Month 5 of our Ford Focus RS long-term test review: the QuickClear heated windscreenįor the Mk1 and Mk2 Focus RS, Ford opted for bespoke WRC-inspired bodywork but made do with front-wheel drive. Or as a colleague put it way back then, and which is relevant today: ‘100% brilliant, 25% of the time – that’s the Focus.’ I loved the torque of that car, loved its looks too, but nine years on I’m struggling to fathom how the same problems that befell the last Focus RS continue to afflict the current car. There are just too many downsides that prevent the RS from being the perfect hot hatch.’ ‘It’s too hard-riding to be comfortable day-to-day… and the pathetic 250-mile range made long journeys a real pain.’ And then: ‘The driver’s seat is set far too high, the interior plastics are crap… the turning circle is lousy. ‘Lots of little problems add up in the RS,’ I wrote. It was the Goodbye piece (above), and what struck me was that a little bit of history is repeating itself. I re-read all my reports on that car the other day (proving to my wife that the collection of magazines under which our bookshelf creaks are not dusty and defunct) and one in particular stood out. Month 6 living with a Ford Focus RS hot hatch: how does it compare to the last one?īack in 2009 I ran the previous-generation Ford Focus RS, the five-cylinder one where Ford spent all the development money on bespoke blistered wheelarches rather than a hefty four-wheel-drive system. I want them to shoehorn the existing powertrain and four-wheel-drive package into the classy, roomy new Focus, and spend the development money on the suspension.īy Ben Pulman Count the cost: Ford Focus RS depreciationĬost new £35,390 (including £3125 of options)Ĭost per mile including depreciation £1.65 I’ve heard rumours that the next Focus RS will be a 400bhp hybrid. For £30k, you’d be better off buying a mint E90 M3 saloon – the BMW will ride better, have just as much space, and while the fuel consumption won’t be any different, the flipside is M division’s chassis magic and a 4.0-litre naturally aspirated V8. Plus the Recaro seats are set far too high, are far too tight, and are so thick they rob the rear passengers of any decent legroom.Īnd at that point the Focus RS becomes a compromised second car, rather than a hot hatch with a little extra edge. It never hinders you flying down your favourite B-road, but day-to-day it’s dreadful. The big issues are: the awful interior quality (a Ford Focus fault, rather than an RS-specific failing) the woeful range and fuel consumption (250 miles at best, and never better than 30mpg) and the ride, which is terrible. It doesn’t even start to do enough of the hatchback stuff well. Yet however much I enjoyed the Focus RS on the right road, I didn’t much enjoy it for most of the rest of the time. No water splashes, just a pristine piece of plastic covering the engine. And – and this is very geeky – when you pop the bonnet, even after 7000 miles, it’s clean. I love that the intakes (of which the front end is predominantly made up) are all real too. It’s by far today’s best-looking hot hatch, and in black, with black wheels, it’s both subtle and sinister. While a GT3 might be struggling for traction or scuffing its nose, the Focus RS just flies along. Its party piece is the old hot hatch favourite turned up to 11: demolishing any given road with a speed that a low-slung, rear-drive sports car couldn’t ever hope to match. With clever four-wheel drive, 345bhp, and even more torque, the Focus RS is ferociously fast. Better to stick to one end of the spectrum and make something rather riotous… It’s why when Ford’s Performance team first got their hands on the Focus, they probably took one look at the cramped interior and crappy plastics, and knew they’d be on a hiding to nothing if they went chasing the VW Golf R. It’s why Honda and Renault chase ’Ring lap times, why Hyundai’s first hot hatch – indeed, its whole performance division – is named after that German track, as is Toyota’s Yaris GRMN, or at least the N.ĭoing it this way, with a narrower remit, is easier. It’s why so many manufactures go down the route of making a hardcore hot hatch.
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