28 Jun: Ford Focus RS

… Ford Focus RS …

2017_06_Ford_Focus_RS_1
All the superlatives have already been used up. There are none left that will do this car justice. It is a full 4 seater, five at a pinch, within a four door hatchback bodyshell. It has a sensible boot and can be driven backwards and forwards to the Nursery or taken on holiday with all the luggage. It is fully equipped for comfortable motoring with all the electronic aids and gadgets that one would expect of a modern executive car and its looks won’t attract too much of the wrong attention. It’s also relatively quiet inside the cabin. Oh, and one more thing. It goes like fury when you want.

Ford have really gone to town on this latest version of its fast Ford flagship. Although it looks pretty much standard from the outside with the addition of skirts and wings, the bodyshell has undergone some major re-engineering to cope with the new all wheel drive transmission and 345 brake horse powersworth of 4 cylinder excitement under the bonnet.

The ‘shell needed to be altered and strengthened to accommodate a new rear sub frame which now features an ‘active differential’, only it isn’t. The differential is actually a gearset which incorporates two independently controlled clutches.

This arrangement allows the front power take-off to transmit up to 70% of its torque to the rear whereby the rear module can send all of that torque to either of the rear wheels or split it 50/50.
To cope with the added drivetrain demands, stiffer springs and Tenneco adaptive dampers have been fitted and these can be further adjusted for Sport and Track modes.

2017_06_Ford_Focus_RS_4Power steering is electromechanical and a six speed ‘box enables the driver to exploit the machine’s potential for thrills and provides a fitting test-bed for human heart-rate monitors!

Sadly, the public road is no place for exploring the limits of this machine, but it can be used for fast and safe progress when conditions allow, like an early morning run from Lanarkshire to Dunoon for the Argyll Rally.

This was a trip which would admirably demonstrate the split personality of the RS. Running round the southern edge of Glasgow over Erskine Bridge and up Loch Lomondside highlighted just how smooth and unruffled the beast could be on smooth tarmac with the bum hugging seats insulating any leftover shocks transmitted by the 19 inch rims.

2017_06_Ford_Focus_RS_3Left at Tarbert and once through Arrochar then reach for the ‘Sports’ button. This is the most appealing part of the RS package. Fast without it, Furious when turned on. Still, one has to temper one’s enthusiasm and anticipation with wariness for the errant sheep on the road and the Polis. Short blasts are the order the morning when the road can be seen for miles ahead but even when you have to back off, there’s fun to be had, the 2.3 litre motor pops and bangs on the over-run. Stupid, but I love it.

Shedding speed can be good too. Braking can be left impossibly late making you chuckle at the sheer absurdity of a machine which can stop as impressively as it can accelerate.

And then there is the handling. Turning off the Glen Kinglas main road on to the A815 towards Dunoon requires a bit more awareness. This stretch is notorious for the Bogeys. On a previous event some time ago I was motoring along minding my own business when I saw Saab parked up on the grass with the bonnet up. It was only when I passed that I noticed an officer with a speed gun peeking through between the open bonnet and the engine pointing back the way I had come. Sneaky.

2017_06_Ford_Focus_RS_2There are some good stretches of road on the way south to the emptiness of Dunoon, a different place to what it once was. When the Burmah Rally was based there in the ‘good old days’ the place was buzzing with more American accents than Scots and the hotels and bars were fair hoachin’ with folk. The Holy Loch base is no derelict and there’s no sign of Little America any more. Some folk will tell you that’s a good thing because of the armaments which were once stocked there, but others bemoan the fact that once they left, so did much of the life of the place.

Before going up to Signing-On I motored around the town for a nosey. It was just like Douglas the week after the TT had gone. Empty. Quiet.

Still, I had the run home to think about. In the RS. Naturally I waited till most of the rally cars and trailers had gone to make sure the roads were a bit emptier. Somehow in the darkness of an evening, the over-run through the exhaust sounds even louder.

There is a downside. Just the one. Fuel consumption. I’m sure sensible folks could do a lot better than 26 mpg, but on the way home that evening, it got worse. Much worse.

What a car. Would I have one? Of course, but I’d be almost too scared to use it.

I can see it now.

“Good evening sir, do you have any idea what speed you were doing along that stretch of road?”

“Do you know what the speed limit is for this road?”

“Now can you give me your name and address please sir?” ……….

  • Review Date: June 28, 2017
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