Just driven a Focus RS

[aphix]

Hey Guys,

Thought id post this, as i know that the Focus RS and Leon Cupra R are similar, and have both been high on peoples shopping list.

Before i got my Cupra R, i was completley fixed on getting a Focus RS, its all i wanted. But as i hadnt sold my other car i couldnt quite afford a good one. Was looking round for somehting to tide me over and got a cupra R.

I;ve had the Cupra R since last october, and liked it so much i didnt want to change to the RS. Also a good quality RS wouldnt of been 5k more for the same age car. (insurance was about the same) - I've always avoided the chance to test drive a FRS, thinking i would prefer it over the LCR.

Had a call last week from my mate whose started his own car sales business saying hed just been offered one, asking for some advice as he knew i was into them, . I said could i take it for a quick spin.. went down to day, jumped steaight out of my LCR and into the RS.

Good Points

Firstly the interior isnt as bad as people make it out to be.. ill tell you one thing.. theres no creaks or rattles like the LCR. The sparco seats grip you well.

The gear change is short and feels controlled. The LCR one sometimes feels a bit notchy.

The next point is the power.. it deffintly feels quicker than the LCR, it pins you back in your seat a little more.

The ride is firmer and you feel a bit more.. sort of part of the car, the whole chassis feels tighter and stiffer.

I pesonally think it looks the pups nuts.. its a very handsome looking car i prefer it over the LCR looks wise.

Its lovley to pull out of juntions with, the LSD deffintley works.

Visibility - Much better than the LCR, you can see more out the back window.

Not so good points

Torque Steer - All the magazines said it torque steered, owners ive spoke too say it doesnt - It does Floor it down a straight dual carrigeway and it will pull to the right. Weather or not the LSD helps i dont know.

Ride - Although its stiff and sporty.. there is no way i could like with FRS as my only car, it feels permatly on edge, the suspension is hard and unforgiving.. the seats give you lots of support - but there is now ay it could be relaxing.

I do a 100miles trip down to Essex every other week, and i wouldnt be relaxed at the end of it.

Seating Position - i couldnt get it low enough.

Brakes - Although they are brembo and probably the same calipers on the LCR - they just didnt have that bite.. apparantly they had been replaced recently - ive just done my front discs and pads.. and know my rears need doing and it needs bleeding. So that suprised me a bit.



Thats about it really. - Before i went out.. my mate didnt say anything about what he thought of it.. he asked me what i thought when i got back.. he more or less felt the same way about it. Hes in his early 40's i think and has driven petty much everything, and races Formular Fords down at combe. So i think hes a pretty good judge.

Also the guy that works at the garage next door drove it while i was there, he races Peugeots and stuff.. he got out and said.. "doesnt half torque steer"


I really dont think if u had to drive it as your main car. you could live with it. Its not a relaxing drive. It feels every part a rally car.. it feels a bit special and as though it was only really designed for one thing... i like that.

The FRS feels more like a car you stick in the garage during the week.. and take out at weekends.

I still want one.. but am happy i have the Cupra R instead of it. Im sure if i get it REVO'd, Recaro Seats and Coilovers i would have a better car that was easier to live with.

If i had the choice of the FRS or the LCR to take on a track day.. i have to say it would be the FRS

Rob

 

[CupraSteve]

your car would piss on one revo'd, yours would be as fast in standard form easily, even if it didnt feel like it, i bet on the road there would be no difference.


the leons are deceptivly quiet and smooth

 

[aphix]

it must be power delivery.. i was sat in my front room thinking . talking to my mum about it (of all people)

The focus was very.. put your foot down.... getting quicker.. then bam the turbo kicks in... it seemed to be quite fussy on the gear you chose to use the power in.

Maybe it was deceptive. It would be very itnresting to see side by side race of 2 standard cars.

Rob

 

[dabossman]

Good review mate.
Had the same dilemma as urself. Had a test drive of a cupra r the other week and it pulls like a train!!!!!
Must admit havent been in a rs yet but to be honest, now that i have driven a cupra, no turning back. Hopefully will have one in Jul time and i cant wait!!!

 

[chriz1]

going to get my lcr jabbad soon and new air filter then going to kiss goodbye my mates rs there aint a lot in it now 0-60 on the lanes i think im quicker slighty but thats down to drivers too.

 

[aphix]

Go drive the RS if you get a chance... go with an open mind though. I went in with the attitude of not wanting to like the RS.. which was perhaps the wrong approach.

What also doesnt help is that i am used to how the LCR drives.., i think i often forget how quick it is.. The power is available further down the rev range and more consistant.. so you dont get that sudden oooomph which perhaps gives more of an impression of being quick as it seems to pick up speed quicker. Which maybe it doesnt. I dont know.. would be nice to take it for a day or so rather than an hour. And try some differnt roads.

Rob

 

[chriz1]

driven my mates and have to say it feels quicker than the lcr standard,or is it the way the power is delivered either way its quick!

 

[aphix]

going to get my lcr jabbad soon and new air filter then going to kiss goodbye my mates rs there aint a lot in it now 0-60 on the lanes i think im quicker slighty but thats down to drivers too.

hehe i think the remap is a good idea.. i had a quick ride in the passanger seat of CHRIS200's LCR which had a APR remapped, Neuspeed Induction and Powerflow (i think) rear box, and Recaro's that felt good, but becuase i didnt drive it i cant really be a good judge, but that felt spot on.

Rob

 

[dabossman]

Very true!!!!!
Spoke to sum bloke the other night in bp station, after admiring his rs and he said that although it hurts him to say this, the lcr was faster along the straights (had sum experience racing one bac from brighton) but there was a def disadvantage going round corners.
LCR 1 - RS 0

 

[chriz1]

yep,im sure this remap will transform the car and for the price it is your getting excellent £per bhp increase good potential these cars.

 

[D3DNA]

I'm not an LCR driver but have tested a few and have had the chance at driving the FRS and they are totally different cars. The LCR is a quiet car, press the loud pedal and you are accelerating, you look down and you've gone from 30 to 80mph without (much of) a kick. The RS has more bite when accelerating but as many suggest and I agree with, it does have a harsh aggressive ride and the acceleration is immense. On bad roads the LCR has a better and more confident feel when gripping the wheel, with the FRS you need to grip the wheel very tightly otherwise the car goes all over the road. This is partly due to the LSD and the wide wheels. Hooning it around a bend the LCR does feel a bit more 'yep that was great, and i'm alive'. The Ford has the feeling of 'I'm going round a corner, and wait, the steering is twisting the wheel one way and i'm going the other'.
As a track day solution who don't want to have a proper race car like a caterham/lotus type vehicle then the Ford is a great alternative especially considering its got loads of kit that any other cheap race type vehicle has. Many people I know have them as sunday drive cars or use them in conjunction with a company car. Yet put it on the road and its a different car, it doesn't lend itself into bends, you have to force it, the turbo kicks in too late compared with the LCR's. You always feel like the car has driven through a parts bin and stuff has stook to it, I believe its an experiment that has the right idea but doesn't have the chassis it deserves. Saying that the LCR hasn't either but being a road car that can go as fast as the Ford you have more comfort and it feels right for the road. The FRS doesn't IMO, thats why i'd rather have a LCR than a Ford.

 

[wrc]

i have owned a focus RS for 3 yrs, & loved it to bits.
the turbo kicks in @ 2,000 rpm.
yes it has torque steer, even at 212 bhp, but you get use to it.
the RS i had was sitting at 306 bhp, but what a machine, it had the pull, & could hit a top end of 150mph no problem.
from standard you can buy a superchips bluefin re-map, which gives the car an added 25 bhp, & its like the revo where you can take it back out.
the good thing about the bluefin, is what ever you add to the car like manifold, de-cat, exhaust, the bluefin will recogizne the added goods with out having to re-map the car again.
as for brakes the front discs are 325mm & rears 285mm with brembos, but for more stopping power i had mine grooved & fast road pads.

too my said note i had to sell my RS this year, as work was thinking of moving me around to differnt depots so i bought the cupra tdi, & i must say the euiptment is far greater thasn the RS, love the car to bits, & what a desiel, even with the re-map.

 

[paulsnewcuprar]

I have to say,having owned a FRS last year,it more than lived upto what i expected from it.

Some people say the ride is too hard,but i considered it to be right for what afterall is a HOT HATCH...............and as anyone who has had one should be able to tell you,the LCR is no match atall in the handling stakes,as a lot of other cars aren't either.And lets not forget,a lot of people that like cars and modding them,will always end up lowering them,and also end up with something that is at least as hard,but that does not,and will not ever handle as well.....................until you have driven an FRS hard,as was intended,it is difficult to beleive that the faster you go,the more the car digs in and pulls you round corners as if attached to a piece of overstretched elastic.

They are very sensitive to tyres,and also to tyre wear,as over the miles i had mine,it began to torque steer more as the tyres wore.If you get one with decent,and recommended tyres,you would probably be amazed.

As for the brakes,i can only think something must have been wrong with them on the car you drove,despite being new,as i thought they were phenominal on my car,and no matter how i drove it,or for how long,i never had so much as a bit of fade from them.................and that includes a 30 mile full on race with a Golf R32 over some of the Mendips best A + B roads.....................which incidently,once i went by him,he spent the next 20 miles or so trying to keep up,and took some really unnecessary risks,and still couldn't.

The remapped LCR i currently run is a good car..................but in my opinion the FRS is a fantastic one....................straight out of the box!!!

Horses for courses i suppose.....................each to their own!!!!!!!

 

[chriz1]

if we all remember the race between the civic type r leon cupra r,and focus rs on fith gear a while back there was not a lot of difference in them all time wise,but still the lcr was quicker than the frs cant remember by how much exactly but in terms of track time a fair bit,and the lcr was a whisker slower than the top civic typr r

 

[aphix]

They do feel like differnt cars.. my LCR felt a little lazy compared to the FRS. The FRS feels on edge.

I guess also when you have a car for a period of time, your driving style adapts to suit that car. I really didnt have the chance to push it, or get my seat in a more perfect position.

Be interesting know whose previously had an RS and changed to/from an LCR and their reasons for changing?

Rob

 

[schnipps]

i have owned a focus RS for 3 yrs, & loved it to bits.
the turbo kicks in @ 2,000 rpm.
yes it has torque steer, even at 212 bhp, but you get use to it.
the RS i had was sitting at 306 bhp, but what a machine, it had the pull, & could hit a top end of 150mph no problem.
from standard you can buy a superchips bluefin re-map, which gives the car an added 25 bhp, & its like the revo where you can take it back out.
the good thing about the bluefin, is what ever you add to the car like manifold, de-cat, exhaust, the bluefin will recogizne the added goods with out having to re-map the car again.
as for brakes the front discs are 325mm & rears 285mm with brembos, but for more stopping power i had mine grooved & fast road pads.

too my said note i had to sell my RS this year, as work was thinking of moving me around to differnt depots so i bought the cupra tdi, & i must say the euiptment is far greater thasn the RS, love the car to bits, & what a desiel, even with the re-map.

Slightly off topic and i apologise in advance but how much of a diff did the remap make on your tdi? I ask ias i want to get it done but at over 500 quid inc insurance hike its expensive. Are we talking noticing a massive diff as soon as you drove it or just a smaller pull in certain gears? cheers

 

[wrc]

Slightly off topic and i apologise in advance but how much of a diff did the remap make on your tdi? I ask ias i want to get it done but at over 500 quid inc insurance hike its expensive. Are we talking noticing a massive diff as soon as you drove it or just a smaller pull in certain gears? cheers

i,m sitting at 197 bhp & 310lb/ft torque.
cost me £500, & from second gear @ 2000revs the pull well you really can't say anything its fantastic.

get it done well worth it m8.

 

[Ant FR]

your car would piss on one revo'd, yours would be as fast in standard form easily, even if it didnt feel like it, i bet on the road there would be no difference.


the leons are deceptivly quiet and smooth

Get a focus RS and remap that to make it fair, I have been in brathed on one from PUmaBuild, and its not short of **** your pants quick.

 

[wrc]

Get a focus RS and remap that to make it fair, I have been in brathed on one from PUmaBuild, and its not short of **** your pants quick.

yes but alans @ pumabuild was sitting @ 328bhp.

 

[Ruddmeister]

Before I modified the suspension in my LCR (but while it had Revo) I had a few encounters with a local FRS, mainly tight ish A-road and even with the remap the LCR was only very merginally quicker on acceleration (don't know if his car was standard) but certainly round the bends my car rolled so much more I really stuggled to keep up....the FRS was visably flatter and seemed more planted.

I wouldn't expect a remapped LCR to be hugely quicker than an FRS in a straight line.....