Motor Australia — January 2018

E’VE ALL met or know

someone who is a ‘small

doses’ individual. Often

they’re a total laugh-out-

loud riot to hang out with, a larrikin, a

trouble-maker, someone who knows

howtohavefun.Butyoucanonly

take so much of them before you

start feeling frazzled and need some

time away. Like, five weeks. Lest you

become a danger to their safety.

Inourexperiencesofar,the

Ford Focus RS could be described

as a ‘small doses’ car. That’s not to

say it’s unbearable – it’s perfectly

comfortableinitsownright,withnice

interior materials, air conditioning, a

decent stereo and all the mod-cons

you could want. But relative to its

hot-hatch rivals, it’s a bit more, err,

focused.Thoseeye-candyRecaros

(standard in Australia; optional

overseas), while superbly supportive,

feel thinly padded compared to a VW

Golf R’s front seats. And the ride, while

fine 80 per cent of the time, makes

aHondaCivicTypeRfeellikean

Audi A8. Of the circa-$50K hot-hatch

crowd, it’s the Focus RS that comes

closestto‘weekendtoy’status.

Fortunately, ‘toy’ is nothing but

ahugecompliment,becausethis

carisFUN.Foryour$50,990youget

oneofthemostbeguilinghandling

carsthissideof$100K.Asoneofthe

most talented cornering gadgets Ford

hasevermade,youtrulyhavetogo

shopping in Stuttgart to find another

carthatoffersasmanyracetrack

entertainment options as the Focus

RS.Inaway,it’salmostthreecarsin

one, dishing up stability and lateral

grip like a Golf R if you so wish;

liveliness and playfulness in the rear,

like the recently farewelled Renault

Sport Megane; or actual power

oversteer out of second-gear corners,

like a BMW M140i, if you wish to

release your inner Ken Block.

Asyouprobablywellknow,having

read about the Focus RS inMOTOR

many times now, Ford’s hot hatch

owesitscorneringmagictoatrick

all-wheel drive system that can

send up to 70 per cent of the 2.3-litre

twin-scroll turbo inline-four’s grunt

to the rear axle, and then, thanks

to electrically controlled clutches,

up to 100 per cent of that to either

rear wheel as the computer sees fit.

The ones and zeroes in this thing’s

computer could presumably encircle

the earth many times over – but

with the handling only ever feeling

spookily good (unless you are power

oversteering, which can feel a bit

Like

MONTH

Dislike

Michelin Cup2 tyres

standard?Ohyes...

...they cost

how much?

THIS ISCLEVER

one

Want to firm or sof ten

your RS’s dampers

depending on the corner

ofthetrack?Usneither,

but you could, and

easily,ifyouwantedto

CLAIMED

COMBINED

CONSUMPTION

7.7L/100KM

CLAIMED

0 - 100KM/H

4.7SEC

DURATION

4MONTHS

W

Cup-tyre-shod, WRC-inspired hot hatch arrives atMOTOR

Honed Focus

HELLO!

artificial), it’s testament to the Focus

RS’s all-wheel drive calibration.

Of course, it was this same

crushingly effective system that

helped the Focus RS become our 2017

Bang For Your Bucks champion (with

a 1:38.4sec Winton lap). That, and

its acceleration (0-100km/h 5.06sec;

0-400m 13.31sec) thanks to launch

control, 257kW and 440Nm. And, of

course,it’scracking$50,990price.

Having only experienced the

Focus RS in reasonably small doses,

we wondered if the ‘best enjoyed on

weekends’ tag was undeserved. We

seeplentyontheroadsduringthe

week, after all. And so we asked Ford,

nicely,ifwecouldhaveonefora few

months, and Ford said yes. Ford also

said, you can only have the $56,990

Limited Edition model. We weren’t

goingtosayno,butit’sevenmore of

a Saturday-Sunday proposition than

the ‘base’ RS, with standard forged 19s

and235/35MichelinPilotSportCup2

tyres (a $3500 option on the normal

RS) – and the same rubber you’ll find

on a Porsche 911 GT3. A declaration

that this car is very much made for

the track. That, and it also has a

Quaife helical front limited slip diff.

As it has the same adaptive

dampers, seats and big Brembo brakes

(four-piston 350mm front, single-

piston 302mm rear) as the $50,990

version, we should get a good sense

whattheFocusRS–baseornot – is to

live with. Naturally, we’ll also head to

the track to assess the difference the

diff and the tyres make. And how will

those same Cup2 tyres wear when put

to daily use? Will the blue interior bits

date too quickly? Will the head gasket

blow? (A controversial Focus RS topic

that we will investigate.) A four-month

‘dose’ should be big enough. And if

we’re really honest, we can’t wait. – DC

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