[Cosmonaut]

Jalopnik has published it's Buyer's Guide for the Ford Focus RS. It's fairly detailed and gives a good overview for someone who has a cursory interest in the Ford Focus and is wondering if it is right for them. Here I've picked out some interesting bits from the article, and below you will find a link to the full piece.

The RS is super easy to use in everyday traffic despite its rather huge turning circle. The clutch is light, the steering is just as it should be and the gearbox is a one finger exercise. The noise is there in the background, but the ride is very forgiving in normal mode, and all this makes the RS a true daily driver alternative. A fast one.

Once you get it up to speed outside the city and start playing with the driving modes, it will get louder and harder on the bumps, but also remain very well balanced without much understeer or oversteer thanks to all that torque vectoring.

But the new 2016 model is a big deal, not just because it’s a global model shared by both Europe and the U.S., but because it’s all-wheel drive. In the U.S., the Focus RS is completely new and slots above the ST as the Focus’s ultra-performance variant.

There are lots of big-names on the RS’s spec sheet. Brakes are Brembos, seats are from Recaro and tires are either Michelin Pilot Super Sports or Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s. All that results in a drift-monster that can handle like a champion, rocket to 60 MPH in 4.7 seconds and get to a top speed of 165 MPH.

On which one they'd buy (which conveniently leaves out the issue of limited supply and dealer mark ups)...

The standard RS costs $35,730 plus an $875 destination fee, bringing you to $36,605. That base RS comes well equipped, too. You get partial-leather Recaro seats, a six-speed manual, SYNC 3 infotainment system with eight-inch display, a 10-speaker audio system, dual-zone climate control, 19-inch painted alloy wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Super Sport summer tires, a rearview camera and HID automatic headlamps.

http://buyersguide.jalopnik.com/ford-focus-rs-jalopniks-buyers-guide-1748845723

 

[centurion]

Thankfully they went with partial leather since we'd be sliding around with full leather. Still, I wouldn't mind full alcantara seats.

 

[Cosmonaut]

Leather seats are over rated. They are cold in the winter and hot in the summer. Sure they look nice but I don't think it is worth that discomfort.

 

[centurion]

Leather seats are over rated. They are cold in the winter and hot in the summer. Sure they look nice but I don't think it is worth that discomfort.

Well the whole point is it doesn't belong in a hard core performance geared toy like this, maybe partial but full definitely not. Even no leather at all is whats some people here would want.

 

[S.Elliot]

Well the whole point is it doesn't belong in a hard core performance geared toy like this, maybe partial but full definitely not. Even no leather at all is whats some people here would want.

All alcantara for the win:

 

[ExtremeFocus]

What car is that?

 

[Cosmonaut]

Sometimes if you use something everywhere, you might as well have used it nowhere. You need contrast in order for it to stand out.

 

[S.Elliot]

well not always, but it depends on what you believe that flows right and what doesn't flow right. Sometimes you can get away with including it in a small way and ending it right there.

 

[ExtremeFocus]

The Jalopnik article was posted in January and they didn't have the Fuel Economy Ratings at that time. Was Ford released it yet?

 

[S.Elliot]

Somewhere i read it was expected to get 21 city and 29 highway, which isn't too bad and with some easy driving it might be possible to get slightly better city MPG.

 

[FNH]

Leather seats are over rated. They are cold in the winter and hot in the summer. Sure they look nice but I don't think it is worth that discomfort.

You are right - I had leather seats when I lived in AZ - 150 degrees inside the car during the summer. The leather seats were like a griddle


I live in the PNW now and when it is 20 deg outside, leather is no fun either


I will say this though - leather is way easier to keep clean

 

[centurion]

The biggest take away and the most relevant point to us here is that it won't hold you down as much as cloth seats would, and when ripping it around the turns on the street and even on the track... cloth will help the experience.

 

[FNH]

The biggest take away and the most relevant point to us here is that it won't hold you down as much as cloth seats would, and when ripping it around the turns on the street and even on the track... cloth will help the experience.

You are right - cloth and alcantara (spelling?) have much more grip

 

[S.Elliot]

You are right - cloth and alcantara (spelling?) have much more grip

Yup.

Probably a good idea for anyone here who hasn't experienced it to test drive a car that has it. Best way to understand the difference.