Ciao everyone here it's Marchettino and today I'm in the right place with the right car!
Today's test is getting interesting, not just because the road I'm driving through is magnificent,
but also because I'm driving the new generation of the Ford Focus RS and I have to say,
finally Ford has built a Focus RS that feels at ease in the snow, for the simple reason that the previous generations of the Focus RS has the wrong traction.
I never understood Ford's idea to create a hot hatch with lots of power unleashed on the front axle,
so finally on this generation we find the right traction, the AWD.
And compared to the previous generations maybe we find also a look more sporty and less ricey and vulgar,
honestly I've never appreciated the old Focus RS that much.
But this, I've been very curious to test it and finally Ford Italy gave me the keys of this RS.
Sadly it's not baby blue, but I have to say black with black wheels and baby blue accents well,
it's very beautiful in this configuration which makes this RS truly menacing!
Obviously you can tell immediately this ain't a standard Focus but a tuned Focus instead.
It has bigger and sportier wheels, a new front bumper, new rear diffusor, just look at the wing! That's possibly one of the first details that get noticed.
And the cool thing about the Focus RS is that there's the manly edition, if you wanted one with a flappy paddles.. NO!
You have to settle for a 6-speed manual gearbox, well done Ford!
In the front we find a 2.3L turbo 4cyl engine called Ecoboost;
honestly, Ford you could have saved to include the word " Eco " on a car like this! Anyway, this Ecoboost engine
is the same engine we find on the 4cyl Mustang but here we have a bigger turbo so we have also more power, more precisely 350hp and 440nm of torque!
Well, at this point I would say let's find out how's it like to drive by switching the settings from normal to sport!
First thing we can notice is a steering more precise, more stiff, so does the throttle which is definitely more ready and responsive to unleash all the power!
And I have to say the engine is not bad at all, it provides lots of boost and power.
A bit of turbo lag is predictable with such a big turbo, but once the turbo kicks in the car simply goes without problems
and also thanks to the AWD the traction is truly optimal around these roads.
Probably if I came here with an old generation of the Focus RS, I would have understeered in the ditch!
Instead driving this car with a AWD around these roads, I feel at ease to push the gears and listen the engine shout
because even though this is just a 4cyl
the sound is not bad at all!
Between every gear change and when I lift the foot off the throttle you can hear these lovely pops!
I like the driving position, I like these Recato seats very much,
I find them very sporty and they can hold the driver very nicely, you don't move whilst driving in the quick corners.
Not bad the brakes too, we have some very sober Brembo brake calipers that help the Focus RS stop in a very short space,
I like also the feel when you press brake pedal because you feel immediately a powerful and immediate breaking power.
I have to say the Focus RS is not small to look at, it's big but in these tight corners it's agile
and also thanks to all its electronics and AWD it's really glued to the road!
If you want to have more from this car you just need to change the settings to Racetrack,
which makes you think this is the sportiest setting recommended for a track use.
And by switchting to Track mode you can immediately feel the change of this car that becomes even more sporty!
The throttle is even more responsive, so does the steering that I feel harder and more comunicative,
Maybe the biggest change when can feel is through the suspensions because they're a lot stiffer, the car feels more glued to the road and you have a better connection between the road and the tires.
In Track mode the electronics is off but I have to say it's impossbile to make it slide,
At the contrary, let's say it tends to understeer.
I find hard not to impersonate into a rally driver by driving a car like this in a road like this!
I have to say, if you overdo in the corners you can feel the understeer, you need to be careful not to fall off!
Ford declares 0-100kph in 4.7s which is not bad with a manual gearbox, but the truth is that it goes to 100kph in about 20 seconds
because in order to engage launch control, you have to go into the onboard computer, it's an annoying and complicated procedure
but once you engage launch control, this is the result!
It built up the revs so quickly I hit the rev limiter!
The acceleration is impressive, but I find rather annoying the fact whenever you want to use the launch control you have to browse through the onboard computer,
they could have fitted the LC button on the central dash, maybe by replacing the start&stop button!
And if there's something another thing I dislike in this car is the Drift mode.
Let's try it, but I tell you it's a dangerous thing on the Focus RS and I explain you why,
according to Ford, drift mode is designed to slide the car,
with this setting we immediately feel a softer steering and suspensions
and more power goes to the back wheels but the truth is that I got to test this mode in a empty car park and if I have to be honest,
this doesn't seem to be a car made to slide.
Maybe by testing it around the track with wider roads, I think you can do that with the scandinavian flick
but with this mode forget about doing power drifts because otherwise you may risk to end up into a wall!
On the other side, the good thing is that to all those who buy a brand new Focus RS or Mustang have included a driving course at the Ford Driving Academy!
I think it's a great thing from Ford as I see frequently people behind the wheel of powerful cars with no clue at how you handle a car and at their first slide
they end up into a wall or into the crowd!
Overall I like this Focus RS very much, maybe it's a car I would consider in its segment because I find it very fun and engaging,
sure don't expect the interior with the same quality of its german rivals but I have to say that with about 41.000€ there's plenty of content you bring home,
a sports driving course, AWD, lots of tech, lots of power, I think it has a right price and this car is designed to all those who like to drive and feel the car.
Make sure to like the video if you enjoy it, subscribeto my YouTube if you haven't yet and as always thanks for watching, ciao!