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Over the last year I've been tiptoeing around different cars that could serve as a fun ride while also enabling the transportation of children/groceries as a complement to my wife's Chevy Volt and my Miata. STI hatch and Evo were ruled out due to my wife's assessment of their ugliness. I was considering the Golf R for quite some time but the used MKVIs are holding their value really well and by the time I wrapped my head around a new one the Focus RS was being rumored. Also, all the VW dealerships in my area are being dicks and wouldn't even let me drive one. So, I put in an order for a Focus RS last week. My level of stoke is off the charts.
Extremely balleur. If you ordered a Golf R after the Focus RS rumors came out, you are probably kicking yourself now. Not sure why you'd buy anything else (STI/Evo included).
I bought a 2004 STi twelve years and one day ago. With the usual 'no test drives, order now and wait months, pay nearly-full-sticker price, etc.' silliness that surrounds a great new car being introduced.
It was stolen (from my driveway overnight, the day after xmas) in 2012, covered by insurance and replaced by my current '99 Miata plus a generous 'dedicated to mods' bank account. That's why I'm on this site, obviously.
But the Focus RS is pushing all of the right buttons for me. A little bit uncivilized, no hideous bumps/lumps/cladding, somewhat practical, etc.
So, other than the usual 'never buy the first model year, because the update is going to fix a lot of issues' wisdom -- which I ignored myself in exchange for a year of having 'the' car --
With the usual 'no test drives, order now and wait months, pay nearly-full-sticker price, etc.' silliness that surrounds a great new car being introduced.
Yeah, local dealerships were asking for MSRP + $5000... bastards. I ended up using an online new car buying site called roadster.com and got it for MSRP.
Originally Posted by rkevans
It was stolen (from my driveway overnight, the day after xmas) in 2012
Wow. That totally sucks. At least you got to love it for those 6 years.
Originally Posted by rkevans
The Focus RS is pushing all of the right buttons for me. A little bit uncivilized, no hideous bumps/lumps/cladding, somewhat practical, etc.
So, other than the usual 'never buy the first model year, because the update is going to fix a lot of issues' wisdom -- which I ignored myself in exchange for a year of having 'the' car --
I fully support your choice.
My thoughts exactly. Also, looking at how cars like the '04 STI has held its value, I think that depreciation should be pretty reasonable even as compared to something like a 2-year-old GTI.
Also, I think I'm too old to have a car that looks like the civic type R or evo, so the RS has just enough of an aggressive appearance to stir my inner riceboy without making me look like a fool.
I've been thinking about it, but the adult in me still has a hard time forking over that amount of money for a Focus, especially when I can pick up a Mustang GT with money left over for aftermarket suspension bits. I get it, there are two different target audiences for those, but still...
Granted, the RS technically would meet my "I'm not buying another 2 door daily driver as long as I have kids" criteria, with room for the dogs in the back...
I'm waiting to find another real job (aka full-time instead of contract), as soon as I do, I've already got the check made out for the deposit and the BRZ will be gone.
The Focus RS is really popular in England, see no reason why it wouldn't live up to the hype here.
I went to a local dealership in Tampa to get a first hand look and a salesman told me they sold out their supply and they haven't received they first shipment yet.
The Focus RS is really popular in England, see no reason why it wouldn't live up to the hype here.
I went to a local dealership in Tampa to get a first hand look and a salesman told me they sold out their supply and they haven't received they first shipment yet.
The first cars won't be in dealerships until the spring. So far, even journalists have only been able to take rides in the passenger seat. In January cars will be made available to the first reviewers.
I was just reading more about the AWD system. There is no center or rear diff - the rear wheels are geared 1.8% faster than the front wheels, and each rear wheel has a clutch pack. Under normal driving both rear clutch packs can be totally deactivated so that the drive comes from the front wheels only. Under hard cornering, it sends the power to the outside rear wheel. I'm really curious to see how it drives.
torque vectoring is a really cool thing.
my guess is that it will drive similar to the EVOX and other cars that use a similar approach (STi too, but via clutch packed diffs and brakes)
The first cars won't be in dealerships until the spring. So far, even journalists have only been able to take rides in the passenger seat. In January cars will be made available to the first reviewers.
I was just reading more about the AWD system. There is no center or rear diff - the rear wheels are geared 1.8% faster than the front wheels, and each rear wheel has a clutch pack. Under normal driving both rear clutch packs can be totally deactivated so that the drive comes from the front wheels only. Under hard cornering, it sends the power to the outside rear wheel. I'm really curious to see how it drives.
That's interesting, have a link? I'd like to read about that.
Unlike its key competitor, the VW Golf R, the Focus RS utilizes an all-wheel-drive system that is said to have been designed entirely in-house. Assuming the RS is traveling in a straight line with zero slip at any of its four tires, the all-wheel-drive setup sends 100 percent of the available power to the front axle. When slip is detected or if there is steering input, up to 70 percent of the available power can be sent rearward.
Like Sex Panther men's cologne, which 60 percent of the time works every time, the Focus RS's rear axle is all about complicated percentages. The all-wheel-drive system is capable of routing up to 70 percent of the available torque to the rear axle. From there, it can be split evenly between each rear wheel, or, in extreme cases, the system's brain can instruct the rear-axle torque-vectoring mechanism's two clutches to direct 100 percent of the rear-axle torque to a single rear wheel. Fun-with-numbers time: 100 percent of 70 percent of available engine torque can be directed at a single rear wheel to help rotate the car in corners. Dooorrriffftoooo!
While the brunt of the task of shoving the RS's *** end around corners falls on the rear-axle torque-vectoring mechanism, Ford tells us the hot hatch does get some help from the brakes in corners. Working primarily on the front axle, the car's brain can brake the inside wheel(s) when entering and leaving a corner to induce a yaw event—otherwise known as understeer mitigation.
vlad you realize your WRX has torque vectoring right?
Focus RS
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