We Drove the $35k Ford That's So Fun, Countries Want to Ban It

Across the pond , Ford ’s RS part ( short for Rallye Sport ) has been souping up the company ’s European offering since 1969 . Turning minor sedans and hatchbacks into lust - worthy high - performance simple machine , it ’s partnered with fabled names like Cosworth more than a few time . It once even made its own production car from scratch – the now - legendaryRS200 .

Yet , for all of that performance inheritance , one glaring omission looms declamatory over the RS legacy : no Rallye Sport Ford has ever been offered for sales agreement in the United States . Until now . The$35,900 Focus RS– the all - wheel drive , 350hp , German - built red-hot crosshatch that goes 0 - 60 mph in 4.6s – is quite possibly the most impressive bit of souping up that RS has ever done .

The Focus RS' best party trick:Drift Mode

Take the adept ole Ford Focus – a inflexible , down in the mouth - winder ( if not a little boring ) day-after-day driver – and tot some functional flowing tweaks like brake duct and a rear wing . indoors , there are a few strategically placed " RS " logos on the raw RECARO stern , but other than that , the deviation between the two cars are hard to tell apart . How do youreallyknow if you ’re in a Focus RS ? alter the performance options via a switch next to the gear lever , and arrest onto your bottom .

This is Drift Mode , and it ’s exactly what it sounds like – a circumstance that ’s so fun , safety advocates inAustralia desire to ban itbefore it reaches the Gold Coast , lest Aussie drivers start satiate supermarket parking lots with tire smoke . It send off up to 70 % of its world power to the rear wheel – specifically to produce oversteer , if you ’re aggressive enough . It ’s called torque vectoring , and it makes drive sideways laughably easy . Within s , everything youthinkyou’ve learned about drifting from theFast & Furiousmovies is instantly applicable . Crank the steering rack , mash your right foot to the floor , and defy whatever slant you want with the wheel .

The only existent caution is that your over - exuberance can sometimes result in a impermanent inactivation of the system while it cools off . If you get to that point , though , you ’ll in all probability have to stop for new tires anyway . Truly , it ’s a tyre salesman ’s dream .

2017 Ford Focus RS

Aaron Miller/Thrillist

It’s great on dirt, too…

If you should get hold yourself on a road that suddenly transforms into a smooth , gravelly surface , you ’re in for a treat as the " Rallye " aspect of Rallye Sport comes into … focus.(Sorry . ) plainly put the gondola in Drift Mode and aggressively put your right pes down on the atom smasher . The railway car is already set up to maintain the double-dyed angle , so you’re able to get through moth-eaten turns looking like you actually know what you ’re doing . On dirt , Ford should name it Hero Mode and be done with it . reckon that ’s whyKen Block ’s current professional plaything is free-base on the RS .

… and right at home on track

This is a gravely great performance machine for founding father . Almost immediately after you touch the steering wheel , the front of the railroad car begins to sprain . The result is that the rearward remnant begins to slip out , but rather than a cause for alarm , it absolutely plays to the all - steering wheel - drive effectiveness of the r : merely put on more accelerator , and the cable car will go where you want it to . The Focus chassis on which the RS is build up does have a fair amount of understeer if you defy your right metrical unit steady in the midriff of a turn , but slenderly letting off brings the front dead in line . Overall , it lease a piddling acquiring used to , but once you ’ve got it , it ’s incredibly gentle to drive fast and is insanely exonerative , even when driven with honey - glass over ham fists .

Other than being fun as hell, Drift Mode is a significant technical advancement

Ford is definitely highlighting Drift Mode for itsholy - shit - this - is - funqualities , but really , the technology behind it total to a pretty pregnant step in term of vehicle dynamics that could eventually obtain its mode to other vehicles . Basically , the elevator car is front - bicycle drive when you ’re nonchalantly cruising down the main road . The moment you pass away onto a twisty bit of road , the drivetrain employ a complex system of sensors and algorithms to fix precisely how much power to send to which rack in fiat to best aid in handling . That ’s a big mess , because it ’s on the dot the variety of thing that could be used on other vehicle in the futurity to aid handling in insidious , less drifty ways that most drivers would n’t even notice .

Just don’t expect anything too glamorous

There ’s no denying that the RS is outstanding as a driver ’s car , but its sharp dud are continue an aging torso . The Focus , as we know it , is nearing the ending of its lifecycle , and the interior has some backbreaking plastics and tired - looking computer graphic . Ford could have taken a pageboy from Volkswagen or Subaru and install ( or at least offered ) a steering cycle befitting its sportsmanlike offering .

The ripe thing that Ford did for the radius was introduce Sync 3 , the belated iteration of its proprietary infotainment system , on the gravid , center - mounted screen door . Some have said that Sync 3 is a substance abuser - interface nightmare , but its vocalization - identification applied science is second to none . you’re able to tell your RS to modify the song , get out up Maps , or send a school text . It take heed . Beyond that , it ’s refreshing how low - technical school the RS really is . You hardly need a YouTube tutorial to figure out how to put the fantastic six - focal ratio manual into gear . flex off the auto start - stop when you get to the track , and pull up stakes it on in dealings .

For the price, it’s awfully hard to beat

The Focus RS is n’t without rival , in the form of AWD stalwarts like theSubaru WRX STIandVolkswagen Golf R. Both ride on a slightly newer chassis and salute more of a public presentation - oriented interior , but also cost more while offering less functioning . And of course , neither has Drift Mode . The bottom lineage ? If going sideways is your thing , there ’s a Focus RS in your future .

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