The ride around town is pretty decent? You're headquarters is not in Detroit clearly...
also the palm trees are a give away :)
The American market has been asking for the Focus RS for years. Now we finally have it, and it doesn't disappoint. How can you not like 350 all-wheel horsepower and an option for "drift mode?" The price isn't even that gaudy, considering how hard Ford fans lobbied for the RS to come stateside. It starts at $35,900. Sure that's an expensive Focus, but does the performance make up for that premium?
Our test car came in a dark shade of gray and was optioned out with navigation and heated seats, steering wheel and mirrors.
I want to love the Focus RS soooooo much. I want to. I REALLY want to.
But I don't. It just doesn't fit me. And that makes me sad. For whatever reason, the seat is downright uncomfortable for me. My legs can't comfortably reach the pedals unless the wheel is uncomfortably close, and the firmness and support seems to be in all the wrong places. I also can't get in or out of the thing without uncomfortably pinching my boy parts against the bolsters (not that there's any comfortable way to pinch them).
Of course, I fully admit, someone with a different body type may adapt perfectly to the car, and to you folks I say I'm envious, because so many other things about the car are rock solid. Performance on pavement is good. Not great, but good. It's still a little heavy and a little tall to be a truly edgy corner carver, but it does well with what it has.
On loose surfaces, though, its magic. Whatever witchcraft Ford has done with the diffs and their controlling software and hardware totally justifies any blood sacrifice they had to make. It may be the most forgiving, easiest-to-drive partner on dirt I've ever driven.
I just wish I liked sitting in it.
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS. Need I say more? It’s the best car ever. It’s got turbo noises! It’s got drift mode! I’d compare it to a half-scale Nissan GTR, complete with the tendency to just move when you mash the gas, even if you’re mid-corner and doing everything wrong. On the street, I flat out could not break traction with it, the Focus RS’s limits are just that high. It’s the ultimate boost buggy, and I loved it. Plus: The interior was nice! Sure, it should be for $40k, but I was blown away by the quality of everything in, you know, a Focus.
Would I buy this over a similarly-priced BMW M235i? Absolutely. I’m a boy-racer at heart, and this thing has more wings. It blends the practicality of a Focus, the speed of an STi and the personality of an E30 M3. What’s not to like?
I heard the hype and read the reviews. Finally, some time to sample the all-conquering Focus RS.
First impression? It’s way more of a car than I anticipated. Let me back up. The Mitsubishi Evos were really fast, fun cars, but at the end of the day they still felt like tarted-up, low-buck econoboxes—kinda cheap materials that would make your non-enthusiast friends wonder why you spent so much on a little car with a wing.
The Focus RS actually feels way more grown-up in terms of interior fit and finish—which, let’s admit, is where you spend most of your time. It felt closer to a 3 Series than something you’d associate with the Focus nameplate. The seats, the shifter, the wheel and the materials all felt rich.
Is it rich enough to warrant a $40,000 selling price? That is the big question. Yes, it’s fast—really fast—although it doesn’t make you pay a big penalty. Considering all that performance, the ride around town is pretty decent. And the clutch isn’t an on-off switch. And you can modulate the throttle. So it’s a great daily that’s also really fast.
In the eyes of most people, though, it's like the Evo in that it's still a bit of a tarted-up econobox. If you don’t care about that, enjoy all-wheel drive, and have the scratch, this could be the one.
The ride around town is pretty decent? You're headquarters is not in Detroit clearly...
also the palm trees are a give away :)
fidelity101 wrote: The ride around town is pretty decent? You're headquarters is not in Detroit clearly... also the palm trees are a give away :)
Hey, we have railroad crossings here! I'd put the ride on par with my M3--maybe even better. I really expected the Focus to be much worse.
Like JG, I wanted to love it too. Unlike David ... I did think it was just a tarted up econobox. Unlike Tom... I'd take the 235i over it any day but I do actually think the RS looks better than the BMW.
In the end, I like that it exists and I like the idea of it a whole lot more than I like the actual car. I ended up spending almost the same money on a japanese pickup so what do I know.
We saw that in your parking a lot a couple of weeks ago and were wondering when we'd hear about it. 
David S. Wallens wrote:fidelity101 wrote: The ride around town is pretty decent? You're headquarters is not in Detroit clearly... also the palm trees are a give away :)Hey, we have railroad crossings here! I'd put the ride on par with my M3--maybe even better. I really expected the Focus to be much worse.
This vehicle isn't a dearborn design so you know its not their fault for the ride harshness, the dang perfect German roads and their European counterparts in Koln did this...
Huckleberry wrote: Like JG, I wanted to love it too. Unlike David ... I did think it was just a tarted up econobox. Unlike Tom... I'd take the 235i over it any day but I do actually think the RS looks better than the BMW. In the end, I like that it exists and I like the idea of it a whole lot more than I like the actual car. I ended up spending almost the same money on a japanese pickup so what do I know.
You're joking, right? Never knew a tarted up econobox that does 4 wheel drifts. The handling is other-worldly in autocrosses.
In reply to jstein77:
I meant the interior. I call bullE36 M3 on the 3 series comparison.
The RS, like the Evo, has a tarted up econobox body, interior and materials. The comparison was spot on to me. It does 4 wheel drifts. So did the STi and Evo.
So does the VW, but that has totally sweet interior to go with.
You liked it, you bought it... awesome. I liked it, sat in it and walked away. Different strokes.
EDIT: And for what it's worth... you can 4-wheel drift anything if you corner fast enough. There usually isn't a button for it though, that I'll grant.
Ed Higginbotham wrote: In reply to Huckleberry: I agree the Focus looks the part. I thought it felt more well put together than other Focuses (Foci?).
I loooove the way it looks. In all honesty - if it had the same level of interior as the BMW or VW for that money I'd probably have bought it. Or, if it was $5k cheaper. I spend too much time on the inside of a car to buy one I don't like the inside of and at that price point I couldn't even talk myself into it.
Every time I see one in the wild though - I smile.
I think there is also something to be said for the quality of interiors found in cars like the Focus these days. They don't feel nearly as cheap as they used to. The RS may have a similar interior to the ST or base, but I don't know if that makes it bad or cheap. I'm a fan.
Huckleberry wrote: I spend too much time on the inside of a car to buy one I don't like the inside of
That's a solid point. Everyone has their own tastes and viewpoints.
Displaying 1-10 of 14 commentsView all comments on the GRM forums
You'll need to log in to post.
