By: Denis Droppa
Pretoria - The traction benefits of all-wheel drive are well known, especially in slippery conditions and when blasting off the line (in either the wet or dry).
But earlier drive systems that fed both axles were sometimes notoriously understeery, leaving enthusiast drivers gritting their teeth in frustration waiting for that long-delayed moment when they could finally boot the throttle out of a long, tight corner.
But the new all-wheel drive Ford Focus RS taps into a driving enthusiast’s sweet spot, and understeer’s not really in its repertoire. The RS engineers deserve kudos not only for the hard-hitting power of the 2.3-litre turbo petrol Ecoboost engine, laying down the law with a claimed 266km/h top speed and 0-100km/h in 4.7 seconds, but serving it up in a chassis that can really exploit it.
What you get in Ford’s new five-door rocket, launched in South Africa last week, is all-wheel drive traction with rear-biased, driver-satisfying handling. Most of the torque can be shifted to the rear wheels, and to drive the point home the RS even has a drift mode to underline its playfulness.
Keeping the RS stuck to the road like bacon to a braai grid are specially-developed Michelin Pilot tyres, on which rides a chassis with stiffer spring rates and more efficient anti-roll-bars than those found in the Focus ST. Electronic two-stage dampers stiffen by 40 percent at the press of a button, making the car almost too stiff for the road but ideal for track work.
From commuter to hooligan in four modes
With a four-mode system that adjusts the engine and steering response, suspension, exhaust valve, stability control and all-wheel drive to suit varying driving conditions, the Focus RS is an appealing all-season car. Make no mistake, it’s always blindingly fast with those 257kW and 440Nm (470Nm on overboost) to draw upon, but in standard driving mode it’s neatly harnessed and delivered in a commuting-friendly way.
Switch to Sport, Track or Drift and the car gets progressively meaner, with the latter of those modes opening up the full hooliganistic potential to be enjoyed on racetracks or skidpans.
In drift mode the sideways action happens quite controllably if you don’t get completely silly with the throttle, rather than snapping out suddenly and spinning you around. Chances are you’ll get the hang of it without too many unscheduled trips backwards into the sand trap.
Hyper-hatch with a price to match
In the power stakes the RS outguns rivals like the Golf R (206kW), Honda Civic Type R (228kW), and Opel Astra OPC (206kW), and squarely takes on premium hot hatches like the Audi RS3 (270kW) and Mercedes-AMG A45 (280kW).
At R690 900 it’s also priced accordingly. The Focus RS is around 115 grand more expensive than the Golf (R575 800), but still a relative bargain against rivals like the RS3 (R775 500) and the A45 (R737 314).
The RS, available in six-speed manual only, has launch control which allows you to keep the throttle pinned to the floor during gearshifts. Nice, but being manual it still isn’t quite as quick off the mark as its German rivals with their fancy dual-clutch auto gearboxes. Its claimed 4.7 second 0-100 time trails the 4.3 secs quoted for the RS3 and the 4.2 of the A45. Ford isn't saying whether there will be an auto version of the RS at some point.
Though the RS is styled like the doodlings of an over-enthusiastic schoolboy, the dramatic clothing is all functional. All the aerodynamic splitters and spoilers make for zero lift for optimum high-speed handling and stability.
The cabin lays on the visual thrills too with RS Recaro race seats, alloy pedals and a recurring blue RS theme. An additional bank of gauges displays turbocharger boost pressure, oil temperature and oil pressure.
This is the 30th car to wear the legendary RS badge, following icons such as the 16-valve 1970 Escort RS1600, the turbocharged Sierra RS Cosworth of 1985 with its radical aerodynamics, and the four-wheel-drive 1992 Escort RS Cosworth.