Ford Focus RS Track Test 2016 Review

Ford Focus RS
Track Test
Valencia, Spain

Imagine a hot hatch that works with you, not against you, when driven at the ragged edge. A car that powerslides through a corner just as easily as it tracks through it with steadfast adhesion. Tom foolery and perfect lap times on command? With virtually no understeer? The $50,990 Focus RS shines almost as brightly on the racetrack as it does on the road... Perhaps the only drawback is that it's all too easy.

Punching out of the final downhill hairpin corner of the gloriously smooth Ricardo Tormo MotoGP racetrack in Valencia onto the main straight, the full force of Ford Focus RS's vociferous 2.3-litre turbo engine coming to bear, it's impossible not to be impressed.

Having tested the Ford Focus RS on the road the previous day, and being suitably enthralled, the track test reveals a vehicle that will not only take a heck of a beating, repeatedly, but will be hard to beat for putting smiles on dials.

Sure, there's scads of instantly accessible, virtually lag-free mid-range stomp from the growling 257kW 2.3-litre turbo-petrol four, and the big four-pot Brembo brake callipers chomping 350mm front discs deliver breathtaking deceleration.

But it's the intelligent all-wheel drive system and its uncanny torque-vectoring machinations that make this car more engaging than a chin-wag with Angelina Jolie.

Feed more power through the AWD transmission, add slightly more steering lock than is necessary for carving out the perfect apex, and the car gently wags its tail, gleefully and gracefully. Four-wheel slides out of the tighter second-gear corners are there for the taking, your hands and right foot easily controlling how much yaw angle you want to employ.

Perform the same manoeuvre with less steering input and the car merely splits from corner apexes with optimal traction, delivering blistering lap times that will most certainly come close to rivalling – or perhaps besting – the likes of the Audi RS 3 and Mercedes-AMG A45.

And whichever way you decide to dispatch a corner, it's tremendously satisfying.

In some ways the Focus RS reminds me of a Lotus sports car, as it's one of the few cars I've driven on a racetrack that feels completely and utterly in control. Grip, brakes, steering – everything feels hardwired to your body and thoughts, which in turn gives you an incredibly wide performance threshold and loads of confidence.

Naturally, during the track test we chose the 'Race Track Mode', which adjusts the throttle, steering, AWD, damping and stability control systems to deliver fast laps, as opposed to 'Drift Mode' that lets you slide around like a hoon.

At full tilt, or when you completely overcook a corner, the RS defaults to mild understeer but for the most part the car's front-end is diligent and direct. It tips into corners with more alacrity than the Dalia Lama teaching kids about happiness, then punches ouch of them with the redneck righteousness of Chuck Norris.

The way the engine spins up and the brutal effectiveness with which it gets its power to the ground is astonishing. And even when pushed to the ragged edge the car retains its calm and communicative demeanour, not once feeling out of sorts or twitchy.

Indeed, the creamy smooth way it transitions into, through and out of corners, and between acceleration to deceleration, is compelling. It's not just a brilliant AWD system, it's a well-sorted chassis.

All the while the heavily-bolstered Recaro seats do a great job of keeping your torso locked in tight, as the car generates punishing G-forces.

More on Focus RS:
>> Ford Focus RS Drift Mode tested
>> Ford Focus RS 2016 Review
>> Ford Focus RS sold out

The brakes merit big praise too, rating in significance perhaps only behind the car's inherent speed and tenacious AWD system. You can mash the anchors with crudity or delicacy – in panic or composure – and the car reacts obediently.

There's so much control and power available in the big Brembo stoppers that you can charge hot and deep into corners and then slide/shove your way into position under brakes, such is the impeccable connection between car and driver.

Among the dozen or so engineering tricks in the Focus RS playbook designed to improve its racetrack reliability, Ford has crafted special air intakes in the front fascia that duct cool air over the brakes, helping to balance thermal dynamics. It works – we found no discernible brake fade during our track session.

The Blue Oval's tech execs reckon the car has been designed to withstand 30 minutes of track abuse, and although we can't verify that claim (we were forced to cruise through the pits between each lap at 40km/h) the car felt tighter than a photo finish after a trio of four-lap sessions – 12 laps in all.

There's perhaps only two issues to identify with this car on the track. First, it'll chew through tyres like a dog munches your favourite slippers, so it's going to cost a lot more than just track day fees to have fun.

The other quibble is that it's all too easy. There's virtually no challenge to driving the wheels off the car, no hurdles to overcome. In some ways that's a good thing as it lets you focus on simply driving as hard as possible... In other ways the adventure is made less satisfying by a lack of shortcomings to work around.

On the road, we criticised the Ford's firmish ride, cheapish interior, highish fuel consumption and lack of an automatic. But really, from the first lap – nay, the first corner – at Valencia, the Focus RS felt so composed and resolved that it's a measure of its well-sorted ability that, beyond some mild natural understeer, cornering too effectively is our only criticism.

Ford's newest RS is an apex-slaying, serotonin-inducing, exhaust-crackling, power-sliding hot hatch. It's fast, it's fun and it's a glimpse of the future – a tantalising taste of what technology is going to do for affordable performance cars.

2016 Ford Focus RS pricing and specifications:
Price: $50,990 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.3-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 257kW/440Nm
Transmission: Six-speed manual
Fuel: 35+L/100km (as tested)
CO2: 175g/km
Safety Rating: Five-star Euro NCAP

Also consider:
>> Subaru WRX STI (from $49,490 plus ORCs)
>> Volkswagen Golf R (from $52,740 plus ORCs)
>> Mercedes-AMG A 45 (from $77,900 plus ORCs)