Hoo-boy, this one’s going to take some ‘splainin’.
What we have here is a compact hatchback for the same price as a 5.0-litre Mustang. Bang for your buck? The fastest Ford? Well, no.
However, there’s a very good reason why everyone’s going crazy over the Focus RS, and it’s all about those two little letters at the end of its name. While they’re a new designation on this side of the pond, an RS badge has long heralded the arrival of the baddest, scrappiest, most hooligan-grade products the Blue Oval brings to market.
So, is the Focus RS a sensible choice? I think I can safely tell you at the outset that the answer is a resounding no. Wait, that’s not loud enough: NO! If you want sensible, buy a Ford Escape.
If, however, you want the meanest hot hatchback on sale today, then leave the Volkswagen dealership and head immediately to your local Ford store. They’re selling madness with a decent trunk and seating for five – it doesn’t make any sense, and it’s absolutely wonderful.
Design
This week’s tester came in an azure shade that was labelled Nitrous Blue, which tells you pretty much everything you need to know about the RS. It’s the same colour as the flames shooting out of the back of the cars in a Fast & Furious movie.
We’ll get to the Fast bit in a minute, but in the meantime, here’s the Furious. The RS comes in essentially one specification, kitted out with 19-inch black-finished alloys and a sunroof.
The front fascia is aggressive enough to be a villain in a Marvel superhero movie. There’s an enormous two-piece spoiler out back. The headlights scowl and extra flares have been added to the fenders to prevent the super-sticky Michelin high-performance tires from flinging rocks at the paintwork.
It’s enough to make a Subaru STI look like a Toyota Corolla. And things don’t get any less crazy when you move inside.
Environment
The Focus RS comes with the most ridiculous seats ever fitted to a factory-spec car in the history of the world. Well-bolstered doesn’t cover it: these are essentially racing seats with a recline option. Made by Recaro, they grip your ribs like the hand of a man-eating giant. In the United States, these race buckets are an option, but they’re standard North of the border – Canadian Ford enthusiasts will probably have to skip a few helpings of poutine to fit.
Aside from the seats, a modicum of blue stitching, and a trio of low-profile gauges mounted on the dash, the RS is essentially just a very high-spec Focus with a bunch of boost under the hood. Thus, it’s a useful hatchback, though one with a slightly smallish trunk because of the all-wheel-drive system.
I fit two child seats in the back and a running stroller in the trunk without issue. The navigation system, while occasionally confused by the odd side road, was relatively simple to use. Even the stereo was decent.
If you’re considering the RS as a sort of five-door family-wagon alternative to a specced-out Mustang, then good news: it works. Now let’s talk about the really fun stuff.
Performance
At more than $50,000 after freight, the RS is not just the cost of a V-8 pony car, it’s more expensive than either a Subaru STI or a Golf R. It makes its case, however, with a distinct character: the Subaru is the rally car, the Golf R is the city slicker; the RS is the tarmac terror.
Power comes from a reworked version of the 2.3-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine found in the Ecoboost Mustang. Here, it makes 350 horsepower at 6,000 r.p.m. and 350 foot-pounds of torque at 3,200 r.p.m. Please note that attaining these peak figures requires a tank of fuel with at least a 93 octane grade. You can run 91 or 92, but you’ll make a little less power.
The RS’s four is muscular from low revs, but really doesn’t get interesting until it’s whipped up past 4,000 r.p.m. Power comes on with a turbo surge, feeling more wonderfully old-school than the economy-minded forced-induction offerings found elsewhere in the Ford range. It also sounds great, growling, whistling and popping out of a pair of cartoonishly large exhaust pipes.
But never mind the power, the RS is about handling more than raw grunt. An extremely clever torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system makes this little hatch feel almost rear-wheel-drive at times, and the ultra-grippy Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires provide nearly unbelievable levels of grip in the dry. These are the same tires you get on a McLaren, and they’ve put them on a hatchback!
While the steering can be darty and frenetic, mostly the RS just feels eager. Even the standard driving mode urges you on, and there are both Sport and Track modes for even more vigour. There’s also something called Drift mode, which will let you smoke the tires around an autocross like you just signed a sponsorship deal with Michelin.
The twistier the road, the better the RS gets – the suspension does a great job of absorbing bumps, and Ford has put the button to adjust the dampers on the left-most stalk. You can have the throttle and engine programming in its most aggressive mode, yet soften the suspension to deal with choppy pavement.
On a tight tarmac course, even a supercar might not be able to touch this riotous little hooligan. It’s the ultimate hot hatch of the moment, the king of the hill – for now.
Features
Equipped with everything from satellite navigation to a sunroof, the RS only comes very well equipped. You just pick your colour and you’re done.
Fuel economy isn’t too bad, with official ratings at 12.1 litres/100 kilometres city and 9.3 l/100 km on the highway. It can probably handle your commute just fine, but the RS will certainly tempt you into worse consumption.
Green light
A blast to drive; still a useful hatchback; genuinely tough enough to handle multiple laps.
Stop sign
Expensive; requires max-octane fuel; seats won’t fit everyone.
The checkered flag
Loud, fast, fun – a riot with four doors and a hatchback.
Competition
Volkswagen Golf R ($39,995): Less unhinged than the Focus RS, the Golf R is still really fast. On paper it makes nearly 60 h.p. less than the Ford, but still manages to put down acceleration times that are within a couple of tenths of a second.
Moreover, it’s much less shouty than the Ford. While 19-inch alloys and quad exhaust pipes don’t sound very reserved, the Golf R is otherwise just a Golf. Get one in grey and blend into the crowd.
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