Ford Focus RS Road Test-does it live up to the hype?

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So I purchased this week's Autocar to read the road test of the much hyped Focus RS and was somewhat disappointed with their performance figures.

Ok so it was raining and the car was on Cup ties, but shouldn't a 345 horsepower AWD hatch do better than 0-60 in 5.3 and 100 in 13.9? Compared with the Golf R, down on power and also tested in the wet, it was over 3 seconds slower by 120 MPH, which I did not expect. It was also far far thirstier than the Golf when driven hard and weighed in at 1580KG, 170 more, as tested, than the 3 door Golf.

I haven't driven one and performance figures are only one aspect of a car's repertoire, but I am wondering if the Focus RS is victim to the usual hype that surrounds any new RS Ford. The journos have been recently very critical of the Mk2 RS, which they all raved about when new. Will they start revising their opinions about this new model a few years down the road?

I guess I'm wondering if it really is better than the Golf R, which of course everyone is now trying to knock off its pedestal.

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Jimmyarm said:

ubbs said:

Wouldn't the performance be limited on the focus as its so new, I know my a45 didn't start giving its best till it had done around 5k miles.

I've often wondered weither the cars given out to test have been 'run in' to some degree. As you say, whilst modern engines don't need the old running in procedure things definately loosen up after a couple of thousand miles.

Its a fair point and Autocar no longer give the mileage of the car at the date of the test like they used to. In fairness the Golf R and Focus were both pretty new, as in from the media test pool and I was disappointed with the Focus figures. The "as tested" kerb weight however, was about 100KG more than a 5 door Golf R tested by Top Gear magazine, which goes a long weigh to negating the extra BHP the Focus comes with. To me, it seems the usual case of VAG cars punching well above their weight. All the tests I have seen give a 0-100 figure for the R of between 11.1 and 12.0 secs, which is seriously shifting for 296 BHP.

So perhaps the Focus is the more fun car then, but dynamically, as in 0-60, MPH, lap times etc, not better than the Golf....

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s m said:

JockySteer said:

That's not the first time I've seen the Focus RS being quoted with a 'not that impressive' 0-100 time.

Car and Driver quote 12.2 seconds on their test. Guessing it was dry.

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2016-ford-focu...
http://media.caranddriver.com/files/2016-ford-focu...

EVO got pretty much the same times to 60 and 100 as Car & Driver did in their test

Their car was on the Supersports rather than the Cup 2 and tested in the dry.
Similar time to the Mustang V8 on the track bit, both a bit quicker than the M235i and all three behind the M2


On a tangent, great pic of the Mk1 Astra GTE as well

Re your post, amongst all the mud-slinging.....Is that the current issue of EVO In the shops which has the Boxster S road test, or the subscriber edition one of the next months which I am guessing is just out?

So, 0-100 in 12.2 in the dry? That's better, but still slower than the 11.1 secs quoted in last summer's Top gear for a 5 door Golf R.

It seems the Focus R just isn't as quick as a Golf R and that surprises me. I would have expected Ford to have pulled out the stops to beat the VW in straight line pace as well as 4wd lairyness...

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Gibbo205 said:

Is the 11.1s 0-100mph for the Golf the DSG version?

I am sure it must be and that a manual Golf R would be around 12s 0-100 like the Focus RS.

DSG/Auto are always quicker as they shift perfectly and faster each gear change.

Yes indeed it is the DSG. As was the 3 door which did 11.5 in 2014 and the Autocar Road test car from the same year.

The impact of these DSG gearboxes is clear when you analyse the acceleration in the Golf over 100 MPH. It hit 100 in the wet in 12.0 secs but then took 19.8 secs to go from 100 to 140 MPH. Obviously academic in the UK, but fascinating to compare with, say a boggo 271 BHP Cayman 2.7, which took 13.6 secs to hit 100, but then hit 140 1.8 secs sooner than the Golf R. The Autocar Focus RS couldn't even reach 140 within the MIRA straight.
I think the poor Drag coefficient of 0.35, vs the Golf 0.28 is what costs it as the speed ramps up....

I also agree that 12 secs 0-100 is very fast compared with a few years ago. Staggeringly fast for a hatchback. I am just surprised that having given it 345 BHP, Ford didn't ensure that it was AMG45 fast and not Golf R fast....

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Picked up this months EVO yesterday. Much better performance figures, 0.60 4.7, 0-100, 12.4, 0-130, 23.6..but hugely off the pace of the BMW M2 (nearly 6 secs slower to 130 MPH, which is only packing 15 BHP more and weighed just 1KG less as tested. Either Mustang ponies are old nags compared with German horses, or the Focus has the aerodynamic properties of a brick, its probably a bit of both! The Focus does seem to be an absolute hoot and lapped 1.4 seconds faster than a M235i.

..so I think overall, the Focus is very quick for a £30K hot hatch, but just not very quick for a 345 BHP car, by modern standards.