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Ford Focus RS

tmeekins

tmeekins

Experienced Member
Joined
9 March 2000
Messages
290
Location
Novato, CA, USA
After selling my NSX last year, I've been getting the itch for a new car. I really want the 17 NSX, but I just can't justify spending that much money. I'd rather buy inveestment property.

I told my wife I missed having a fun car and she got exicted and said I should start looking for something. I quickly discovered the new 2016 Ford Focus RS, which just arrived on U.S. shores last week. Unfortunately the year's allocation was sold out, so I quickly looked for one that went unclaimed and I actually found one and was able to purchase it. I had to act quick as they're getting snapped up.

Anyways, I got the car Sunday (4 days after I mentioned a new car would be fun!) and it is an absolute blast! The numbers on paper are a match for the gen 1 NSX (or better) and it's a $36k hatchback (plus markup.) Crazy. The handling is nuts; it is so fun to accelerate through turns and it has a torque vectoring system on the rear wheels.

If you're looking for a cheap alternative to the NSX, give it a look. It's amazing what modern technology can do to cars these days.
 
how is the interior space and quality of materials?
 
Not bad. The Recaro seats are quite nice, though obviously designed for someone younger and with a little less weight than I have these days :) The seat is quite high though, which is strange, but doesn't seem to affect the handling. A few people are complaining about the pedal positions, but they suit me fine.

The Interior is quite simple and the new Ford Sync 3 is nice, but it needs to be updated before Apple's CarPlay and Android Auto is working. The middle center of the dash has an oil temp gauge, turbo pressure gauge, and an oil pressure gauge.

It has multiple drive modes: Normal, Sport, Track, & Drift. (I haven't tried Drift mode yet.) The modes will set the appropriate engine settings, suspension, traction control, etc. You can overide the traction control and suspension independently, which is nice. If you like to play around in track mode but have a softer suspension, you can. The "soft" setting is quite a bit stiffer than the stock NSX.

Car comes with 19" alloy rims and big Brembo brakes and Michelin Pilot Super Sport rubber. The tires feel fantastic on this car.

I don't have experience with other versions of the Focus, but I heard the trunk space had diminished for the AWD system. Looks big enough for a few bags of groceries though.

Back seats have no leg room... but my wife did sit back there for a ride and didn't complain.
 
did you cross shop the subie wrx ?
 
Isn't the RS a front wheel drive car? How the heck can you drift a front wheel drive car?
 
jwmelvin said:
no, it's not.
Click to expand...
Okay, then forgive my ignorance. At least Ford realized a car with 300 or near ponies should absolutely not be front wheel drive... It sounds like a fun car, I can understand someone who daily drives an nsx to sell it for a,"Focus" but that thing will be worth 10 grand in a used car lot in a mere few years. I will keep my nsx...
 
Jinks said:
that thing will be worth 10 grand in a used car lot in a mere few years.
Click to expand...

I'm sure they'll hold their value a hell of a lot better than that since (according to the OP) every RS is already spoken for.
Sure it's no NSX, but it's far from "just a focus". That's comparable to saying a ITR is "just an Integra"...

Financials aside. The Focus doesn't do anything for me, but I can see the appeal! It's a refreshing alternative to the STi's, EVO's and Golf R's.

Lucas
 
I will just simply state, "that I agree to disagree". It is a Ford Focus. Same rental car interior with modified aftermarket parts sold from the manufacturer. I get the appeal, but then again I do not... I'd much rather have something else. Just my opinion is all... Enjoy it. But I would never trade or sell my nsx for a Ford midlife crisis mobile...
 
great car - I am sure you will enjoy it a lot

One of the instructors at a track had the focus ST and spoke very highly of it, and he drove/owned different cars. It definitely did not feel like a FWD car. I can only imagine what the RS would be like!!!!!!

On a side note, I would be a lot more comfortable pushing the RS on the track vs my NSX - but that's just me

great buy
 
I didn't sell the NSX to get an RS. I sold the NSX about a year ago for various reasons and recently I've been wanting something fun again without spending a crazy amount of money. The car is an absolute steal for the price and it's faster than an ITR.

The RS is a completely different beast than other Focus's, including the ST. It's basically European car brought to the States and it's even manufactured in Germany. It has a type of AWD and a pair of clutches in the rear that control how much power goes to each wheel. Combined with front inside braking, you get torque vectoring (though in a different way than the 17 NSX), which is amazing. There car is super fun and I accelerate through every turn I see on my way to work.


 
I was HIGHLY interested in the RS until I found out that they hit the parts bin for the rear diff/subframe? from a land rover I think and if you plan on tuning the car or upping the boost it can't handle it. There are some reviews out there where they were at the track for each magazine or whatever and they were dropping like flies.
IF they can fix that then I am sold. Cross shopping a BRZ
 
i owned a BRZ for 2yrs. Needless to say I don't have it anymore. I'm considering the Focus RS. I just know too many of my "car guy" friends (well respected guys) who have theirs already. These are the guys I listen to. One of them being Billy Johnson but some might say that's biased because he drives for the factory team.

Can we get feedback on the stock seats? I heard they were pretty good but obviously less sporty oriented but possibly more comfortable as a daily driver. For example, I don't like the optional bucket seats in the GT4. I'd much rather put a set of basic Recaro Pole Positions in there and spend a lot less money... as an example.

- - - Updated - - -

I was considering the Mustang 350R but that seems totally impossible to get. Might be easier to find a missing kidney lying on the street it seems.

I'm also worried about the markups on the RS but it seems there will be a decent amount of volume so keep prices reasonable.

Sorry if I missed this but did you pay MSRP?
 
Because I'm in California, I had to pay a markup. But a lot of dealers outside of CA aren't charging markup. I considered going out of state, but I when taking into account transport costs, etc, I decided to pay the markup. That I said, $5k markup was the MAX I was willing to go.

The Recaro seats that come with it are quite comfortable. In Europe they have several Recaro seat options and they look better than the we one we got in the states.
 
I try to be objective with cars, especially those I was involved in developing (GT350, 350R, RS, GT) but I have to say Ford ia knocking it out of the park with their new models over the past 3 years. The RS is AWESOME and I can't wait for mine to arrive.

It blows the STI/EVO out of the water and the diff is not a "parts bin" Rover unit, but I might not consider it if you're interested in making big power for drag racing.

0.02
 
stuntman said:
I try to be objective with cars, especially those I was involved in developing (GT350, 350R, RS, GT) but I have to say Ford ia knocking it out of the park with their new models over the past 3 years. The RS is AWESOME and I can't wait for mine to arrive.

It blows the STI/EVO out of the water and the diff is not a "parts bin" Rover unit, but I might not consider it if you're interested in making big power for drag racing.

0.02
Click to expand...
I've learned this over the years with you Billy. We all value your opinion very much.

Like I said before.. maybe when we're old and in walkers you can finally help me tune my NSX lmao! Congrats on Le Mans!

- - - Updated - - -

I'm really close to picking up a RS but there is a bit of a Boy Racer look to it and with my job I gotta consider that kind of nonesense unfortunately.
 
stuntman said:
I try to be objective with cars, especially those I was involved in developing (GT350, 350R, RS, GT) but I have to say Ford ia knocking it out of the park with their new models over the past 3 years. The RS is AWESOME and I can't wait for mine to arrive.

It blows the STI/EVO out of the water and the diff is not a "parts bin" Rover unit, but I might not consider it if you're interested in making big power for drag racing.

0.02
Click to expand...



Billy,

I think design wise and performance wise they are knocking it out of the park as well. However when three of the cars take a crap because the diff is over heating from the very track use they should be built for...makes one ask questions.

I hope I am wrong and they ask for your input and criticism=more awesome cars.

-Ben
 
Which 3 cars are you referring to?

Yes for prolonged track use an aftermarket diff cooler will be a good idea to prevent overheating to maintain awd function.
 
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I really wish ford just made a whole new model rather than the focus RS. The car in the video above looks like a blue onion.... You really should not be over the age of 30 and driving one of these things.:smile:
I wouldn't care much if it had even 500 hp. In my own eyes is ugly as sin...To each his own though. It looks fun to drive.
I really wish Honda would step the hell up and start making something like this. But then reliability is a huge factor... For a 350 hp car with modern clutches, diffs, fueling, and awd "should" in my mind do a much faster 0-60 time than 4.7 seconds. Especially considering a stock Nsx can reach that from a dig a few tenths of a second slower and it is 25 years old tech...
 
The NSX is also >400lbs lighter. You can say the same thing for the 240hp S2000 which is a 5-sec/sub-5 car as well.

The similarly weighted, 333hp E46 M3 is slower than the Focus RS. I think that's pretty impressive for a modern standard transmission car.

A $90K nsx in 2005 is equivalent to $110K, for ~1/3 the price, I think the RS is a hell of a bang/buck.
 
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