Road test report --------- October 2009 ------ by Kevin Fenix.

Focus RS

This is a boy-racer’s dream come true. The vivid green exterior colour stands out like a beacon in the fog, set off by that massive, black lower front grille and balanced by the double decker, black rear spoiler. The black rear diffuser, has two massive exhaust pipes, each being a full four inches (100 mm) in diameter. The 15 spoke alloy wheels are massive and run on ultra low profile (235/35 ZR 19) tyres. The thing that surprises me most, is that those vents on the bonnet are not black as well ! Looked at in profile we have black exterior rear view mirror housings, a black B-pillar and a dark, privacy glass rear quarter window all reinforcing the glossy blackness. Open the driver’s door and surprise, surprise, the interior is mainly black as well. There are light reliefs like the alloy pedals, silver rings around the ventilation ducts, silver trim on the centre console and steering wheel spokes, plus some grey on the lower facia and doors, with blue stitching on the Recaro seats. Talking of seats the front pair are very obviously rally style seats with fixed headrests and substantial side bolstering. Recaro seats are also fitted at the back, but here they are much more conventional, with separate adjustable head restraints. They are, however, comfortable and well padded. There is also a comfortable centre section, but it is not intended as a seat, lacking both a seat belt and a head restraint.

Velocity is obviously what this car is all about. Unfortunately the only place you could exploit this performance to the full would be on a track day at a racing circuit. If that is your requirement, then you will be pleased to know, that the Focus RS can also be used as a daily commuter. Top speed is said to be 263 kph (163 mph), which is well above the legal maximum speed on any public road that I know of. Of more daily interest is its 0-100 kph acceleration time of 5.9 seconds, which can be used on a daily basis to keep your adrenalin on the boil. As a commuter, it will quite happily trickle along at 80 kph (50 mph) in sixth gear without protest.
From a driving point of view the six speed manual gearbox, is smooth and precise in operation, with a set of well chosen ratios. The steering did appear to be a bit on the heavy side at first, until I acclimatised to it, but it is nicely direct with 2.2 turns from lock to lock. The turning circle of 12.2 metres between kerbs, did appear to be on the large side. Perhaps that is due to the wide tread tyres fitted. The brakes are servo assisted, dual circuits, with anti-lock and electronic force distribution and an electronic stability programme. On the test car they were very responsive, needing just a light touch on the pedal at low speeds. Generous 338 mm x 28 mm ventilated discs are fitted at the front, with large 303 mm x 11 mm discs at the back. The suspension was on the hard side, especially on Fingal’s pathetic road surfaces. How much of that was due to the very low profile tyres is a matter of speculation.

The main instrument cluster is under a hood behind the steering wheel. The large dial on the left is the tachometer, while the matching one on the right is the speedometer. The two smaller ones are the engine temperature gauge (left) and fuel level gauge (right). Immediately below is a rectangular digital information screen that gives a variety of different useful information. There is a second instrument cluster, turned towards the driver, up on the top centre of the facia. The left hand dial shows the oil temperature, the centre one is the turbocharger boost gauge, while the one on the right shows the oil pressure. The radio/CD is in the centre console below the two air vents, with the ventilation controls below that. Although the centre console housing is finished in a matt silver, it is mounted on a gloss black carbonfibre, which also extends down around the gearlever. The steering adjusts for reach and height. The two front seats seem to be mounted rather high and only adjust for reach and backrest angle. Their high side bolsters can make getting in and out a bit uncomfortable for older people. Fit and agile youngsters will have no difficulties.

The two rear seats are comfortable, The front seats tilt and slide forwards to give a reasonable access to agile young people. Both the cushion and the backrest is split 60/40, to give a more versatile usage. The cushion lifts easily to rest in a vertical position behind a front seat, while once the headrest has been lowered, the backrest drops into a horizontal position. The boot itself is reasonably large and this additional space does provide a lot of versatility for those who lead active and adventurous lives. The only massive disadvantage that I can find, is that there is no spare wheel and nowhere to carry one. All you get is a bottle of latex and a small compressor.

Above left : 60/40 split rear seat
Above right : Maximum luggage space, rear seats fully folded

Above : Puncture repair kit.

Above : Normal luggage space

The normal spare wheel storage well in the Focus, has been covered over with a welded -in steel plate. The area below this plate is occupied by a huge metal structure, that looks like a fuel tank, but is actually the exhaust silencer box.
If you need even more luggage space, then your only option is to fit a roofbox. The Focus RS can carry a total weight of up to 75 kg on the roof. Trailer towing is not mentioned anywhere in the specifications. It would look rather ridiculous to have an obviously performance related car like the RS, to be seen towing a trailer.
When outright performance is the main priority, then fuel consumption has to take a back seat. On the European test cycle, the Focus RS achieves an urban cycle reading of 21 mpg (13.4 lt/100 km), which stretches to an amazing 40 mpg (7.0 lt/100 km) on the extra urban cycle, giving an average of 30 mpg (9.4 lt/100 km) on the combined cycle. In view of the potential performance available, this is impressive. A fuel consumption of that order gives an exhaust emissions reading of 225 gm/km. That puts the car right at the top of Irish road tax band F, which at current rates, demands an annual payment of 1050 Euro. The Focus RS is thus a rather expensive toy for BIG BOYS.

To achieve the level of performance required, the Focus RS uses a 2.5 litre, five cylinder, Volvo engine. Volvo is, of course, now fully owned by Ford, so they are simply using an in-house engine. It has double overhead camshafts, with variable valve timing and four valves per cylinder. It is turbocharged and intercooled. Maximum power is 224 kW, delivered at 6,500 rpm, with 440 Nm between 2,300 and 4,500 rpm. This gives a specific output of 88.818 kW/lt, which is well into super performance territory, while the total torque output at just 2.300 rpm, helps to explain why the engine trickles along at relatively low speeds in a high ratio gear, without much difficulty. The turbocharger boost gauge is marked to 1.8 bar, but even under hard acceleration I could never get it to register more than 0.9 bar. Unfortunately trying to get the actual boost pressure form the manufactures is almost impossible.
One thing that did worry me, when examining the suspension and measuring the brakes, was the amount of rust on the wheel hubs and brake discs. I found the same levels of rust on an expensive coupe of a well known make last year. Perhaps this is a sign of the times in our present financial chaos.

Left : front brake disc and hub

Right : Rear brake disc and hub

Technical data