A FoRSful Year

Exactly one year ago, I took delivery of my new 2016 Focus RS. Though some 2017 model year cars had already gone into production, mine was built near the end of the 2016 model year run. This really made no difference to me since there were no significant changes between the model years. I have now put almost 15,000 blissful miles on it, and have attended 7 autocrosses, winning 4 of those.

Driving the RS on the street is easily described as awesome. Yes, the ride is quite stiff; I’m happy to be living in Florida with its generally smooth roads. It also has a split personality; throttle response while leaving it in normal mode is pretty laid back and smooth. If I’m feeling feisty, switching it to sport mode really gets things hopping, with the price of less overall smoothness. Off-boost acceleration is perfectly acceptable and easily keeps up with traffic. Getting into the boost, of course, makes traffic grow small in the rearview mirror very quickly. And the handling can safely be described as otherworldly. Corners are not so much taken as absorbed without drama. I was immediately struck on my first week with the car how much faster I could take every on-ramp without even feeling the turn. The Fiesta may have been the best-handling front wheel drive car I’d ever driven, but the Focus is worlds better. The biggest difference is in corner exit speed, as power can be applied so much earlier in the turns and the rear just rotates towards the exit and puts the power down - all 350 ft-lbs of torque split to whatever wheels need it most. And the grip level from the Pilot Supersport tires is just astonishing. The first C&D comparo called it the Velcro Focus, and boy does that fit. I think of that expression every time I giggle my way out of a corner, hanging the tail out a little.

Autocrossing the FoRS has been very successful for me. In fact, other than the very first event I ran with the car almost a year ago, either my Focus or someone else’s has won B Street every time I’ve raced. And I took my revenge for that first race; the gentleman that was a half second faster than me in that first race went down in defeat at my last race by 1.1 seconds on the same course (the permanent kart track in Daytona’s infield). Pax results have been pretty outstanding as well, with top-5 finishes in several events. Despite the car’s hefty weight, it’s an ideal autocrosser. I’m expecting further improvements by going up two tire sizes at my next purchase.

I saw one review of the FoRS in which the author rated it the best just due to the big smile it puts on your face every time you drive it. I agree with that sentiment wholeheartedly.

"Velcro Focus"

Yup. I'd agree with that.

I had to wait another month to pick mine up and it was built earlier than yours. Still annoyed with Ford over that debacle, doesn't diminish the car though.

Here's a few pics from my last Daytona autocross:

And of course, you've already seen the video from that day:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/MtfpKYU-yDQ

More fun than anything else done vertically.

I wish the dealers stupid pricing model hadn't killed it.

So I'll end up with a Mustang GT or Camaro SS 1LE next year instead.

In reply to z31maniac:

Order it from another dealer for MSRP and have it shipped to your local dealer. It's worth the $500 to tell them to pound sand on their nonsense markup.

I got mine at MSRP. It just took perseverance. Even the '18s can be had at MSRP, according to the Focus RS board.

Discussion

There are three or four sitting on lots around here and have been for six months or so. Presumably because of the dealer pricing.

I would agree with your assessment. It's tough to beat my FoRS for fun on the street!

I bought my 2017 for $500 over invoice. Honestly, I probably could have got it for invoice if I wanted to haggle with multiple dealers or really push the issue, as there are quite a few sitting on lots here in my state (CO). I made them a reasonable offer ($500 over invoice) and they took it. I was satisfied with the price, as it's a ton of fun for the money.

I've been meaning to take my AP2 S2000 and my FoRS out to an autoX event just to see how much of a difference it would be between them; as they're both B Street cars. If I don't have to pickup the kids, I frequently have a tough time choosing which one of them I want to drive... that's the biggest compliment I can give to the FoRS.

Question for you guys: both myself and a friend whom I didn't discuss this with beforehand both had the same thing to say about the FoRS: We couldn't get the seat to sit low enough! I felt like I was driving a truck with the ass-to-floor distance being so big.

Blaise wrote: Question for you guys: both myself and a friend whom I didn't discuss this with beforehand both had the same thing to say about the FoRS: We couldn't get the seat to sit low enough! I felt like I was driving a truck with the ass-to-floor distance being so big.

I've heard this feedback a lot, but I don't get it. I like to sit very low in cars, and it isn't a problem in my Focus. I'm also only 5'8", so maybe that's part of the explanation.

Stefan wrote: In reply to z31maniac: Order it from another dealer for MSRP and have it shipped to your local dealer. It's worth the $500 to tell them to pound sand on their nonsense markup.

There are dealers here in OKC with them under MSRP, I more meant, the dealerships tried (and some still are) to gouge everyone for so long it impacted sales and Ford killed it.

Blaise wrote: Question for you guys: both myself and a friend whom I didn't discuss this with beforehand both had the same thing to say about the FoRS: We couldn't get the seat to sit low enough! I felt like I was driving a truck with the ass-to-floor distance being so big.

I've heard that the optional sport seats are higher than the base seats that are in my car. Yes, the seating position is high, even with the base seats, but I got used to it very quickly and headroom isn't an issue.

The FoRS would be high on my list over a WRX or the like if I was shopping. I think Ford nailed it.

Blaise wrote: Question for you guys: both myself and a friend whom I didn't discuss this with beforehand both had the same thing to say about the FoRS: We couldn't get the seat to sit low enough! I felt like I was driving a truck with the ass-to-floor distance being so big.

The seats do sit very high, but I've gotten used to it. My only real complaint about the seating position is that you can't adjust the seat bottom rake and it's aggressively raked/slanted.

I'm 6'2" and I've actually used spacers to raise the rear of the seat a bit higher to help flatten out the rake. I still have a couple inches of headroom... but I bought a non-moonroof car for this exact reason.