I got a 5 mile test drive in a Focus RS yesterday. The car had 9 miles on it and I added 5 more. I did not go past half throttle nor push the car hard in turns at all, but still was able to get a good feel for the car on both city and highway roads.
Impressions:
- Exhaust - crackles more than my MP exhaust. I had read that it only pops at higher revs, but it was popping all the time. The exhaust note was louder inside the car with the windows up than mine. Sounded better to be honest as it was more raw sounding.
- Instrumentation - oil temp, oil pressure, water temp, boost gauge. Enough said.
- Infotainment - did not fool with the Sync 3 touchscreen, but it looked good. Wish it had old-fashioned knobs for radio tuning and volume, but at least the steering wheel had the buttons to adjust the radio. Had rear camera and navigation, of course.
- Interior appearance - pretty cheap and bland. But, the Recaro front seats (RS2 option) were made of nice material and had nice stitching, and the stitching on the leather steering wheel also looked nice.
- Exterior appearance - despite the wing spoiler and other aero parts, it's still unmistakably a Focus. The Nitrous Blue paint, however, is stunning. It's metallic, and really pops in the sunlight. It was a lot less impressive when it became overcast, but still a head-turning color. The car also had the black wheel package with Michelin Cup 2 tires, and the wheels looked great, especially with the blue-painted Brembo calipers up front. The rear calipers were painted matching blue as well, but unfortunately looked small and cheap compared to the Brembos up front.
- Ride and Handling - every review says the ride is harsh to the point of being unbearable, but it didn't seem so to me. Maybe I'm used to my rock-hard Mini ride. :-) The RS in Normal mode was more or less the same ride quality of my BMW in Sport mode.
- Seating position and ergonomics - the car is easy to get into and out of. The seating position is higher than I'm used to, but okay. It was easy to adjust the seatback for a comfortable driving position. The Recaro seats were comfortable and had plenty of bolstering. Getting into the back seats was easy as well. It's a comfortable car for passengers, front and back.
- Steering - excellent wheel and excellent feel. Better than the M235i. Nice weighting in all driving modes. It's darty too, almost to the point of being twitchy.
Why was I even looking at the RS? Two reasons mainly: 1) it's a more practical daily driver with the hatch, 4 doors, and AWD (with 6MT) than the 2D M235i RWD with the small-ish trunk; and 2) I thought it might have a little less boring appearance than my M235i.
After the test drive, I'm convinced that it would be more practical, but not so convinced that it would be any less boring looking, compared to mine. The color is not boring, but it's still a Focus. Most non-enthusiasts would not give the car a second look, other than that paint job.
The thing that made me realize that there's no way I would trade mine for the RS is the amount of depreciation I would lose. Almost $20K in less than 2 years! Their initial offer was MSRP plus $3K mark up for the RS, and $32K for mine. No way. They came back with MSRP for the RS ($43,300) and $32,500 for mine. After taxes and fees it was my car plus $12K out the door.
If it was my car plus $5K, it would have been a tough decision. It was a no-brainer at $12K.
Edit: I should add that mine has 7500 miles and is in near-showroom condition, so it should get the highest possible trade value.