The 2016 Ford Focus RS is the Focus we’ve all been waiting for. It is a all-wheel-drive rocket powered by the same 2.3L Ecoboost engine found in the 2015 Mustang Ecoboost. This time the engine produces no less than 320 horsepower and torque to match. Make no mistake here people, Ford’s Ecoboost engines are the future. Even the Ford GT Concept has one.
Perhaps most exciting about the 2016 Focus RS is that there is only one transmission option. The correct transmission. The one with three pedals. All that power is fed to the ground via a torque vectoring system that can send up to 70% of the power to the rear differential and 100% of that can be diverted to one wheel. Conditions are monitored continuously in order to establish how and where the power goes.
It’s no surprise that Ford has followed the rest of the industry and given the Focus RS electric power steering. They promise “excellent feel” but that’s yet to be confirmed. Maybe Ford was referring to the Focus RS’s adjustable dampers. Time will tell.
Inside, we see a fantastic looking pair of Recaro seats. I personally was not impressed with the Recaros used in the Focus ST or the Fiesta ST but these, these look money. It’s difficult to tell the true interior quality of the Focus RS from the photos but it looks like a lot of leather on touch surfaces mixed with standard plastics.
Outside, the RS becomes much more aggressive. There’s a sizable rear wing, large exhaust tips protruding through a hemorrhoid inspired diffuser, multi-spoke wheels that look like they came off the previous generation Subaru STI, a front fascia with large openings for airflow and fancy headlights.
I’ve never been a huge fan of the Ford Focus but this RS model makes me re-think my recent Subaru WRX purchase. We’ll see much more of the car at the Geneva Auto Show in March and again when it finally lands on North American shores. If Ford prices this thing appropriately I may have one in my garage later this year.
