Ford Focus RS Limited Edition 2018 Review

What’s it all about?
Just 500 examples of the Focus RS Limited Edition are being offered in Australia. So it certainly lives up to its name.

Mechanical upgrades over and above the standard RS include a Quaife helical limited-slip front differential and 19-inch forged alloy wheels shod with super-sticky 235/35R19 Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres.

Autonomous emergency braking, blue leather for the Recaro shell seats and black-finish for the rear spoiler, mirror caps and roof and privacy glass are also added to the package. This car also comes only in signature RS ‘Nitrous Blue’.

That stuff is mixed in with to the excellent RS fundamentals; the grunty 257kW/440Nm (470Nm on overboost) 2.3-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine, grippy GKN Twinster all-wheel drive system and grumbly but driver-adaptable sports suspension.

How much will it cost?
The RS LE will set you back $56,990 (plus on-road costs). This is a $6000 price rise over the standard RS.

In terms of equipment the two models share bi-xenon HID headlights, keyless entry and a great looking pumped body with a gaping mouth and surfboard rear wing. All the better to suck cooling air and keep the car on the ground at speed – like its 266km/h top speed.

Inside there is a rear-view camera, a flat-bottomed steering wheel with reach and rake adjustment, sat-nav, dual-zone climate control, push-button start, cruise control and the SYNC3 connectivity system managed through an 8.0-inch touchscreen, including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto interface.

The RS is a relatively economical proposition, averaging 8.1L/100km officially and 9.1L/100km on test.

The RS comes with a three-year/100,000km, which is very much the basic level offered in Australia these days.

Why should/shouldn’t I buy it?
You should buy this car if sports driving is your thing. The RS is talkative and chatty fun and the LE’s smart diff and sticky tyres mean you can go even faster with more confidence.

Not that road driving is the best place to truly experiment with such stuff, especially when the all-wheel drive system is already so capable, smartly shuttling drive fore-aft and then side to side. In tight corners under hard acceleration you can feel the grab-turn-grab-turn-grab-turn-grab process underway, ensuring the RS eagerly dives for the apex.

Add in a punchy lag-free engine with a rorty, growling soundtrack and you’ve got a sweet sporting combination.

If you don’t like gear shifting then look elsewhere because this thing only comes with a six-speed manual. But there are plusses; the shift is slick and full-throttle upchanges produce a meaty burp from the exhaust, the clutch is malleable and heeling and toeing easy thanks to well positioned pedals.

If you don’t like a tall seating position that’s another reason to avoid the RS because the Recaro places you high in the car. The shell seat-frames provide great lateral support, but also mean no side-front airbags, which reduces protection in a side impact and triggers the loss of the five star ANCAP rating the rest of the Focus range collects.

If that makes you feel uncomfortable wait till you hit a rough road. Even in its softest Normal mode the RS is a firm rider and in Sport it’s tough. In Track it’s rock-hard. The other mode you can press is Drift, but lacking a skidpan I didn’t test this one out. Past experience tells us it’s kinda fun, but not really drifting as we know it in rear-wheel drive cars.

Such a disciplined ride, accompanied by plenty of tyre noise, dilutes this car’s day-to-day ability. Yes, you could commute in it if you had to. There’s good storage and you could even go four-up as there’s plenty of space in the back seat for two adults. Fold the rear seat and the boot even takes a full-sized mountain bike with the front wheel removed.

When is it available in Australia?
The RS Limited Edition has been on-sale in Australia since last November.

Who will it appeal to?
Petrol-heads who love hot hatches. The latest RS is amongst the very best of the breed ever built.

We’ve certainly lauded it. This is one of our favourite cars and the Focus RS was a leading player at Australia’s Best Driver’s Car last February.

Where does it fit?
Other comparable hot hatches include the fabulous front-wheel drive Honda Civic Type R at $50,990 – which beat the standard RS in our recent track test - and the $53,490 all-wheel drive Volkswagen Golf R as well as the famed Subaru WRX STi sedan, which retails for $50,890.

So, what do we think?
The Focus RS Limited Edition is not for everyone and not only because there’s only 500 of them!

No, it’s too hard-core, too focused and too demanding to drive for those amongst us who want an anodyne motoring experience.

But for those who want a living, breathing, snorting, bucking, confidence-inspiring gem of a drive, this is a great choice.

2018 Ford Focus RS Limited Edition pricing and specifications:
Price: $56,990 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.3-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 257kW/440Nm
Transmission: Six-speed manual
Fuel: 8.1L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 190g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: N/A