New Focus RS is our 2016 perfomance car

I knew after the first few metres of driving new 2016 Focus RS that everything I loved about the Fiesta ST was just magnified in this. A savage beast you’d back in a pub brawl with its notchy six-speed manual gearbox and vociferous 2.3-litre EcoBoost engine.

It’s a slightly less polished package compared to some of its German rivals like the Audi RS3 and Mercedes A 45 AMG, particularly when it comes to reviewing cabin materials and Ford’s attempt at trying to hoist a Focus bodyshell up several premium categories through some aerodynamic addenda and bigger alloys is a ruse the others manage with greater ease and brand cachet.

Yet it’s precisely these endearing efforts to hang onto a segment that has evolved well beyond what Ford’s gritty RS brand originally stood for that ensures an experience like nothing else on the roads. This is an old product, repackaged quite extensively. Although I preferred the straight edges of the previous Focus RS to this, modern tastes see a toned down version plastered with RS items that can appear tacky (but not nearly as gaudy as Civic Type R) and do an unconvincing job of promising new amounts of downforce to the car. Where are the obligatory patches of carbon fibre, little vents peeled into the bodywork or a pointy diffuser stacked between the four tail pipes? Instead this is a look that reminds me of Subaru STi circa 1990s and that’s a reference you can draw on a number of other occasions.

And if it comes across like I’m giving the Focus RS a harder time than it deserves, just remember this costs substantially more than a Golf R or GTi Clubsport, both of which integrate their newfound performance accessories in a neater appearance.

But if you’re buying a hot hatch because you want sophistication, perhaps you have missed the point entirely. New Focus RS completely opens our eyes to the brainwashing of dual clutch gearboxes and limited slip differentials being the ultimate two factors of performance hedonism.

The 2.3-litre EcoBoost might as well be a completely different unit to the one fitted in the Mustang because it sounds louder with little pops on the upshifts, revs up faster and whereas the Mustang’s automatic shifter seemed to thin out the engine’s power, the RS’s six-speed shifter never misses the huge swell of torque. It’s right up there with Audi’s 2.5-litre 5-cylinder engine for outright theatrics and spine-tingling sensations.

The six-speed gearbox is probably the most crucial point in this mechanical puzzle because a soft clutch, high biting point or mushy shift could quite easily knock points off the engine and the all-wheel drive system. Civic Type R still has the best shifter in the business only because the Ford’s throw is a fraction longer and the gearknob could be a bit smaller but I’m nitpicking a really fantastic system that brings back joy to the manual shifter.

Ford does follow the rule book with its all-wheel drive system as power outputs beyond 200kW become increasingly commonplace. Yet Ford has managed to do, in its first attempt, what others have been claiming for years. A rear-biased system that actually works, and works in every driving mode.  What about the drift mode that preceded this car’s hype? Unless you’ve got some room to experiment, I found Focus RS a little too sticky and an uneven match for a rear-wheel drive competitor like BMW M2. That’s not to say Ford hasn’t broken new ground with its system, but its not as natural or fluid.

Even with Ford’s latest SYNC media centre which replicates a lot of what MMI and iDrive can do, the fact that it is touchscreen only detracts from the overall experience. Steering controls mitigates the need to lean out the Recaro seats too often but the cabin has no premium aura about it. No piano black inserts (as impractical as they are) and not enough varied materials for an enjoyable tactile feel.

So yes the Focus RS carries a number of flaws but personally that’s what gives it character in a sterile, overly sophisticated segment. The price is perhaps a fraction high against S3 and Golf R but Focus RS is one of our top drives of 2016.

Read our first drive impression here: