Bargain Bin Review: The Ford Focus RS is Still Worthy of your Rally Car Dreams

Before the Civic Type R and GR Corolla, there was the Ford Focus RS, a venerable and much-beloved member of the super sport compact fight club.

Keyword, however. It was.

For three brief model years, the 2016 to 2018 Ford Focus RS was renowned for its mastery of the four elements: performance, practicality, value, and tunability. But everything changed when the Ford execs attacked.

Ford hatchbacks are now a deceased concept here in The States, with nary an ST nor RS left to carry the torch. But in a market where enthusiast cars started to wither away only to suddenly be revitalized for battle in the most competitive scene in recent years, can the aging Ford Focus RS still make a case for itself?

What it was

Come the debut of the Ford’s most hellacious hot hatch years ago, and the Lancer Evo had already passed. While raucous and unabashedly rally-inspired, the WRX STI was already getting long in the tooth. And the MK7 Golf R, despite being so buttery-smooth and refined, was perhaps a tad too mature for the wannabe Mäkinen.

Along came Ford, who delivered a track-capable, rip snorting sport compact to a small but hotly contested field. The Focus RS lit the market aflame with the most power of its peers at the time, 350 horsepower and 350 pound-feet from its Mustang-derived, 2.3-liter turbo four-banger, which enabled zero-to-60 in the mid-four-second range and a quarter-mile run in the low thirteens.

Commonplace in its class was all-wheel drive, which can vary its front-to-rear torque split depending on the drive mode. Two-mode adjustable dampers were also part of the package, as was Michelin summer rubber, a clutch pack-type torque-vectoring rear diff, and a four-pot front Brembo setup.

How hot is this hatch?

In full disclosure, I must note that this is a modified example, sporting a new intercooler, exhaust, tune, springs, and sway bars, among other minor tidbits. However, the intake, engine internals, and fuel system were all stock, as were the dampers. In addition, the owner had equipped Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires, shod in the standard tire size over the factory-optional forged wheels.

In typical Ford EcoBoost fashion, the 2.3-liter mill spools up quickly enough to reward a lead foot with never-ending mid-range gut punches without completely doing away with that rally car lag. Some may call turbo lag a nuisance, but I call it characterful. At full tilt, however, the snappy gearbox and its light-but-direct shifter do a commendable job keeping you in your happy place, negating any worry about lag raining on your parade. Moreover, the whole engine and drivetrain combo is a lovably charming display of youthful vigor, eager to rip to its 6,700-rpm ceiling with no perceptible plateauing or fall-off.

And the chassis. Oh, good lord, the chassis.

Ford Performance knows how to develop a genuine driver’s car out of some fairly lethargic base platforms, and we should remember the Focus RS’ chassis as an all-time great. I’d say it’s the second-best highlight of the car, overshadowed only by that Little Four-Cylinder That Could.

Body control is sports car composed, although the dampers annoyingly range from being a tad too stiff for touges in Normal mode to borderline harsh in Sport. Interestingly, the owner claims that her new springs improved the ride considerably and that the stock setup was achingly hard over even minute imperfections, a frequently cited complaint by journalists.

At least that tooth-rattling suspension translates to razor-sharp turn-in. And while I wouldn’t call the steering talkative, it does offer some feedback and steers with a “just right” Goldilocks heft, gradually weighting up in corners in a way I don’t quite feel in other modern cars. The somewhat small-ish steering wheel also gives the illusion of an even quicker steering rack than the RS probably has.

The only thing standing in the way of perfection is this car’s weight, which, at nearly 3500 pounds, is far portlier than newfound rivals from Japan and roughly on par with the more refined and luxurious Golf R. It still feels wicked sharp and svelte for a modern car, but you’d never mistake it for something with an ST badge.

As someone who has daily driven a sports coupe for nearly six years, the “hatch” part of a hot hatch remains an infallible attribute of the RS. Despite that heaping dollop of power, fuel economy is still remarkably decent-ish, with an indicated 22.7 mpg in mixed driving. The back seat is cavernous, and the trunk has plenty of room for weekend trips or stages on the Rallye De Costco. This 2017 model came with Apple CarPlay, heated power Recaros, and a heated steering wheel. Impressively, this well-kept example with over 90,000 miles was shockingly devoid of squeaks, creaks, or rattles.

Really. A high-mile Ford econobox with no interior plastic noises? Either that car was truly one of a kind, or the simulation is indeed broken.

Still a relevant driver’s car?

Does the Ford Focus RS still have a place in today’s market if you were to revive it for 2023?

Well, let’s look at the current players on the field. We have an all-wheel-drive Corolla pushing 300 horsepower and battling a completely-reborn Civic Type R. While we’re at it, don’t forget the totally-not-Audi-RS-wannabe Golf R and its newfound sense of whimsy, bless its heart.

I’d say yes. As long as the car is well-kept and those pesky head gasket recalls are sorted, there’s no reason to dismiss a used Focus RS as an alternative to new rivals from Honda and Toyota, whose sticker prices have gone rampant in the wake of their hype. It’s about as roomy, just as practical, and arguably as capable. And best of all, it hails from a golden age of Ford Performance, where emotion and connection were as important as outright speed, a notion on which some automakers have lost focus (pun totally intended).

The Ford Focus RS would fight evermore difficult battles today than it ever would have a few short years ago. But that should be encouraged, shouldn’t it? After all, competition improves the breed, and the ongoing sport compact fight is one American Ford fanatics are bummed to be watching from the sidelines.