly in a different performance league. A true giant killer...


PRICE AND EQUIPMENT
-- $60K Focus equals bang for bucks
Just shy of $60K is a lot to pay for a Focus, but this is even far from an ordinary XR5, let alone cooking-model Focus. When you consider the sort of vehicles it can compete with in performance terms, the bang for bucks quotient starts to make sense.

There's just one model and just one body style for Focus RS. It's one with the lot (almost) and it's three-door only.

Almost half of the RS coming Down Under are Ultimate Green -- the car's World Rally Championship (and BP) inspired hero colour. The rest are evenly split between Performance Blue and Frozen White. And with production already wound up on the RS's German production line, there's almost zero chance of Ford Australia securing more stock over and above the 315 units already allocated. None of the powered-up end-of-the-run RS500 limited edition versions of the Focus RS were earmarked for Australia.

Unlike the RS offered in Europe, there are no options. The various options packs that can be ticked in other markets come pre-specified here.

The $59,990 pricetag includes 19-inch wheels (the largest wheel/tyre combination ever fitted to a production Focus), high-spec six-disc audio with full iPod/MP3 USB compatibility, integrated voice-activated Bluetooth, "partial leather" Recaro front seats and re-trimmed splitfold rear pews.

Other standard equipment items include automatic levelling xenon headlights (with washers) and rear parking sensors. Auto lights and wipers are fitted and inside, dual-zone climate control air is standard and there's full keyless access and start via the imaginatively-named Ford Key-Free System.

What isn't fitted is cruise control -- an affliction that also besets the XR5. Though it might seem churlish to criticise a performance car for this, in a time when you can lose dollars and precious demerit points for a few kilometres over the limit, the effortless urge of the RS means cruise really is missed. You've been warned...


MECHANICAL
-- Knuckling down to real performance
Fancy in-cabin finishes and equipment is not where Ford's Team RS go-fast division spent its development dollars on the Focus RS. Indeed, Ford is at pains to point out the RS is much more than a powered up XR5. One quick drive should be enough to convince anybody of this fact, but there's substantial substance to the claim.

The changes start at the very heart of the beast -- namely a ground-up rebuild of the Volvo-sourced five-cylinder 2.5-litre engine. Compared to the XR5, the RS gets unique pistons, cams, intake and exhaust manifolds and a larger turbocharger. The bigger blowers produce double the boost of the standard XR5 -- around 1.4 bar compared to a modest 0.7.

There's a beefier cylinder-head gasket to cope with the RS engine's higher clamping forces and the extra bang generated inside the tweaked combustion chambers. With unique engine management settings and tweaked fuel-injection, the RS is good for 224kW -- 35 per cent up on the XR5.

It's a very relaxed 224 too... UK tuners easily boost that to better than 250kW with no reliability or driveability issues. Insiders at Ford Australia say they hope to offer a power-up ECU reflash "for competition use only" soon.

The muscular nature of the five-cylinder is more to do with its torque, however. Ford says this is class leading at 440Nm. This is available from 2300-4500rpm and represents a 38 per cent boost over the XR5. By comparison, the latest Subaru WRX STI peaks at 407Nm, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X is 30Nm down on that while the very best Golf, the new all-wheel drive R, is rated at 330Nm.

The five is matched to a conventional but unique six-speed manual gearbox. It's beefier internally and the shift throw is shortened but ratios are unchanged.

As good as the engine is, the mechanical change that defines the RS, and possesses it of real on-road ability is its unique front suspension set-up.

Ford-dubbed RevoKnuckle, the RS's suspension is designed to combat torque steer and was directly influenced by Ford's Focus WRC program. The patented design is effectively a radically modified MacPherson Strut. Simply, instead of handing the stub axle and wheel, etc, off one fixture at the end of the strut, the RevoKnuckle design connects to the wheel hub to the strut at two points. While it is still a true strut design, it approximates the geometry of a double wishbone suspension delivering much more rigid control on geometry and reducing the distance of the wheel from the steering axis.

This revolutionary development effectively allowed Ford to side step the mass, drag and complexity of all-wheel drive and with the help of a Quaife Torque-Biasing Helical Limited Slip Differential deliver a 300hp-plus capability (without torque or power limitations in lower gears -- a la Mazda's 3 MPS) in a pure front-wheel drive chassis. And rest assured, it works!

The RS also gets bespoke suspensions settings. Wider tracks front and rear (+40mm), stiffer spring rates (front: +25 per cent; rear: +15 per cent) and revised dampers combine with a lower ride height (20mm lower than XR5), and unique antiroll bars to deliver tarmac rally car levels of handling and roadholding. Steering is sharpened with a faster steering rack than the XR5. It's now just 2.3 turns lock to lock.

As noted above, big 19 x 8.5-inch alloys and grace the RS (XR5 gets 18 x 8). They surround an equally oversized set of four-wheel disc brakes -- the front discs are 326mm in diameter.


PACKAGING
-- Three-door looks, five-door space
The beauty of hot hatches is their practicality... Win on Sunday, shop on Monday... The only three-door Focus offered Down Under, the RS gets all the packaging benefits afforded it by its humble origins. There's plenty of luggage space and the rear seats are comfy and offer plenty of legroom -- same as the five-door in fact.

Alas those humble origins also show through in the cabin despite the attempts of the Recaro buckets, rear-seat re-trim and lashings of carbon-fibre trim pieces to sex things up. In this regard, the RS is no different from its STI and Evo trackmates... Don't expect Audi or even VW levels of cabin appointments and you won't be disappointed.

The Recaros are perfectly suited to keeping you in place when pushing on, but unlike some sports seats, they also provide reasonable long-term comfort. They are aggressively bolstered and a little lower than the overly high seating position of the standard XR5. Access is easy compared to some seats of their ilk. Shame about the cheap-looking seat bracketry, however...

Many chassis/body components are unique to the RS -- and the writer is a fan of the muscular 'serious' rally car look they deliver. The flared front and rear quarter panels and bonnet are unique, as are the multi-element front and rear designs.

A twin-blade rear spoiler, front splitter and underbody airflow management create genuine downforce, claims Ford

The only other major change is the RS's fuel tank. It's 62 litres, up from the standard Focus' 55.


SAFETY
-- All of the above
Focus donates the RS good crash rating credentials and a full complement of airbags and driver aids, et al. Again here's a benefit of basing the RS on a well-credentialled mass-market hatch.

Unique antilock and stability control settings are programmed into the car. Indeed, Ford claims the same Nurburgring laptimes with stability control on or off.

That might be true of an expert test drive with intimate knowledge of the track. Better for us mere mortals to know that the stability control system is unobtrusive until fairly serious levels of commitment.

Given the RS is very sharp and exhibits a fair degree of lift-off oversteer when provoked (just how a good high-performance front-driver should be!), the stability control calibration is well suited to keeping enthusiastic amateurs out of trouble.


COMPETITORS
-- Look out STEvo
At $59,990 the lastest Subaru WRX STI hatch matches the RS on price but is down on power, torque and exclusivity. The cheapest Evo X Lancer is priced from $61,990 and cannot match the muscular RS in the engine room. Both, of course, deliver all-wheel drive and in the case of the Mitsubishi the option of a dual-clutch automated manual gearbox -- albeit at extra dollars.

Without appearing to being anti-AWD, neither of the above cars offers the purity of drive of the RS. The Ford has a much more thoroughbred feel on the road. As soon as it gets wet or slippery that advantage may (will!) evaporate, but in between times there's a wonderful and palpable 'connected' feel to the RS that isn't anywhere near as pronounced in the case of the Japanese rally reps. Subaru and Mitsubishi tragics will pooh-pooh this, but keen drivers will appreciate the distinction.

In performance terms the RS makes a mess of cars like the circa-$70K front-wheel drive Audi TT. It can't compete with the cabin ambience or true coupe looks of the Audi, however.

Volkswagen's Golf R probably provides the perfect combination of hatch practicality and Audi-matching fit and finish. In its cheapest form it’s under $50K but a ways off the RS in real-world performance terms. Perhaps Volkswagen may one day provide us with a homologation-style special version of the Golf R to match the RS in output and sheer grip... We can but dream...



ON THE ROAD
-- Somebody stop me
From the moment you fire up the RS's five-cylinder powerplant it has your attention. Sure the same can be said of the standard XR5 or even Volvo's ripper C30 T5, but there's an added rawness to the RS's engine note. And once rolling the zero free-play feel to the controls makes it feel race-prepped out of the box.

How do I write this without it sounding like a free advert? Simply, the RS is the sharpest, grippiest and most responsive hot hatch sold today. It is possessed of giant-killing levels of grip and sharp yet somehow confidence-inspiring roadholding, plus one of the best steering set-ups in the business.

It takes real pace to breech the RS's grip limits in the dry. When you do it tends to be a slight wiggle from the rear as you lift off and turn in hard. The unweighted rear allows the front to point where you want it to and quickly resettles. The standard Continental rubber is up to the job, but one wonders just how fast this car might be with proper R-spec tarmac rubber.

Just days before I drove the RS I was lucky enough to drive two very well fettled Mazda 3 MPS -- specifically two of Mazda Motorsports' own cars. It's my estimation that even out of the box, without the benefit of competition tweaking, the RS has the pace and poise to run away from both of these cars.

Sidestep the clutch with big revs from a standing start and you need only apply fingertip pressure to the wheel to keep things tidy. Ford quotes a 0-100km/h time in the fives and the car certainly feels that quick.

The short-throw gearbox is mechanical in feel but this makes for positive changes. Snap 1-2 and 3-4 changes do little to slow the car's acceleration, though this is not a hot hatch you need to row along.

There's enormous power down out of even tight corners and very little of the histrionics normally associated with high-power, high-torque front-wheelers -- especially those fitted with limited slip diffs. Such is the nature of the powerplant that you tend to take advantage of the combination of midrange torque and high corner speeds and blitz through the favourite twisties in third or fourth gear. This car is extremely quick to drive, point to point.

Away from Racer Road and into suburbia it's happy to drive with the same sort of civility as a standard XR5. Again we lament the lack of cruise control -- tweak the ankle a little too far even in fourth or fifth gear on a major arterial and you're into licence loss territory in a blink of an eye.

Brakes are strong, predictable and, as much as you can ascertain on a road drive, consistent. Unlike some cars (VWs for instance) you can left-foot brake without the ECU killing the engine. This might not matter to many, but it's important if you intend to race or rally your RS.

Though it's unlikely to influence your buying decision it's also worth noting that after a day of eager driving, we registered an average fuel consumption of around 15L/100km for the RS. It's pretty easy to get the AWD turbo tearaways close to and into the 20s, so this is more economical than it appears at first glance.

The shame of the limited nature of the RS's release Down Under is that few drivers will get to sample the car. It's an education in how good front-wheel drive cars can be...

Ironically the RS will arrive Down Under at the same time the new-generation Focus is shown for the first time (at the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney). That all-new Focus is due to go on sale next year Down Under with production based in Thailand.

Alas no plans for a follow-up to the RS born of the new generation car have been formalised for local consumption. That's a shame, because in the current RS, Ford has a car that has the potential to build an all-new following for the Blue Oval badge.

Ford Australia boss Marin Burela said that importing the RS was an act of "keeping the faith" with the brand's fans Down under. Let's hope that Burela's into long-term relationships and the excellence within this car is proffered to a wide group of buyers some time in the near future...