Five Cool Facts Driving the 2016 Ford Focus RS
Although the 2016 Ford Focus RS isn’t quite out there for buyers yet, it’s been significantly changed in order to improve its performance as well as its handling when on the road (or track, for racing lovers!). Although not at Ford NH or any other dealerships yet, this vehicle is generating some hype among Ford lovers as fans of this car. Ford is convinced this vehicle is going to trump the other Focus’ with its redesign.
The 2016 Focus RS is a hatchback that features a 2.3L 4-cylinder EcoBoost engine. The EcoBoost engines have been very popular with Ford and will likely give this Focus a decent fuel mileage in addition to making it a reliable ride. Buyers everywhere are getting excited for this car!
Although we’ve not seeing the 2016 Focus RS on the track yet, we’re pretty excited about what’s been changed for this vehicle and what it has to offer drivers.
Here are five cool facts driving the 2016 Ford Focus RS.
1. It’s Faster
This car features a whopping 350 horsepower and 325 lb.-ft. of torque that happens to be continuous. Combine this with the twin scroll turbocharger and this vehicle needs some unique cylinders to deal with boost pressure increases. This car is bound to be faster and more powerful than any Focus we’ve seen yet. The Ford engineers have done their work to ensure this car is going to impress on the track.
The torque is easily transferrable from front to rear as well as side to side. Even though this car is actually 132 pounds heavier than its previous versions, we’re expecting it to fly out there. The high horsepower combined with the torque is getting buyers excited to actually see this vehicle in test-drive mode.
Get excited about the faster speed, Focus lovers! This car aims to impress with the other changes it has in store for us.
2. Features a “Drift Mode”
One of the things that’s truly special about this car is the drift mode that it features. This was able to be done by altering several components of the Focus.
First, the Focus’ previous models were built on Ford’s C1 platform and done with a Haldex-Style system for traction. Instead of doing this, this Focus RS was done with a “Twinster” system, which means that the driveshaft is rotating all the time in order to transport power to the rear axle. Although this was done on a smaller model with some exclusive software, we’re convinced the Focus is going to handle this change well.
This also means that up to 70% of power can go to the rear as well as go from one side to the other. This is a really impressive change for the Focus. The clutches are also able to lock in .06 seconds, which is where the drift mode comes in.
The drift mode actually focuses the torque to the outside rear wheel in order to keep the car sliding. Even though we haven’t seen it in action yet, the drift mode is one of the most special things about the Focus RS that we’re dying to see. The transferring of torque to the rear outside axle is going to give this car a slide that’s bound to impress Focus fans and make it really fun to drive.
3. It has a Reinforced Body Shell
The 2016 Focus RS has a reinforced body shell that is meant to be stiffer and offer better protection. This body shell modification also has to do with the Focus’ power and how well it can handle it, so the body has been reinforced. The subframe has even been reinforced with new sections that help to fix it onto its chassis rails. The body shell has especially been reinforced around the rear shock towers.
The Focus RS has gotten a new rear axle as well, which has contributed to its weight gain by 55 pounds. The body shell has been reinforced this way to make the Focus sturdier. The front springs are actually 33% more stiff and rear are 38% more stiff. It also has the most powerful brakes that a Focus has had, ever. These changes were meant to give the Focus the strength it needs on its new structure.
The Sport mode of the Focus is 40% stiffer in order to handle its power on the track. A button merely needs to be pressed in order to activate this mode for the Focus. These settings are actually designed to be used on the track rather than in rough terrains!
4. It’s Now All-Wheel Drive
The former Focus models have all been front-wheel drive, but Ford engineers wanted to do something different for the Focus with the RS. So the 2016 Focus RS is now all-wheel drive. Ford has done all-wheel versions with its Escape crossover, but it has yet to be done in the Focus until now.
The addition of all-wheel drive is perhaps the biggest contributor to the Focus’ extra weight of 132 pounds. Between the 55 pounds of the rear axle and the rest of the weight on the Focus, the addition of all-wheel drive will definitely appeal to some buyers. Ford must have decided that this addition was worth the extra weight and cost.
While we don’t have any numbers on how this will affect fuel mileage yet, we’re interested to see how the Focus performs with its all-wheel drive as opposed to just front-wheel drive. We’re trusting Ford’s decision to make this the best Focus yet!
5. It’s Still Only Offered in Manual
One of the more interesting characteristics of the 2016 Ford Focus RS is the fact that its only offered as a 6-speed manual transmission—Ford has not decided to go with an automatic for this ride.
This is an interesting choice for Ford because of the limited amount of manuals that are offered on the market anymore. While we think this will inhibit the Focus’ appeal on a large market scale, it certainly has it advantages to buyers.
Ford cites the cost of the vehicle as well as the weight to be influential factors in its decision to not offer an automatic gearbox. The RS has never featured anything other than the manual transmission, so this isn’t an update, but rather a continuation of what Ford believes will the be best transmission for this vehicle.
This does give some attention the Focus’ competitors, however, for drivers who can’t drive a manual. The Focus really won’t be an option for them, so Ford must be confident of its audience in order to stand behind its choice to still offer this car as just a stick-shift. Although for drivers who truly love manual transmissions, this will be a bonus for sure and really enable drivers to “feel” this car.
The 2016 Ford Focus RS is here to tempt buyers with its updates and its power. Although the body for the 2016 RS doesn’t quite reflect its aggressive nature, this vehicle still has a sharp new look along with its updated reinforced body, all-wheel drive, and extra weight. We’re interested to see exactly what this vehicle can deliver on the track, but until then, we’ll consider the RS to be one of Ford’s best hatchbacks to feature a manual transmission along with a drift mode!