Introduction
My friend decided to hand me the keys one day to his Ford Focus RS. Reason: He's mulling other cars and wanted to give me some time behind the wheel to compare for discussions about other cars
he is testing out. I had been a passenger many times before but had never slipped behind the wheel which always gives a different impression.
After thinking it over, we agreed and I took the car home from work on my evening commute and then drove it back the next morning via some nice backroads that connect where I live to the office. Both gave me ample opportunity to test out the car in real world situations. Meanwhile he snagged my Golf SE keys for his ride.
Looks / Cosmetics
Looks are always subjective but the Focus RS looks pretty slick. The front end is amazing and very Aston Martin-ish which makes sense since I believe it had the same designer. Comparing it to my Golf even when opening the garage the next morning was like "wow". Just looks so much more sporty than the traditional soft styling of the VW Golf I usually have parked there and seemed to fit with the GT4.
The interior is good quality you would expect from a car in this range. Nice color digital display with traditional gauge clusters, a wrapped wheel with blue stitching and climate controls. I am still not used to having some information like oil pressure over to the center of the car but it works. The wheel I also found a bit slick and smooth in my hands. A surprise since it looks to be leather wrapped but didn't quite feel that way to me.
At first I was amazed there was no digital speedometer but then found it when scrolling through the center screen using buttons on the wheel. Much better. In addition I couldn't seem to find a physical volume knob for the radio until I realized the center button under it did the job when I accidentally brushed it. I had thought it was more of a joystick. Interestingly for some reason the Apple Car play navigation seemed smoother and seemed to run a little bit nicer with the Ford display. Not sure what that is but it felt like there were more animation bits or resolution.
The biggest item for the interior for me were the seats. Big bucket seats that envelope you. Speaking of seats lets talk about ergo issues.
Ergonomics
Probably the biggest drawback to this car for me is seating position and wheel setup. Being on the shorter side I found my legs awkwardly angled up in the seat to reach the pedal. It's as if the front of the bucket seat lifts towards the sky. Then the steering wheel doesn't drop quite as much as I would like either. Follow it up with a clutch that feels to move more downwards than forward and it is all just a bit odd. The seat especially felt weird and I kept finding my pants bunching up as I worked the clutch.
The apple car play as mentioned was nice but I also found the screen fairly far away and deeply inset to the front of the car vs being available right on the surface. Working the touch screen means you are reaching forward and outwards to use anything like WAZE. The Volkswagen by comparison provides everything in easy reach.
On the plus side the clutch and shifter feel really nice. My friends car has a short shift kit and bushings. It had a very tight and precise feel and made driving the 6MT very enjoyable. Location of the shifter next to the wheel also felt close and natural.
Visibility is decent considering how much longer the car felt compared to my golf. By the time I was a few minutes out from my way home I felt confident changing lanes and moving around traffic. Side view mirrors that felt a decent bit larger than the Golf helped.
Just getting the car out on the way home I was already grinning. Where my lowly standard Golf SE is pretty quite and underwhelming the Focus RS had a nice growl and pop to it. I only drove it in "Sport" mode because why not. Torque is decent but drops off at higher end where I am typically used to staying. Having been in his old Focus ST prior we had both commented long ago that the ST actually felt faster or at least more torquey than the RS. This was true more so in the driver seat for me now.
Interestingly the car also didn't feel as quick as I expected at least in the moment. I sort of felt like the VW was smoother or faster or such. That said eventually switching back mixed with some back road driving and watching the speedometer sort of changed my mind. It moves quite quickly but just doesn't feel as intense. As another point of comparison being in a new Honda Civic Type R he recently rented as a passenger is a whole different experience. Just feels amazingly aggressive and fun by comparison. Where the Golf is refined and smooth and maybe slower, the Honda CTR feels faster than it is... the Focus is somewhere in the middle. One other note compared to my standard VW the Focus takes 91 Octane or better. Another point to consider.
The pops from the car feel a little bit "tin can" to me, there is a lack of deeper bass sound to them but I am probably also spoiled by my Porsche sport exhaust. Compared to the silence of the VW I was still enjoying it though. So the overall sound and driving feel was great. The car handled amazingly well even on back roads. Never once complaining or hearing tire squeal even when pushing it hard.
Suspension wise the car is quite bumpy. Even in soft suspension mode the feel is probably too rigid for most people wanting a daily driver. While I think my Cayman is probably worse I would have expected more dampening from soft mode here. In the meantime putting the suspension into stiff mode is beyond stiff and anything you would want to use for public roads. Just seemed unusable. That said the car turned in very well and when asked to turn hard almost seems to pause for a moment and then turn in and hunker down in a way I wouldn't have expected from a FWD car.
Driving back roads especially with the manual shifter was really a blast. If I am honest it was actually quite reminiscent of the Cayman, I actually took the GT4 two days later just to compare over the same roads. While the Porsche is clearly faster, and it's audio sound track adds to the thrill the handling and feeling of both cars is actually quite superb. With the Focus RS having back seats, ample trunk space and allowing for a bit more under the radar driving it's a great combination of usable car with country road prowess.
Summary
I myself will be looking for a "more fun" true car guy car in about a year. Driving the Focus RS was a bit of a revelation. It made me realize how much I have been missing in interaction and feel for a daily driver. One can have fun with a usable car, some decent exhaust sounds and an engaging transmission. While there are times it's nice to tune out when tired and just putter home in an automatic, the shifter and car I am sure would become second nature.
At the same time it also made me appreciate the GT4 for the even extra bit of oomf and feel it has. While I really am not comparing a Ford that costs half as much to a Porsche the reality is the GT4 is just a fantastic car. I've always been worried a "more fun" daily would encroach on the feel of the weekend car. In reality it seems like both are great in different ways and would still stand out from each other. In addition it also makes me realize how vanilla the Golf SE I have is. Just super boring.
The biggest complaint which would honestly stop me from even considering an RS is the ergonomics. For me seating position and feel is just too tight and too awkward to live with. Mix that with a suspension that is harsher than it needs to be for daily use and I would have to pass. That said the car is still a blast to drive, has a fun "character" to it and would be great for back road usage. Plus it looks great. And honestly the morning I took it to work I was truly looking forward to the commute. Something I can't really say happens on a daily basis...
Thank for reading!
