Ford Focus RS Limited Edition 2017 Review
An even more driver-focused chassis and all the tasty options in one limited edition Focus RS?... Shut up and take our moneyCan Ford do any wrong with its performance cars? Not willing to sit back on its laurels and bask in the glory of the global reception of its Focus RS hot hatch, it has announced an upgrade package that gives the RS even more bite, plus loads of tasty extras. Aussie buyers will be offered 500 examples for about $6000 more than the standard car and we've already driven it back-to-back with the regular one.
The history books are already written and the Ford Focus RS carved itself out a Nitrous blue niche in the 2016 entry by being one of the most talked about and desired performance cars of the year.
It was top of the hot hatches in ABDC 2017 (in third place overall, only behind the HSV GTSR W1 and Porsche Cayman S) and best sub-$100,000 performance car in last year’s carsales.com.au Car of the Year awards. Job done, Ford, hang up the driving gloves and move on to the next project.
Except, Ford Performance couldn't leave well alone, and someone decided to look into how the Focus RS could be improved even further as a last hurrah for the car before production finishes in March 2018.
The main focus of the upgrades is the addition of the Performance Wheel Pack and a mechanical limited slip differential for the front axle. For the Australian market, these are bundled together with several choice extras to create the Focus RS Limited Edition. Just 500 examples will be sold here and each will cost $56,990 -- or $6000 more than the regular Focus RS.
On the aesthetic side of things, every one will be finished in the sparkling Nitrous blue paint colour, but differentiated from all the other blue cars already sold with a contrasting 'Absolute Black' roof, rear spoiler and door mirrors. It's effective yet pleasingly subtle.
Black and blue
The black and blue pack is complemented by rear privacy glass and the black 19-inch forged alloy wheels with 'RS' centre caps -- behind which nestle bright blue painted Brembo four-piston monoblock brake callipers. Those rims aren't just for show, either, as they're stronger and have enhanced impact resistance, more suited to regular track work, basically.
And that's also the favoured domain of the specialised Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres fitted as standard to the Focus RS Limited Edition.
While these tyres are considerably better than their predecessor in the wet, one glance at the semi-slick tread pattern is all you need to know that they're undoubtedly biased towards dry track usage.
Indeed, we tried them back-to-back with the usual Michelin Super Sport rubber on a dry gymkhana circuit and it's clear that the more focused Cup tyres give the Focus extra bite, control and responsiveness. Turn-in is sharper, less steering angle is required and, as the sidewalls are stiffer, body control is also improved, reducing unwanted sudden weight transfer.
Michelin tells us that the Cup tyre is far better suited to sustained track driving too.
The downside (other than the partially compromised wet-weather performance, obviously) is that the stiffer sidewall also means a further reduction in ride quality, already one of our few bugbears with the Focus RS. In short, don't buy the Limited Edition with these tyres if you only use your RS to amble to work and back every day.
You’ll tire of the Recaro shell seats (now in an exclusive two-tone leather finish using Nitrous Blue again) if you do too, as they're firm to say the least. Nonetheless, for their intended purpose, they're excellent at holding you in place and they look fantastic. Shame they're set way too high up though.
We'd be tempted to look at modifying them ourselves it's such an issue.
The big diff
The main ingredient of the Focus RS Limited Edition upgrade is the Quaife mechanical limited slip front differential.
The GKN Twinster all-wheel-drive system is still present and correct, and unchanged in its calibration — so up to 70 per cent of the engine output can still be sent to the rear axle. But gone is the torque vectoring by braking on the front axle, replaced by the Quaife front differential which features helical internals (using gears rather than clutches) to provide faster and more positive apportioning of torque to the wheel with most grip. This sharpens both turn-in and also power-down.
On top of that, the action of the limited-slip diff up front assists with high-speed braking stability.
And what's it like in practice? Effective, if subtly so…
Our back-to-back comparison of an RS with and without the differential was limited to a wet handling circuit at Michelin's sprawling Ladoux technical centre in France. Here, the water level on the low grip surface can be instantly varied between 0.6-6.0mm, while the track itself is fiendishly technical, with long sweeping constant radius bends interspersed with a few quick direction changes and nasty tightening radius corners for good measure. If you've driven the Focus RS, you'll know that this was something to truly relish.
To a cacophony of exhaust pops and rev flares we attacked the track several times in both cars, experimenting with all the driving modes along the way. In these extremely low grip conditions, more experienced drivers will soon reach for the stability control button to choose sport or OFF settings, as it can be a little intrusive, but if you stay within the electronic nanny's limits, the RS is still huge fun with plenty of sideways action there for the taking in safety.
As ever, it's hilariously easy to maintain a long smooth slide in Drift Mode.
So what does the new Quaife differential add? Well, when you've stopped hooning around and try to drive the track smoothly and quickly, you soon discover that the Limited Edition model has more bite to its front end, making it easier to get on the power earlier on the exit of tighter corners.
The front end doesn't tend to wash wide as quickly, either, making for a more satisfying experience overall.
In the dry, where it's difficult to make the Focus RS understeer, the new diff should make the RS even more devastatingly rapid, giving it higher corner exit speed, which of course translates into faster top speeds and lap times.
More important than lap times for a car like this, the Quaife makes the Focus RS even more fun without detracting from its personality in any way.
That, combined with the hardcore tyres, should make for an even more capable hot hatch.
Hopefully there's still room in the history books for another entry before we say goodbye to one of the seminal hot hatches of our generation.
2017 Ford Focus RS Limited Edition pricing and specifications:
Price: $56,990
Engine: 2.3-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder
Output: 257kW/440Nm
Transmission: Six-speed manual
Fuel: 7.7L/100km
CO2: 175g/km
Safety rating: N/A
- Improved turn-in
- Dry-weather performance of upgraded tyre
- Subtle styling identifiers
- That's a big wad of extra cash
- It signifies the end of Focus RS product
- Ride even stiffer on Cup tyres
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