[Focus RS News]

We know the Focus RS’ main competitor is the Civic Type R and they’ve already been pitted against each other on track by Inside Lane. Back then the 2016 Ford Focus RS was crowned the winner but PistonHeadsTV seems to disagree in their recent hot-hatch battle at Anglesey.

The Focus RS does have more power than the Type R at 350 hp compared to the Civic’s 310 hp but, they did point out that the Type R has a significant weight advantage to counter the power difference by weighing 132 kg less.

On open roads, the Type R felt a bit more agile, more maneuverable and maybe a little faster once you’ve gotten the car rolling. But, both vehicles were fast and fun to drive so it’s a close call between them, a tie that PistonHeads had to settle on the track.

Sure the Focus RS is a bit heavier and if you miss your braking point, there may be a bit more understeer then you thought you’d get but even he had to admit that the RS is “hilariously good fun”. There’s a lot to like; those super sport tires, great handling balance, accurate gearbox, and the throw is short.

Unfortunately, compared to the Type R the Focus RS just wasn’t fast enough. The Type R has an even shorter throw, the lower weight does give it an advantage and negates the hp difference, even more keen responses, and it just feels more “natural” on track. This is the hot hatch to get if you want to go really fast on the track.
What does everyone think? Do you agree?

Here are the PistonHeads and Inside Lane video reviews for comparison.

 

[centurion]

Hopefully they plan to revisit the Honda vs Ford battle once the next generation Type R is out since that could very well make it much harder for Ford and the rest of the competition.

 

[Focused]

The Type R is definitely great in the most ideal conditions. But the RS will hold up and outperform the Type R if you live in an area that has ever-changing weather, including snow, etc.

The Type R is perfect for somewhere where you can utilize it by having dry roads majority of the time.

 

[Rspeed]

Because of how close these two vehicles are, there's no doubt that we'll be seeing these two going head to head in the future.

 

[centurion]

On a stock to stock level and even modified it will be interesting to see how far these go along with both of them compared in various track conditions.

 

[Rspeed]

Modified these will be going really far. I wouldn't doubt seeing someone like EKanoo picking up a Type R though.. That should be record breaking

 

[Focused]

EKanoo is insane. But aside from that.. I mean, it's really you're preferences when it comes down to it.