Ford Focus RS 2.5 (M) Review
07 May 2010|21,644 views
I grew up with the Lamborghini Countach poster on my bedroom wall.
I remember how I was in awe of the car even from such a young age, unable to grasp the complexities of those cliff-faced angles and protruding body panels on such a sleek profile that not only made the car more desirable to me, but elevated it to a level only reserved for the most daring and brutal of all designs in the automotive arena.
Although much debatable, Ferrari never really held a candle to the Lamborghini's of yore until they debuted the Ferrari F40, the company's forced-induced, fire breathing monster of a car followed by the F50 supercar.
And it didn't matter whether these car were pictured parked on the side of an unassuming neighbourhood road or on the Teletubbies, the visual circus of dips and climbs in the loudest and most obnoxious of colours meant that everyone was forced to observe the visual orgasm.
Before this get's any more sexual (I have been known to 'indulge' too much when given the chance), Ford's Focus RS seems to have that same charisma.
At a time when most new cars on the market have been slated to be remakes of old ones or are new offerings, they seem to lack the visual business that inspired so many doe-eyed tods years back. Worse even when they look similar to those from other manufacturers. Yes, I'm looking at you and your Rolls rip-off Geely.
I remember how I was in awe of the car even from such a young age, unable to grasp the complexities of those cliff-faced angles and protruding body panels on such a sleek profile that not only made the car more desirable to me, but elevated it to a level only reserved for the most daring and brutal of all designs in the automotive arena.
Although much debatable, Ferrari never really held a candle to the Lamborghini's of yore until they debuted the Ferrari F40, the company's forced-induced, fire breathing monster of a car followed by the F50 supercar.
And it didn't matter whether these car were pictured parked on the side of an unassuming neighbourhood road or on the Teletubbies, the visual circus of dips and climbs in the loudest and most obnoxious of colours meant that everyone was forced to observe the visual orgasm.
Before this get's any more sexual (I have been known to 'indulge' too much when given the chance), Ford's Focus RS seems to have that same charisma.
At a time when most new cars on the market have been slated to be remakes of old ones or are new offerings, they seem to lack the visual business that inspired so many doe-eyed tods years back. Worse even when they look similar to those from other manufacturers. Yes, I'm looking at you and your Rolls rip-off Geely.
 |
The Ford Focus RS however, brings that good ol' old school flavour back on our roads.
Exterior
And it does that in a big way!
Starting from the deepened and gapping yaw of the front blacked air dam that does a poor job of hiding the large intake cooler behind a chicken wire mesh, the RS actually does away with the increasingly popular choice to not include the fog lamps to aid engine cooling and fits two very snugly fit foggies to the extremities of the bumper.
Building the momentum up with the dramatic mascara-ed eyes of the Focus, the bonnet feeds off the chiselled line that outlines the insides of the headlamps and continues north, muscling the sheet of metal before merging into the A-pillar.
 |
By then your eyes would have already caught the distinct blue Ford emblem on the black grill with the electric blue RS logo flanking to its left. Then your eyes trail the bonnet line only to be interrupted once again by the pair of ventilation pods that I first saw on the Escort Cosworth back many years ago.
Just like the Volkswagen Golf R, the high-performance Focus has been draped in glossy black bits that highlight certain panels of the car, with the British bad boy getting part of its bumper, bonnet and wing mirrors covered in that stuff.
With the track of the Focus being widened for the RS, the car gets by with housing those 235/35 19-inch alloys within an exaggerated wheel arch on all four sides. There's even a faux vent made from the same black material with an RS badge planted pretty behind the front arches that would add more cool to the cars already sub-zero temperature if only it wasn't made of cheap plastic.
At the back, the most obvious inclusions come in the form of a tail wing the size of Singapore, in the lightweight black plastic, and a considerably deep diffuser sitting under the car, housing both the upwards facing exhausts pipes mimicking the canines that usually find their way exposed outside the mouth of a bulldog.
I love how the car looks.
It's just vulgar to the eyes and you'll never find one person on the street not giving this stonking beauty a second look. Especially in Green.
Interior
Ok, so here's where it starts getting a little boring.
The interior of the RS suffers a bout of Golf R-itis and see's the layout from the ST replicated in perfect boredom. Even though it has the faux carbon inserts towards the central area of the console, the RS thankfully tears itself away from its softcore sibling with a fully lightened interior that sees major weight being shed from the replacement of the normal fabric sports seats to alcantara-clad Recaro bucket's up front and conventional alcantara ones in the rear.
Blue trimmings find their way around the steering wheel, side panels and on the seats to further remind you of the car's more manic nature.
You've even got an auxiliary and a USB slot if you ever get bored of that beautifully tuned, sweet nothings shouting 2.5-litre engine residing within the skin of the RS.
Just like the Volkswagen Golf R, the high-performance Focus has been draped in glossy black bits that highlight certain panels of the car, with the British bad boy getting part of its bumper, bonnet and wing mirrors covered in that stuff.
With the track of the Focus being widened for the RS, the car gets by with housing those 235/35 19-inch alloys within an exaggerated wheel arch on all four sides. There's even a faux vent made from the same black material with an RS badge planted pretty behind the front arches that would add more cool to the cars already sub-zero temperature if only it wasn't made of cheap plastic.
At the back, the most obvious inclusions come in the form of a tail wing the size of Singapore, in the lightweight black plastic, and a considerably deep diffuser sitting under the car, housing both the upwards facing exhausts pipes mimicking the canines that usually find their way exposed outside the mouth of a bulldog.
I love how the car looks.
It's just vulgar to the eyes and you'll never find one person on the street not giving this stonking beauty a second look. Especially in Green.
Interior
Ok, so here's where it starts getting a little boring.
The interior of the RS suffers a bout of Golf R-itis and see's the layout from the ST replicated in perfect boredom. Even though it has the faux carbon inserts towards the central area of the console, the RS thankfully tears itself away from its softcore sibling with a fully lightened interior that sees major weight being shed from the replacement of the normal fabric sports seats to alcantara-clad Recaro bucket's up front and conventional alcantara ones in the rear.
Blue trimmings find their way around the steering wheel, side panels and on the seats to further remind you of the car's more manic nature.
You've even got an auxiliary and a USB slot if you ever get bored of that beautifully tuned, sweet nothings shouting 2.5-litre engine residing within the skin of the RS.
Driving Impressions
All I did was step on the throttle and I knew I had fallen for something that evoked an emotion I haven't felt in such a long time.
When I had the Focus ST for a day a couple of weeks back, it's front-wheel driven setup with the slick manual six-speeder made for such an enjoyable and satisfying ride especially with a 2.5-litre engine forced induced for good measure, spewing out a coy 225hp and 320Nm of twist.
Now, utilizing the same engine but tweaking its pistons, intercoolers and the various other mechanical elements, Ford has managed to squeeze another 80bhp from the engine, giving the RS a grand total of 305hp and a massive 440Nm of torque!
But instead of easily slapping on a four-wheel drive system that gets the power down on the tarmac effectively, the Ford RS Team decided that although such a system would be best, the extra weight from it and the undesirable handling features and necessary electronics were not the way to go - so they stuck with their front-wheel system.
Mad some might say and it certainly is.
To contain all that madness through the front wheels, Ford had to look to Quaife for a differential that was able to regulate power to the front wheels while not tearing up the gearbox or shredding the tyres.
Not stopping there, they had to then design a brand new suspension setup in the front that will suit the car's aggressive and powerful nature. It's called RevoKnuckle and basically what it is is an add-on to the MacPherson strut front suspension, in turn minimize the torque steering issues that usually creep up in such high-powered cars.
Ford proudly proclaims that they've close to eliminated torque steer with the RevoKnuckle but even with the ESP on, I found the car pulling to the wrong side of the road each time I fed it more than enough power from a stop.
It's not exactly arm breaking work to keep the RS straight but it's still manageable enough for a driver to drive it hard on the track with enough confidence.
The burble from the engine that sounds remarkable even more like a V8 than it did in the ST quickening its pace and aural note past the 2,500km mark all the way into the 6,000 region, a playful 'pop' sound tops off your abrupt release of the accelerator pedal before slotting yourself into the next set of gears.
All I did was step on the throttle and I knew I had fallen for something that evoked an emotion I haven't felt in such a long time.
When I had the Focus ST for a day a couple of weeks back, it's front-wheel driven setup with the slick manual six-speeder made for such an enjoyable and satisfying ride especially with a 2.5-litre engine forced induced for good measure, spewing out a coy 225hp and 320Nm of twist.
Now, utilizing the same engine but tweaking its pistons, intercoolers and the various other mechanical elements, Ford has managed to squeeze another 80bhp from the engine, giving the RS a grand total of 305hp and a massive 440Nm of torque!
But instead of easily slapping on a four-wheel drive system that gets the power down on the tarmac effectively, the Ford RS Team decided that although such a system would be best, the extra weight from it and the undesirable handling features and necessary electronics were not the way to go - so they stuck with their front-wheel system.
Mad some might say and it certainly is.
To contain all that madness through the front wheels, Ford had to look to Quaife for a differential that was able to regulate power to the front wheels while not tearing up the gearbox or shredding the tyres.
Not stopping there, they had to then design a brand new suspension setup in the front that will suit the car's aggressive and powerful nature. It's called RevoKnuckle and basically what it is is an add-on to the MacPherson strut front suspension, in turn minimize the torque steering issues that usually creep up in such high-powered cars.
Ford proudly proclaims that they've close to eliminated torque steer with the RevoKnuckle but even with the ESP on, I found the car pulling to the wrong side of the road each time I fed it more than enough power from a stop.
It's not exactly arm breaking work to keep the RS straight but it's still manageable enough for a driver to drive it hard on the track with enough confidence.
The burble from the engine that sounds remarkable even more like a V8 than it did in the ST quickening its pace and aural note past the 2,500km mark all the way into the 6,000 region, a playful 'pop' sound tops off your abrupt release of the accelerator pedal before slotting yourself into the next set of gears.
 |
If you decide to launch the car from the lights with the ESP on, you should be prepared to feel firsthand the violent nature of something as mundane as an electronic blimp trying to control the raw power of the RS's engine. The result is the power coming in a staggered fashion as the whole car trembles and jerks around multiple times within first gear as the power gets regulated.
Don't bother trying it with the ESP off though. Unless you're looking to get back home on your bare rims, keep the ESP on people.
Unfortunately when I took the car out, the torrential rain had set in and pushing the RS through corners was a nervous affair I felt unsafe doing, respecting the car's given chassis and it's tendency to understeer into our road barriers.
Seating position was spot on and although heel-toeing was hard to accomplish with the pedals too close to each other, the drive I had in the car was a refreshing breath of fresh air that all of us need once in a while. And to accomplish all this without resorting to four-wheel drive, Ford's RS team deserves much praise.
The suspension has been optimized for performance though so you probably aren't looking at driving this baby everyday to and fro from work with you companion on your side unless you've lost all your teeth already.
Don't bother trying it with the ESP off though. Unless you're looking to get back home on your bare rims, keep the ESP on people.
Unfortunately when I took the car out, the torrential rain had set in and pushing the RS through corners was a nervous affair I felt unsafe doing, respecting the car's given chassis and it's tendency to understeer into our road barriers.
Seating position was spot on and although heel-toeing was hard to accomplish with the pedals too close to each other, the drive I had in the car was a refreshing breath of fresh air that all of us need once in a while. And to accomplish all this without resorting to four-wheel drive, Ford's RS team deserves much praise.
The suspension has been optimized for performance though so you probably aren't looking at driving this baby everyday to and fro from work with you companion on your side unless you've lost all your teeth already.
Should you buy it?
Yes!
If you're tired of the normal AWD Japanese rally-bred road cars like the Subaru WRX STi ($139,800) and the Mitsubishi Evo X ($149,988) and can spare another $20,000 to $30,000, I strongly suggest looking towards the RS.
Sure it might not have the prowess of all four wheels eating the tarmac but what it accomplishes through its revised differential and RevoKnuckle system is enough to balance out most of the impracticalities of a FWD torque monster, leaving you with a car that responds to every prod of your foot and every twist of your wrist.
It even looks more aggressive than both the Evo and Scooby combined and has its rallying heritage to boot.
This isn't the car if you love your automatics. It also isn't the car if you drive one just to get from A to B. Even if you aren't either of the above, the Ford Focus RS is probably not for you if you're the kind to shy away from the spotlight.
It's loud, it looks like its feeds on the metal of its fellow four-wheeled inhabitants and in only three distinct colours (Ultimate Green, Frozen White and Performance Blue), this car can only satisfy someone with that craving in his heart for an adventure, a sense of pride lost years ago.
Romantics aside though, at $165,999, it will most likely only find its way into the garage of rich middle-aged individuals looking to replace their Japanese sports car for something that would stand out parked in the communal office carpark.
All prices are correct as at 6 May 2010.
Yes!
If you're tired of the normal AWD Japanese rally-bred road cars like the Subaru WRX STi ($139,800) and the Mitsubishi Evo X ($149,988) and can spare another $20,000 to $30,000, I strongly suggest looking towards the RS.
Sure it might not have the prowess of all four wheels eating the tarmac but what it accomplishes through its revised differential and RevoKnuckle system is enough to balance out most of the impracticalities of a FWD torque monster, leaving you with a car that responds to every prod of your foot and every twist of your wrist.
It even looks more aggressive than both the Evo and Scooby combined and has its rallying heritage to boot.
This isn't the car if you love your automatics. It also isn't the car if you drive one just to get from A to B. Even if you aren't either of the above, the Ford Focus RS is probably not for you if you're the kind to shy away from the spotlight.
It's loud, it looks like its feeds on the metal of its fellow four-wheeled inhabitants and in only three distinct colours (Ultimate Green, Frozen White and Performance Blue), this car can only satisfy someone with that craving in his heart for an adventure, a sense of pride lost years ago.
Romantics aside though, at $165,999, it will most likely only find its way into the garage of rich middle-aged individuals looking to replace their Japanese sports car for something that would stand out parked in the communal office carpark.
All prices are correct as at 6 May 2010.
I grew up with the Lamborghini Countach poster on my bedroom wall.
I remember how I was in awe of the car even from such a young age, unable to grasp the complexities of those cliff-faced angles and protruding body panels on such a sleek profile that not only made the car more desirable to me, but elevated it to a level only reserved for the most daring and brutal of all designs in the automotive arena.
Although much debatable, Ferrari never really held a candle to the Lamborghini's of yore until they debuted the Ferrari F40, the company's forced-induced, fire breathing monster of a car followed by the F50 supercar.
And it didn't matter whether these car were pictured parked on the side of an unassuming neighbourhood road or on the Teletubbies, the visual circus of dips and climbs in the loudest and most obnoxious of colours meant that everyone was forced to observe the visual orgasm.
Before this get's any more sexual (I have been known to 'indulge' too much when given the chance), Ford's Focus RS seems to have that same charisma.
At a time when most new cars on the market have been slated to be remakes of old ones or are new offerings, they seem to lack the visual business that inspired so many doe-eyed tods years back. Worse even when they look similar to those from other manufacturers. Yes, I'm looking at you and your Rolls rip-off Geely.
I remember how I was in awe of the car even from such a young age, unable to grasp the complexities of those cliff-faced angles and protruding body panels on such a sleek profile that not only made the car more desirable to me, but elevated it to a level only reserved for the most daring and brutal of all designs in the automotive arena.
Although much debatable, Ferrari never really held a candle to the Lamborghini's of yore until they debuted the Ferrari F40, the company's forced-induced, fire breathing monster of a car followed by the F50 supercar.
And it didn't matter whether these car were pictured parked on the side of an unassuming neighbourhood road or on the Teletubbies, the visual circus of dips and climbs in the loudest and most obnoxious of colours meant that everyone was forced to observe the visual orgasm.
Before this get's any more sexual (I have been known to 'indulge' too much when given the chance), Ford's Focus RS seems to have that same charisma.
At a time when most new cars on the market have been slated to be remakes of old ones or are new offerings, they seem to lack the visual business that inspired so many doe-eyed tods years back. Worse even when they look similar to those from other manufacturers. Yes, I'm looking at you and your Rolls rip-off Geely.
|
The Ford Focus RS however, brings that good ol' old school flavour back on our roads.
Exterior
And it does that in a big way!
Starting from the deepened and gapping yaw of the front blacked air dam that does a poor job of hiding the large intake cooler behind a chicken wire mesh, the RS actually does away with the increasingly popular choice to not include the fog lamps to aid engine cooling and fits two very snugly fit foggies to the extremities of the bumper.
Building the momentum up with the dramatic mascara-ed eyes of the Focus, the bonnet feeds off the chiselled line that outlines the insides of the headlamps and continues north, muscling the sheet of metal before merging into the A-pillar.
|
By then your eyes would have already caught the distinct blue Ford emblem on the black grill with the electric blue RS logo flanking to its left. Then your eyes trail the bonnet line only to be interrupted once again by the pair of ventilation pods that I first saw on the Escort Cosworth back many years ago.
Just like the Volkswagen Golf R, the high-performance Focus has been draped in glossy black bits that highlight certain panels of the car, with the British bad boy getting part of its bumper, bonnet and wing mirrors covered in that stuff.
With the track of the Focus being widened for the RS, the car gets by with housing those 235/35 19-inch alloys within an exaggerated wheel arch on all four sides. There's even a faux vent made from the same black material with an RS badge planted pretty behind the front arches that would add more cool to the cars already sub-zero temperature if only it wasn't made of cheap plastic.
At the back, the most obvious inclusions come in the form of a tail wing the size of Singapore, in the lightweight black plastic, and a considerably deep diffuser sitting under the car, housing both the upwards facing exhausts pipes mimicking the canines that usually find their way exposed outside the mouth of a bulldog.
I love how the car looks.
It's just vulgar to the eyes and you'll never find one person on the street not giving this stonking beauty a second look. Especially in Green.
Interior
Ok, so here's where it starts getting a little boring.
The interior of the RS suffers a bout of Golf R-itis and see's the layout from the ST replicated in perfect boredom. Even though it has the faux carbon inserts towards the central area of the console, the RS thankfully tears itself away from its softcore sibling with a fully lightened interior that sees major weight being shed from the replacement of the normal fabric sports seats to alcantara-clad Recaro bucket's up front and conventional alcantara ones in the rear.
Blue trimmings find their way around the steering wheel, side panels and on the seats to further remind you of the car's more manic nature.
You've even got an auxiliary and a USB slot if you ever get bored of that beautifully tuned, sweet nothings shouting 2.5-litre engine residing within the skin of the RS.
Just like the Volkswagen Golf R, the high-performance Focus has been draped in glossy black bits that highlight certain panels of the car, with the British bad boy getting part of its bumper, bonnet and wing mirrors covered in that stuff.
With the track of the Focus being widened for the RS, the car gets by with housing those 235/35 19-inch alloys within an exaggerated wheel arch on all four sides. There's even a faux vent made from the same black material with an RS badge planted pretty behind the front arches that would add more cool to the cars already sub-zero temperature if only it wasn't made of cheap plastic.
At the back, the most obvious inclusions come in the form of a tail wing the size of Singapore, in the lightweight black plastic, and a considerably deep diffuser sitting under the car, housing both the upwards facing exhausts pipes mimicking the canines that usually find their way exposed outside the mouth of a bulldog.
I love how the car looks.
It's just vulgar to the eyes and you'll never find one person on the street not giving this stonking beauty a second look. Especially in Green.
Interior
Ok, so here's where it starts getting a little boring.
The interior of the RS suffers a bout of Golf R-itis and see's the layout from the ST replicated in perfect boredom. Even though it has the faux carbon inserts towards the central area of the console, the RS thankfully tears itself away from its softcore sibling with a fully lightened interior that sees major weight being shed from the replacement of the normal fabric sports seats to alcantara-clad Recaro bucket's up front and conventional alcantara ones in the rear.
Blue trimmings find their way around the steering wheel, side panels and on the seats to further remind you of the car's more manic nature.
You've even got an auxiliary and a USB slot if you ever get bored of that beautifully tuned, sweet nothings shouting 2.5-litre engine residing within the skin of the RS.
Driving Impressions
All I did was step on the throttle and I knew I had fallen for something that evoked an emotion I haven't felt in such a long time.
When I had the Focus ST for a day a couple of weeks back, it's front-wheel driven setup with the slick manual six-speeder made for such an enjoyable and satisfying ride especially with a 2.5-litre engine forced induced for good measure, spewing out a coy 225hp and 320Nm of twist.
Now, utilizing the same engine but tweaking its pistons, intercoolers and the various other mechanical elements, Ford has managed to squeeze another 80bhp from the engine, giving the RS a grand total of 305hp and a massive 440Nm of torque!
But instead of easily slapping on a four-wheel drive system that gets the power down on the tarmac effectively, the Ford RS Team decided that although such a system would be best, the extra weight from it and the undesirable handling features and necessary electronics were not the way to go - so they stuck with their front-wheel system.
Mad some might say and it certainly is.
To contain all that madness through the front wheels, Ford had to look to Quaife for a differential that was able to regulate power to the front wheels while not tearing up the gearbox or shredding the tyres.
Not stopping there, they had to then design a brand new suspension setup in the front that will suit the car's aggressive and powerful nature. It's called RevoKnuckle and basically what it is is an add-on to the MacPherson strut front suspension, in turn minimize the torque steering issues that usually creep up in such high-powered cars.
Ford proudly proclaims that they've close to eliminated torque steer with the RevoKnuckle but even with the ESP on, I found the car pulling to the wrong side of the road each time I fed it more than enough power from a stop.
It's not exactly arm breaking work to keep the RS straight but it's still manageable enough for a driver to drive it hard on the track with enough confidence.
The burble from the engine that sounds remarkable even more like a V8 than it did in the ST quickening its pace and aural note past the 2,500km mark all the way into the 6,000 region, a playful 'pop' sound tops off your abrupt release of the accelerator pedal before slotting yourself into the next set of gears.
All I did was step on the throttle and I knew I had fallen for something that evoked an emotion I haven't felt in such a long time.
When I had the Focus ST for a day a couple of weeks back, it's front-wheel driven setup with the slick manual six-speeder made for such an enjoyable and satisfying ride especially with a 2.5-litre engine forced induced for good measure, spewing out a coy 225hp and 320Nm of twist.
Now, utilizing the same engine but tweaking its pistons, intercoolers and the various other mechanical elements, Ford has managed to squeeze another 80bhp from the engine, giving the RS a grand total of 305hp and a massive 440Nm of torque!
But instead of easily slapping on a four-wheel drive system that gets the power down on the tarmac effectively, the Ford RS Team decided that although such a system would be best, the extra weight from it and the undesirable handling features and necessary electronics were not the way to go - so they stuck with their front-wheel system.
Mad some might say and it certainly is.
To contain all that madness through the front wheels, Ford had to look to Quaife for a differential that was able to regulate power to the front wheels while not tearing up the gearbox or shredding the tyres.
Not stopping there, they had to then design a brand new suspension setup in the front that will suit the car's aggressive and powerful nature. It's called RevoKnuckle and basically what it is is an add-on to the MacPherson strut front suspension, in turn minimize the torque steering issues that usually creep up in such high-powered cars.
Ford proudly proclaims that they've close to eliminated torque steer with the RevoKnuckle but even with the ESP on, I found the car pulling to the wrong side of the road each time I fed it more than enough power from a stop.
It's not exactly arm breaking work to keep the RS straight but it's still manageable enough for a driver to drive it hard on the track with enough confidence.
The burble from the engine that sounds remarkable even more like a V8 than it did in the ST quickening its pace and aural note past the 2,500km mark all the way into the 6,000 region, a playful 'pop' sound tops off your abrupt release of the accelerator pedal before slotting yourself into the next set of gears.
|
If you decide to launch the car from the lights with the ESP on, you should be prepared to feel firsthand the violent nature of something as mundane as an electronic blimp trying to control the raw power of the RS's engine. The result is the power coming in a staggered fashion as the whole car trembles and jerks around multiple times within first gear as the power gets regulated.
Don't bother trying it with the ESP off though. Unless you're looking to get back home on your bare rims, keep the ESP on people.
Unfortunately when I took the car out, the torrential rain had set in and pushing the RS through corners was a nervous affair I felt unsafe doing, respecting the car's given chassis and it's tendency to understeer into our road barriers.
Seating position was spot on and although heel-toeing was hard to accomplish with the pedals too close to each other, the drive I had in the car was a refreshing breath of fresh air that all of us need once in a while. And to accomplish all this without resorting to four-wheel drive, Ford's RS team deserves much praise.
The suspension has been optimized for performance though so you probably aren't looking at driving this baby everyday to and fro from work with you companion on your side unless you've lost all your teeth already.
Don't bother trying it with the ESP off though. Unless you're looking to get back home on your bare rims, keep the ESP on people.
Unfortunately when I took the car out, the torrential rain had set in and pushing the RS through corners was a nervous affair I felt unsafe doing, respecting the car's given chassis and it's tendency to understeer into our road barriers.
Seating position was spot on and although heel-toeing was hard to accomplish with the pedals too close to each other, the drive I had in the car was a refreshing breath of fresh air that all of us need once in a while. And to accomplish all this without resorting to four-wheel drive, Ford's RS team deserves much praise.
The suspension has been optimized for performance though so you probably aren't looking at driving this baby everyday to and fro from work with you companion on your side unless you've lost all your teeth already.
Should you buy it?
Yes!
If you're tired of the normal AWD Japanese rally-bred road cars like the Subaru WRX STi ($139,800) and the Mitsubishi Evo X ($149,988) and can spare another $20,000 to $30,000, I strongly suggest looking towards the RS.
Sure it might not have the prowess of all four wheels eating the tarmac but what it accomplishes through its revised differential and RevoKnuckle system is enough to balance out most of the impracticalities of a FWD torque monster, leaving you with a car that responds to every prod of your foot and every twist of your wrist.
It even looks more aggressive than both the Evo and Scooby combined and has its rallying heritage to boot.
This isn't the car if you love your automatics. It also isn't the car if you drive one just to get from A to B. Even if you aren't either of the above, the Ford Focus RS is probably not for you if you're the kind to shy away from the spotlight.
It's loud, it looks like its feeds on the metal of its fellow four-wheeled inhabitants and in only three distinct colours (Ultimate Green, Frozen White and Performance Blue), this car can only satisfy someone with that craving in his heart for an adventure, a sense of pride lost years ago.
Romantics aside though, at $165,999, it will most likely only find its way into the garage of rich middle-aged individuals looking to replace their Japanese sports car for something that would stand out parked in the communal office carpark.
All prices are correct as at 6 May 2010.
Yes!
If you're tired of the normal AWD Japanese rally-bred road cars like the Subaru WRX STi ($139,800) and the Mitsubishi Evo X ($149,988) and can spare another $20,000 to $30,000, I strongly suggest looking towards the RS.
Sure it might not have the prowess of all four wheels eating the tarmac but what it accomplishes through its revised differential and RevoKnuckle system is enough to balance out most of the impracticalities of a FWD torque monster, leaving you with a car that responds to every prod of your foot and every twist of your wrist.
It even looks more aggressive than both the Evo and Scooby combined and has its rallying heritage to boot.
This isn't the car if you love your automatics. It also isn't the car if you drive one just to get from A to B. Even if you aren't either of the above, the Ford Focus RS is probably not for you if you're the kind to shy away from the spotlight.
It's loud, it looks like its feeds on the metal of its fellow four-wheeled inhabitants and in only three distinct colours (Ultimate Green, Frozen White and Performance Blue), this car can only satisfy someone with that craving in his heart for an adventure, a sense of pride lost years ago.
Romantics aside though, at $165,999, it will most likely only find its way into the garage of rich middle-aged individuals looking to replace their Japanese sports car for something that would stand out parked in the communal office carpark.
All prices are correct as at 6 May 2010.
Car Information
Ford Focus RS 2.5 3dr (M)
CAT B|Petrol|10.6km/L
Horsepower
224kW (300 bhp)
Torque
440 Nm
Acceleration
5.9sec (0-100km /hr)
This model is no longer being sold by local distributor
All Used Ford Focus RS
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