2016 Ford Focus vs 2017

What's the difference?

Supply of the RS is limited by capacity from Ford's Saarlouis plant in Germany, with "up to 500" cars coming to Australia in 2016, according to Ford Australia, and most of those spoken for before the first ship docked... so the queue is already long.

Trust us – it's worth the wait.

If you're looking for a true high-performance car with a staggering depth of engineering built into it for a bargain-basement price, the Focus RS is your car.

It just so happens to be a relatively compact hatchback, too, which adds to its practicality but doesn't detract from its performance car credentials.

The Focus RS is designed as a tool to rebuild the Ford Performance brand around the world, and we can't wait to see what else it has planned.

Don’t dismiss the Focus RS as just another hatchback with a sporty body kit. The RS does exactly what it says on the tin. It goes fast and handles perfectly. At $50K the bang-for-your-buck is excellent, it's as practical as a regular Ford Focus, from ease of parking to room inside, and it’s not too hardcore making it something an enthusiast could live with every day – even with a family.

The RS is not dissimilar to the other warmed-over Focus in Ford's local line up, the ST, but the devil is in the RS's details.

Its design objective is function over flash; it's a distinct move away from the wild and lairy RS from 2010.

The head of the RS build, Tyrone Johnson – a 31-year Ford veteran with stints in both the company's WRC and F1 programs – explained that the object of the bodywork package was to produce zero aerodynamic lift front and rear.

The opening on the front bumper, for example, is physically as large as it can possibly be to both minimise drag and maximise cooling. Even the fine mesh used to protect the radiators is there for a purpose, not just for race car cool looks.

The front brake ducts actually function as intended, too, and contribute to the car's aero tune.

A flat undertray under the front bumper, a large diffuser under the rear bar and a low profile hatch-mounted wing all chip in to smooth airflow, too.

Based on the regular five-door Focus hatch the RS isn’t as extreme looking as its predecessor. Don’t underestimate the RS though it’s still very much a ‘Franken-Focus’ monster in looks and its heart – a four-cylinder turbo engine transplanted from the Mustang. 

First the looks. There’s its angry anteater snout and that lower grille with intercooler looming inside and its splitter that looks sharp and low enough to shave Cats Eyes off the road. 

From the back it looks just as tough with the large, roof-mounted wing, and diffuser-integrated twin 4.5-inch tail pipes. Then there’s the optional 19-inch gloss black alloys shod with licorice-thin low profile rubber. 

Our car looked like a poison dart frog with its 'Nitrous Blue' paint; a similar hue to the front Brembo brake calipers, but with metal flake added. There’s also White, Magnetic (which looks gun metal grey) and Shadow Black. 

Looking at the RS’s dimensions compared to a regular Focus in base Trend spec, the RS is 30mm longer at 4390mm end-to-end; the same width from mirror-to-mirror at 2010mm, 13mm taller at 1480mm (that’d be the rear wing) and has 9mm less ground clearance at 100mm (thanks to the lowered suspension).

Don’t even think of comparing the Focus RS to something like a Hyundai Veloster Turbo, the Volkswagen Golf R is the RS’s true rival although the VW’s more sedate looks don’t make it obvious. 

The RS’s insides are almost identical to a regular Focus. There’s the same display screen, centre console layout and dash design, including the climate control dials, instrument cluster and steering wheel. Making the RS’s interior different are the dash-mounted gauges for boost and water and oil temperatures, alloy pedals and racy Recaro seating. 

The Golf R’s interior is a bit more mature, too. I’m not a fan of those toy-like gauges in the RS.

There are bottle holders in all the doors and two cup holders up front; none in the back though.

The nice thing about most hot hatchbacks is that, well, they're still hatchbacks. The five-door Focus RS changes very little from its more pedestrian siblings when it comes to performing life's more mundane tasks, though there are a couple of compromises to be negotiated.

A new rear suspension configuration means that the cargo space has been reduced from 316 litres to 260 litres, despite the RS scoring a bespoke saddlebag fuel tank to gain back real estate.

It also loses its space saver spare wheel.

The RS-branded Recaro sports seats are very comfortable, but lack any form of height adjustment in the base. In typical Focus style, they are also mounted quite high, which may trouble shorter drivers.

The rear seats have been faced with the same leather and suede treatment as the fronts.

There's space for bottles in both the front and back doors, and there's a pair of adjustable cup holders in the centre console. Storage for phones and the like is a little compromised, though.

With the body structure of a regular Ford Focus the RS is one of the most practical high performance cars on the market right now. Decent sized back doors which open wide and a headroom friendly roofline meant even swinging our toddler in and out of his car seat wasn’t back breaking. 

A great Recaro bench back seat is comfortable and supportive although there’s not as much legroom in there as a regular Focus thanks to those larger front seats. Still, I’m 191cm tall and there’s daylight between my knees and the seatback when it’s in my driving position. More space than the new Renault Megane for example.

The boot space isn’t great compared to other small hatches at 316 litres (44 litres less than a Toyota Corolla and 63 litres less than a Hyundai i30's cargo capacity) but with our family there was enough room for the weekly shopping and the mountain of gear that follows our child everywhere such as a pram and change bags.

The interior lighting is frustrating. There are map lights over the driver and front passenger and directional lights over the rear passengers. However, while the LED bulbs are intensely bright to look at, they don’t cast a wide beam.

At $50,990 the RS is a very expensive Focus, especially considering the range starts at $24,390 for the base-spec Trend.

Standard features include the eight-inch display with SYNC 2 media system, sat nav, rear-view camera, the leather Recaro seats (front and back), nine-speaker stereo, proximity unlocking, dual-zone climate control and 19-inch alloy wheels.

The optional 19-inch alloy, 235/35 R19 Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 wheel pack costs $3500.

That’s not a lot in the way of standard features, compared to say a top-of-the-range $35,490 Mazda3 SP25  Astina which has a head-up display and advanced safety tech like Auto Emergency Braking and active cruise control as standard.

Even the $38,990 Focus ST mirrors the RS's standard equipment list almost exactly. 

The Volkswagen Golf R is a couple of grand more than the RS at $52,740.

The reason you’re paying so much for the RS is down to the mechanical hardware that makes it such a dynamic beastie. Let’s talk about that..

The RS makes use of the 2.3-litre turbo four-potter from the Ford Mustang EcoBoost, albeit in a much higher state of tune.

A Cosworth alloy head sits atop a block with iron-lined cylinder bores, while the turbocharger itself is a totally revised version of the one fitted to the previous RS.

A semi-open air filter pod and a large diameter exhaust that is routed as straight as possible to a pair of oversized tips also underline the RS's intentions.

Power rises to 257kW from the 233kW in the Mustang, while torque rises slightly to 440Nm from 432. While Ford doesn't offer performance numbers, we recorded a 5.4sec 0-100km/h time during testing.

The only gearbox option comes with a third pedal; Johnson told CarsGuide.com.au that a double-clutch gearbox was considered, but didn't pass muster when it came to fulfilling the performance parameters he had set for the RS.

The job is left to a six-speed manual unit with a single-plate clutch.

The Focus's all-wheel-drive system is new, and it's based around a system poached from Ranger Rover's baby Evoque.

Known as the Twinster, the rear set-up is entirely new. Instead of a rear limited slip diff, a pair of clutch packs on the back axle control each rear wheel in a much more precise way.

It effectively gives the RS torque vectoring across the back end; or, in other words, traction and stability control on steroids. Ford says 70 per cent of the car's traction can be fired at the rear wheel in less than a tenth of a second; Johnson says theoretically 90 per cent can be directed rearwards.

The other trick is that the rear axle actually turns slightly faster than the front axle. Known as 'overspeeding', the rear is just two per cent quicker than the front, and it helps to reduce understeer.

Huge 350mm front rotors are clamped by four-pot Brembo calipers, with 302mm rotors out back.

Johnson also told us that the RS is designed to be able to be driven flat-out around a track for 30 minutes without any signs of deterioration in the brake or engine department.

The Focus RS has a 2.3-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol engine with an enormous output of 257kW in power and 440Nm of torque. It’s not as much as the 280kW/470Nm of the Mercedes-AMG 45 hatch or the Audi RS3 Sportback with 270kW/465Nm, but those cars are much more expensive, so from a bang-for-your-buck angle, it’s excellent value.

The engine is fundamentally the same four-cylinder that’s in the Mustang EcoBoost, but has been re-engineered for the RS with a low-inertia turbo featuring a bigger compressor, as well as a larger intercooler and radiator, while being tuned to produce a higher output. 

Having driven the Mustang EcoBoost I can say this four cylinder is far better suited to a hot hatch. The spooling boost that works like a slingshot is more in keeping with the character of the RS.

The Focus RS only comes with a six-speed manual which sends drive to all four wheels with 100 percent going to the front ones normally, but if needed 70 percent can be delivered to the rears.

The Focus RS doesn’t need a limited slip differential thanks its twin clutch all-wheel drive system which uses torque vectoring on the rear axle. This means drive to a slipping rear wheel could be cut completely, with 100 per cent sent to the opposite wheel. Yup, you could almost turn on the spot.

Over 150km of vigorous testing, we recorded an indicated 12.4L/100km, against Ford's claim of 7.7L/100km.

Ford says the Focus RS will run on 95 RON premium unleaded at an average combined rate of 8.1L/100km but I doubt they drove their car like I did. After putting almost 300km on the clock in a combination of country and city driving I recorded 11.9L/100km. 

The press clippings from the launch drive this year were, it's fair to say, glowing in their effusive praise – but Australian roads take fewer prisoners with overly sporty chassis tunes.

In this case, though, the praise was warranted. The Focus RS has taken the hot hatch playbook and thrown it clear over the fence.

Thanks to a four-mode drive switch, the car has two distinct personalities – and both of them have attitude to spare.

In Normal mode, the 1524kg RS rides firmly, but the Tenneco dampers are very sophisticated in their tune and don't punish the occupants over broken terrain or city edges.

Push the mode button into Sport, and everything livens up - except those dampers. It's similar to Ferrari's Bumpy Road Mode that we discovered recently in the California, and it works just as well here.

It has truly prodigious pace both up to and in the middle of a corner, and its turn-in and corner grip is hard to describe, such is its instant response. It actually requires some driver recalibration to keep up with the car.

The engine is as strong as an ox and eminently tractable, though we found the gearbox ratios to be a little bit off. Because the RS can take so much more speed into and out of a bend, second gear wasn't tall enough... but third gear was a good few hundred rpm too tall.

Drift Mode

In fact, breaking the RS's relentless speed and flow with a clutch pedal and wiggly stick felt at odds with how much the car has pushed engine output and chassis grip. A cutting edge, lightning quick double-clutch gearbox seems like it would be a natural fit for the RS.

There's a Track mode that stiffens the dampers up by 40 per cent – and when Ford says 'track', it means it. It's way, way too stiff for everyday use, unless you drive on polished concrete.

There's a price to pay for the tricky suspension set-up; the turning circle is a ponderous 11.8m around.

Oh, and Drift Mode? It's actually kind of silly if we're honest. It has exactly zero usefulness in the real world, and we don't expect the people who can afford a $51 grand hot hatch tearing up $800-a-corner tyres on a track day using it.

It was only 10 minutes into my journey home in the Focus RS when I noticed the Audi RS3 in the rear view mirror driven by somebody I can only describe as Korean Elvis. I was darting through peak hour traffic and so was he, keeping right behind me. He wanted to play. It’s the curse of driving a car which screams 'race me.' 

Drift mode. It’s a victory over the fun police.

Thing is, I knew how much pain Korean Elvis was in. The RS3’s suspension is so brutally firm and our big city road surfaces are so bad that every pot hole feels like a nuclear bomb going off underneath you. 

Not the case with the Focus RS. Sure it doesn’t have the cushiony ride of a Focus Trend, but you can still absolutely live with it. Those optional low-profile Michelins ‘feel’ the road in great detail, which also means they have a habit of following grooves in the road, but they are matched so well with the suspension that the result is a firm but absorbent ride that isn’t going to have you putting it up for sale on our website a week after buying it.

That suspension can also be softened thanks to adjustable dampers when you select the Normal driving mode. The other modes Sport, Track and Drift, which stiffen up the suspension for sharper handling, add weight to the steering, and as you step up to the final two, loosen the traction control leash to give you more freedom to slide – in the right setting of course.

Yup, you're read right. Drift mode. It’s a victory over the fun police, and the actual police. How it works is clever. When Drift mode is selected the car’s computer examines the driver’s steering inputs and will allow the car to slide, but will jump in if it predicts a loss of control. Electronic stability control remains on the entire time. Of course, unless you pay to shut down an entire street like Ken Block, drifting should be done on a skid pan or track. 

Another win is how light the clutch is, and how easy that manual gearbox is to use. That first night home in the traffic – Korean Elvis aside – was spent dancing constantly with that clutch and it’s as close to perfect as you’ll find with a low take-up point, and shifts that just find their way home happily.

You’ll see that people online are complaining about the Focus RS’s turning circle, and it’s true 11.8m isn’t good – and that’s two turns lock-to-lock. Streets in my test route that normally take a text-book three points to turn around in took up to five in the RS. It’d be a disaster if the clutch and shifting wasn’t so easy. Even the placement of the gear stick is ergonomically spot-on, so it lands right in your palm when you drop your arm down.

Those 19-inch wheels wouldn’t be helping the turning circle, but also remember that the RS3 doesn’t do much better at 10.9m and the BMW M2 with 19-inch rims has a turning circle of 11.7m.

The steering itself is on the heavier side but accurate, particularly in Sport mode.

And then there’s the acceleration – 0-100km/h in 4.7 seconds. A new Porsche 911 with a manual gearbox can do it in 4.6 seconds but it's $150,000 more. The 911 also doesn’t have all-wheel drive or four doors, while only children fit comfortably in the back seats, there’s also next to no boot space and it comes with the constant fear that you’ll return to it after a nice dinner and find some arse has run a key down the side.

The RS is just a lairy looking Focus – or so people will think. To most people that’s just what it looks like and you’ll appear to be an overgrown teenager who thinks they’re Ken Block and has hooned up their Ford Focus with spoilers and plasticy bits. 

But to those that know – like Korean Elvis – the Focus RS is not a lairy looking Focus. Under that skin is a very different animal with outstanding handling and agility – worthy of the RS badge.

I didn’t get to drive the RS on a racetrack this time around, but I did get to blast through a wet, twisting, semi-rural backroad in the dead of night and it performed beautifully. Balanced, surefooted with so much grunt under your foot the entire time. My 2002 Holden Monaro with its 5.7 litre V8 could only manage 225kW; this is a Ford Focus, with 270kW! And it’s all far more manageable thanks to the all-wheel drive.

That hot-four engine note is brilliant and the crackle and pop from the exhaust is addictive – and can be made louder and more aggro through the different drive modes.

No, the interior isn’t special – apart from those Recaro seats. And no, the Recaro seats don’t have a height adjustment which leaves you feeling way too high up, but the athletic ability of this car makes these small issues fade away. Besides, you could always get somebody at Ford to look at the seats and see what can be done to adjust them.  

So, what was painful about the experience? Smashing my knee on the dashboard’s air vents every time I climbed out. I have the same issue with a regular Focus – the dash board design sees the section which meets the door swoop down. It looks great but my knees hate it.

The Focus RS has the maximum five-star ANCAP rating. What is really lacking in the car is advanced safety technology such as Auto Emergency Braking and lane keeping assistance which comes in the Technology Pack, but is not available on the RS.

For child seats you’ll find three anchor points across the back for top tether style location and two ISOFIX mounts. 

Service intervals for the Focus RS are 12 months or 15,000km, with a three year/100,000km warranty.

Ford also offers upfront scheduled service price information when you get a quote online, a free loan car and 12 months auto club membership with each scheduled service, for up to seven years.

The Focus RS is covered by a three year/100,000km warranty with servicing recommended every 12 months or 15,000km. It’s capped at $375 per service for the first three visits, then $520 for the fourth which is major service. Then it's back to $375 each service for the next three, and again $520 for the eighth service. Here’s a bit of pub trivia for you: after 33 years or 495,000km the service will cost you $375 according to the service price calculator on Ford’s website – try to hold them to that!