Ford Focus RS: Drive It Irresponsibly
FORD FOCUS RS
DRIVE IT IRRESPONSIBLY
Words: Alessandro Marrone
Photography: Andy Williams
We are harassed by a tide of goodness and false moralism whose sole objective is to wash hands, aiming a severe warning look in every direction you can lay your eyes – the car world is not exempt and our beloved four wheels are more and more domesticated. But thank God we have hot-hatches, always to be considered against the odds, pocket rockets that meet the needs of young customers and must have enough power for a few miles of fun under the same car that you need for reaching the university or the office.
RS means Rally Sport, a badge that embodies the pure essence of motorsport, the purest, made up of drivers ready to get their hands dirty and dart like bullets a few millimeters from a cliff or a row of trees. The danger is part of their job, of a philosophy of life that is reflected in the tenacity that they put into play at every stage, thus differentiating themselves from simple sportsmen and wearing the clothes that suit them, those of proper heroes. Ford knows a couple of things about rally and I am sure that even the youngest among you have the very first Escort in mind, when a race car still was practically identical to the street legal counterpart and made non-existent that separation between us mortals and those drivers that weekend after weekends they became authentic legends. Our parents have covered entire walls with posters, before turning their dreams into reality, thanks to the advent of these fantastic hot-hatches, pocket rockets within everyone’s reach and that are now even closer to those territories once taboo and prerogative of standard supercars. You have to deserve that RS badge, there is a legacy to carry with you and if you do not live up to that, the fall would be ruinous. And then there is that ranks of aficionados, loyal to the brand of the blue oval, who clamored for a worthy substitute for their beloved Focus RS MKII. Ford did not wait and did things big, they created a monster.
The Focus RS does not distort this concept, but leads it to a much higher level, especially compared to the previous model, which despite a good handling and endless possibilities for upgrades, has never been able to make me fall in love. The MK3 has all-wheel drive, 350 horses, a look that does not scream war to the cops (not as the legendary Cosworth) and a strong ability for enhancing your driving emotions. It is not so much for the incredible amount of grip or for the 2.3 turbo that pushes hard under any circumstances, but for the continuous relationship of understanding between driver and chassis, which makes it possible to speed on the razor blade from start to finish, after burning some rubber and a lot of petrol. Drive it irresponsibly then, with all the obvious recommendations in terms of road rules (otherwise someone will kill me!), but remember to pull it by the neck, to pinch the rev limiter, to be violent with gearbox and clutch and to brake with decision. It will do the rest, widening the tail (Drift Mode or not) when it will be the case and confirming that it is not only a fantastic hot hatch, but a real hooligan. And like any self-respecting vice, it is addictive. That’s all? No, there is much more and the game begins just when you exceed that limit that you had set in your mind before leaving home.
Forget your music playlist and the multimedia system, all that has to bounce in your skull is pushing the right leg to the pavement. Every time you end up playing with the best and quickest way to finish the powerful Brembo brakes, the tire shop will be happy to see you more than usual and if the salesman accuses you of stalking now you know why. Among the most substantial upgrades there’s that of the four-wheel drive, as much awaited as feared for an inevitable increase in weight. But let me say that what Ford has done this time has far exceeded all expectations. Below is a frame of immeasurable magnificence, suspensions that literally speak with your back and an all-wheel drive system that is able to provide 100% of the power on a single wheel. What does it mean? See it as a torque vectoring. Isn’t it clear yet? Put the car on a rail-track and imagine it setting any kind of corner in an optimal way, going to eliminate almost completely understeer. In the real world it’s really like that, even if you could induce the nose to widen outwards, getting too fast at the corner entry. You can instead rely on the rapid response of the gas and its 350 horses. If you expect a brutal acceleration you have not understood the concept here. The Focus RS is a fast car for those who want to go fast, but especially for those who know what it means to do it. You will not have a scary push at the slightest pressure on the throttle, the 2.3 EcoBoost wants to breathe and wants you to get the right confidence with its red line. Rape it, it will be happy, especially when the needle of the tachometer will pin 6000. On the other hand torque is generous and with its 440Nm available at 2000 rpm allows you to concentrate on the steering wheel, without necessarily fiddling with the gearshift at each curve. Here, the gearbox, another point that goes to accumulate to the abacus of Ford. We have a 6-speed manual with a dear old clutch pedal, which, although not as hard as I would have liked it, ensures a fantastic precision, without becoming tiring in the city.
One of the negative aspects of press cars is that having few months of life and a few kilometers on the clock, the exhausts are pretty much never “matured” properly. In terms of sound, enabling the Sport mode, however, we can gain a few decibels, together with stiffening the steering and optimizing the response of the engine itself. Only by selecting Track, everything is really regulated to guarantee a purely sports feedback and I refer to suspension and traction control. Yes, then there is the now infamous Drift Mode, which should not be confused with the button that transforms us into Ken Block (that does not exist!), but something that regulates traction control in order to facilitate keeping the slide. It’s about practice, with the right precautions, and then it will really like a child’s play. But do not make the mistake of relegating the new Focus RS to the Drift Mode, because going sideways is fun, but the perfect balance of weight and the tireless effort of the Brembo braking system are what really make this car glory on wheels. The one I’m testing is everything we could have wished for: the Shadow Black paint (black micalized) accentuates the muscularity of its curves, fiercely combining with the matte black plastic details that make the front of the Focus RS among the most threatening things you’ll see around. There is a spoiler at the rear, blue RS badges scattered in and out and 19-inch Forged alloy wheels, another optional, just like the bucket seats that improve the rigidity of the frame and the sensation of speed. Perhaps superfluous details, but once entered in your life, you can’t live without ‘em.
A bit like the extra 30Nm of torque during overboost and at your disposal for about 15 seconds – you feel that and this gives you an extra reason to hang out your friends at the bar. In the real world, the fantastic driving experience that the Focus RS puts on the table changes a little. You could drive it with gloves – boxing gloves – and it would reply with the same promptness, always ready to support your visceral desire for speed. The safety that the chassis gives you through corners is incredible and the more you move to the edge, the more you realize that there was still some to push further. Without even realizing it I pulled its 2.3 turbocharged on every kind of roads, almost in search of a defect that was able to point the finger at me, justifying the fact that I can’t buy one the following day. It ended that the smiles/kilometer factor has prevailed and I have walked those roads that I know with my eyes closed with the same ease and with the same pace as when they are not slimy and with snow on both sides. This has been shocking, this has meant that where I usually slow down and come back satisfied, I have not stopped and instead continued, literally going to immerse myself in a wild and inhospitable nature, at least for any car that offers such a desire for adrenaline. Not even in this scenario the RS showed signs of weakness and indeed it put in the front line that blue badge, paving for me a whole new path, made of blind curves, a one third wider than usual road and the complete solitude of a winter afternoon. Me and the Focus RS and nobody else, except for the photographer who had to face negative temperatures and some holes hidden by the snow at the side of the road – and then they say it’s an easy job …
When I was a child I loved the Escort Cosworth, I was bewitched by its look that did not care about compromises and that was able to leave even the least conservative of the time in complete astonishment. Despite the previous models of Focus RS were effective and performing, they never ignited in me that spark that this third generation has been able to. Ford has shown that there is no need to invent anything new to give fans what they need, it was enough to refine a decades-old recipe, made of the right amount of horses combined with the possibility of really exploiting them to the last. Thanks to a weight of about a ton and a half, a price for nothing unattainable that starts from just over € 40,000 and the practicality of one of the best hatchback in its segment, the Focus. With those two simple letters that make it a SuperFocus, a worthy flag bearer of the Rally Sport pride of the blue oval, nowadays with the same desire to entertain a new generation, playing with launch control and a 0-100 of just 4.7 seconds, a top speed of 266 kph and that outlaw character that dispenses the right affection after punching for a few hours those roads longer than usual. A few more miles, I’ll find another excuse to justify myself with the photographer and maybe I’ll think of a way for calling Ford and tell them I do not want to give this back.
FORD FOCUS RS
Layout – front-engined, all wheel drive
Engine – 4 cylinder 2.261cc – turbo
Transmission – 6-speed manual gearbox
Power – 350 hp @ 5.900 rpm
440 Nm @ 2.000 rpm
Weight – 1.560 kg
Acceleration – 4,7 sec.
Top Speed – 266 kph
Price – from € 41.500