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Ford Focus RS 500 road test report

500

As swan songs go, the Ford Focus RS500 is a full-on heavy metal stadium concert with the volume turned up to 12. There’s nothing shy or retiring about this run-out model of Ford’s crazy gang hot hatch, even if it tries to kid on with its stealthy matt black paint job. The five-cylinder engine has been stoked up to 345bhp, with 0-62mph in 5.6 seconds and a top speed of 165mph. Is it the fastest front-wheel drive car on the planet? If not in a straight line, it certainly is across country where it is sensational. It’s all the more amazing because the RS500 retains the docility of any other Focus model, so it can take you down to the shops in relative comfort. Just be careful the RS500 doesn’t try to goad you into some hooligan behaviour as it’s still a tearaway at heart.

Road Test Reports Says 5 star rating
A front-facing image of the Ford Focus RS 500

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ALISDAIR SUTTIE SAYS

Performance Performance - 5 stars

It’s hard to fault a performance car that covers off 0-62mph in 5.6 seconds and heads on to a top speed of 165mph. With 345bhp, these figures should come as no surprise in the Focus RS500 and, perhaps, some might think they could be even swifter. However, what really impresses in the RS500 is the way it gathers pace with no hesitation from its turbocharged engine. The 2.5-litre five-cylinder engine is based on the same one powering the Focus ST and RS models, but with a reworked electronic brain to free up the 50 extra horsepower over the RS. In any of its six manually selected gears, the RS500 forces its way forward with an urgency that leaves any other hot hatch floundering. This is performance on a par with the STIs and Evos of this world and allows the Focus to overtake slower traffic at will and in complete safety. The flip side to this brawny, muscular show of strength is the Focus RS500 can dawdle through town without fluffing or huffing.

Ride & Handling Ride & Handling - 5 stars

If you want outright comfort, you’ll need to look elsewhere than the Focus RS500. However, if you want a very serious performance car that is still capable of everyday use, this is it. Unlike a Mitsubishi Evo X that leaves your spine as a shattered remnant of its former upright self, the Focus has sufficient compliance in its suspension to deal with deformed road surfaces of all types. You will feel potholes and ridges as they pass under the wheels, for sure, but they won’t leave you in need of surgery. With just the right amount of give in the springs and dampers, the RS500 is superbly able to keep its wheels on the ground to serve its true calling as a devourer of corners. No other front-wheel drive car is as able or willing to dive into a corner, hold its line and rocket out the other side with such relish, and it’s also got the measure of many all-wheel drive rivals. Ford’s clever Revo-Knuckle front hub helps immensely here to control 345bhp through the front wheels while not muddying the feel through the steering. Give it a boot-ful out of a corner and the Focus RS500 keeps the front wheels working at every discipline without allowing any squirm through the steering wheel. Slowing the RS500 is no problem thanks to large brakes at each corner and a pedal feel that lets the driver temper the braking effort to perfection. As for refinement, there’s plenty of engine noise when the driver leans on the throttle, but at a cruise the RS500 is calm enough for long trips to be completed without dread or weariness.

Build Quality & Reliability Build Quality & Reliability - 5 stars

The RS500 may be a limited edition model with a run of just 500 cars, with 101 of them sold to UK buyers, but that doesn’t mean Ford has skimped on the quality. If anything, the RS500 is even better screwed together than the standard RS or Focus models. Every panel gap is even and tight, the interior is free from creaks or rattles and the matt black exterior finish is perfectly applied. One word of caution about the matt paint finish is some owners have reported it is possible to shine it up when cleaning the car, so care is needed when washing an RS500. As for mechanical durability, all of the components are tried, tested and trusted from other Focus models, even if the engine is pumping out a good deal more oomph than in its other incarnations.

Safety & Security Safety & Security - 5 stars

You would hope that a car as desirable and expensive as the Focus RS500 would be highly resistant to thieves, and you’d be right. Ford has long been at the leading edge of car security, largely as a result of its earlier forays into performance cars with the eminently nick-able Sierra Cosworth models. The RS500 has a sophisticated alarm, immobiliser and deadlocks, so the only realistic way a thief is going to drive off in this car is by stealing the keys. Safety-wise, the RS500 has a full complement of airbags, ESP traction and stability control, and anti-lock brakes with brake force distribution.

Space & Practicality Space & Practicality - 4 stars

The Focus RS500 is only available as a three-door hatch, so it’s not quite as versatile for carrying people as its five-door relatives from the rest of the Focus range. There are also large be-winged front seats that make access to the rear seats trickier than in other three-door Focus models, though rear seat space is decent. Few will worry about rear seat access with a Focus RS500 as the main event is the driver’s seat, which is caressingly comfortable and holds the driver in place brilliantly during hard cornering. For such overtly sporting seats, the RS500’s front pews also offer long distance comfort, though some might find the fixed height a drawback. The steering wheel adjusts for height and reach, so finding the ideal driving position is easy for most drivers. The view from the driver’s seat is good in every direction, while parking is as simple as in any other Focus. A boot with the same capacity as any other three-door Focus helps make the RS500 one of the more able performance cars money can buy, while the rest of the cabin is as user-friendly as you’d expect of one of the country’s best selling hatches.

Ownership & Value Ownership & Value - 5 stars

Let’s be straight, a Focus RS500 is a very expensive car and costs considerably more than any other Focus model. However, compare it to the likes of quicker Subaru Imprezas and Mitsubishi Evos and it’s very keenly priced. The other big advantage of the RS500 is its limited production run guarantees it cult status from day one and that means there will always be a queue of Ford fanatics lining up to buy this ultimate RS and bolster used prices. You will need to dig a little deeper to afford running costs of this Focus as 28.5mpg average economy is just that – average. Use the available performance on a regular basis and you’ll see economy drop to more like 20.0mpg. Make the most of the RS’s ability and you’ll also need a steady supply of expensive tyres, which happen to be the same ones used on the front end of a Lamborghini Gallardo to give you an idea of what we’re dealing with. Carbon dioxide emissions of 235g/km are not bad for a car of the RS500’s ilk, but they still mean paying the top rate of road tax. On the plus side, Ford’s servicing rates are the same for the RS500 as they for a Ka. Also, the RS500 comes with lots of luxury kit, including climate control, leather upholstery, CD stereo, unique alloy wheels and automatic headlights and wipers.

Submitted: 10/02/2011 14:22:24

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