Hard-to-get Focus RS is all about fun

By Jason Woosey:

Johannesburg - You don’t have to be a dyed-in-the-wool blue oval fanatic to recognise this as the new messiah in a long line of compact Ford potency that stretches way back to the earliest RS-badged Escorts of the ‘70s. In fact a quick glance at its CV might convince you that it’s destined to become the most legendary of them all.

For starters, Ford’s new Focus RS is shoved along by a modified version of the 2.3-litre EcoBoost turbo-four that powers the base Mustang, in the RS’s case boasting heady outputs of 257kW and 440Nm, with an extra 30Nm on overboost.

Not only is it 33kW more powerful than its immediate predecessor but it’s also thrown away the RevoKnuckles and all other delusions that the front wheels are happy to deal with all that urge alone. Like the 1992 Escort RS that never came to South Africa, the third-generation Focus RS has all-wheel drive and it’s a particularly clever system too.

In short you could say that an entire palace revolt has just gone down under the skin, because, by RS standards, there isn’t an awful lot to show for it on the surface. Sure, it has a bolder front bumper, chunky 19-inch alloys and a giant diffuser to set it apart from the more domesticated species of Focus and Ford was also thoughtful enough to fit a roof spoiler that you can iron your clothes on.

But there are no flared wheel-arches or carbon body bits this time around and overall the new RS just doesn’t look as boisterous as its predecessor. Yet you might well appreciate its more mature vibe – particularly when negotiating in front of boom gates – and the extra two doors also make it a more sensible choice than before. They grow up so fast, don’t they?

Proper sense of occasion

The interior is even more unassuming and there isn’t much apart from the flat steering wheel, an extra stack of gauges, a sprinkling of RS badges and decently-bolstered sports seats to tell it apart from an ordinary Focus. Ford does offer a pair of racing-style Recaro shell seats as an option for a mere R1890, but be aware that the high bolsters make getting in and out a bit harder and there is no height adjustment. Yet they are incredibly supportive and give the cabin a proper sense of occasion that does full justice to the way this hyper-hatch drives.

Turn the key and the RS makes all the right noises, delighting its occupants with a throaty, rumbling soundtrack that’s somewhat out of character for a car that’s only firing on four cylinders.

It’s so convincing that you’d never know there was some electronic cheating going on here.

Acceleration is positively explosive, although also reliant on your ability to snap-change as the only gearbox option is a good old-fashioned six-speed manual, albeit one with a pleasingly smooth and solid shifting action. Strapped to our Vbox at Gauteng altitude, and with Launch Control activated, our test car ran a quarter-mile in 13.4 seconds and surged from 0-100km/h in five seconds flat.

That gives it a podium in the hyper-hatch hierarchy, narrowly ousting VW’s Golf R (5.2s to 100) and closely pursuing the Audi RS3 (4.5s).

Immensely grippy and agile

Not only is it an accomplished sprinter, but this Ford now also has the talent to dance its way through corners like Shakira on fast forward, thanks to Ford’s new all-wheel-drive system which can send up to 70 percent of the drive torque to the back axle and then further split it between the rear wheels (with up to 100 percent to either side) thanks to a pair of clutch packs that micro-manage torque distribution with split-second efficacy.

That rear-diff will even give you a helping hand during harder cornering by diverting more torque to the outer wheel when it’s needed.

Furthermore, this car’s RS-specific sports suspension system is already stiffer than that of the ST and the shocks can be made a further 40 percent firmer at the push of a button. Put through its paces on Gerotek’s handling circuit, the RS was an absolute joy to chuck around. It’s immensely grippy and agile; understeer is minimal and the AWD system gives you a nice push from behind.

It’s also got a party trick that allows you to go completely hoonigan even if your highest qualification is that you’ve watched a few Ken Block videos on YouTube. Flick the four-mode drive-select system into Drift Mode and the all-wheel-drive, suspension and steering systems reconfigure to allow easy and continuous drifting without the need to counter-steer with any real skill.

In fact, more experienced drifters tend to complain that it’s actually quite counter-intuitive. And I take it you do know that it’s only for track use, right?

So by now we know that this Ford is an absolute athlete on the track, but it’s also surprisingly painless to pilot in everyday traffic, with easy-operating controls and a ride that, while expectedly firm, is not harsh and certainly tolerable.

VERDICT

Ford’s new RS is a hugely accomplished hyper-hatch that’s as happy on a race track as it is on your boring route to work. I also get the distinct impression that its creators were more concerned with overall driver entertainment than simply achieving the best lap times and for that alone it gets my vote.

But the price is a bitter pill to swallow, especially since in the UK it costs three-quarters of an RS3 or A45 and you won’t quite see that gap in the comparison below. It’s a supply-demand thing, though, as Ford is sending just 300 our way, with 200 already spoken for and the remaining third yet to be allocated. It’s a damn shame that Ford is playing hard to get with such a delightful machine, but that’s life, ain’t it?

FACTS

Ford Focus RS

Engine: 2.3-litre, 4-cylinder turbopetrol

Gearbox: 6-speed manual

Power: 257kW @ 6000rpm

Torque: 440Nm @ 1600-5000rpm

0-100km/h (tested, Gauteng): 5.0 seconds

Top speed (claimed): 266km/h

Price: R699 900

Warranty: 4-year/120 000km

Service plan: 5-year/100 000km

ALTERNATIVES