Published on: 11/11/2015IST

Although it has long since become one of the more predictable clichés of automotive PR, the prelaunch passenger ride rarely teaches us more beyond what a new car sounds like and some indication of the raw g-forces that it can generate.

Which is why we’re very thankful to the new Focus RS’s much-vaunted Drift Mode for giving us a very obvious point of difference with every other performance hatchback to write about. In most cars, sideways is a side effect, a dynamic imbalance that’s either accidentally or deliberately provoked. But in the RS it’s a programmed feature and a thrilling experience—even without a steering wheel in your hands.

Our ride takes place in Belgium, at Ford’s principal European test track, the Lommel Proving Ground. This top-secret site is nearly 800 acres in size and contains 50 miles of different tracks, from a high-speed oval with banked turns to Route 7, a dynamic course that’s been made in part from replicas of various senior Ford engineers’ favorite real-world corners. There are even a variety of different road surfaces to model everything from a Florida freeway to medieval European cobbles. But it’s the skidpad that we’ll remember the Focus RS for.

Until we reach that particular location, the RS has been ticking off the familiar staples of the passenger ride. Our driver is Thomas Duscha, one of the project’s senior engineers and a man who has spent enough time at Lommel to make rapid progress here seem truly effortless. As is usual in Belgium, it’s raining, and the slipperiness of the surface is demonstrated when, rounding a corner on Route 7, we find another of the RS prototypes firmly embedded in a gravel trap after sliding off the track.

Duscha makes it all look very easy. Maybe it is easy, but for now we’re not in a position to find out. He says that the clever torque-marshaling all-wheel-drive system means there’s practically no understeer, but—beyond noting that the front end does indeed seem to stick to his chosen line—this is a claim that’s impossible to verify while sitting on the other side of the car. We can confirm the RS is certainly fast and agile, with organ-sloshing g loads and impressive composure when asked to deal with Lommel’s bigger bumps. It sounds good, too, progress accompanied by a rorty exhaust note and with a miniature fusillade of pops and bangswhenever the throttle is lifted. Looking at the tachometer confirms it seems to be revving with markedly more enthusiasm than the Mustang EcoBoost that shares the same basic engine, Duscha running it out practically all the way to the 6900-rpm fuel cutoff.

But it’s fair to say that the sort of drama promised by the seeminglyendless series of Focus RS teaser videos is lacking, at least until we reach the skidpad. The man who led the RS project, Tyrone Johnson, admits that he has been frustrated by how much coverage of the car has been dedicated to the Drift Mode, which is just a small part of what is a fully featured performance car that looks set to raise the bar on all of its segment rivals. But there’s no denying the appeal of a button that basically allows you to play Ken Block.

“You do need to bring some skill to the equation,” Johnson said during our ridiculously in-depth technical briefing—about which you can read right here—“but you’ll notice that you don’t have to use the e-brake very much.”

This is true. The Drift driving mode doesn’t fully deactivate the stability-control system and actually puts the steering into its less-aggressive normal setting to make wheel-twirling easier. With the RS in a tight turn the throttle pedal gets mashed and, after the brief sensation of the front end running wide, the system shifts torque to the outside rear wheel and the car breaks into graceful oversteer, the rear tires smoking and squealing in a way that will warm the heart of any wannabe Hoonigan.

The system’s intervention is revealed by the fact the back end seems to power itself around only to the point where the front wheels are aiming straight, not into the sort of opposite lock that encourages the most purple automotive prose. But a couple of circuits of the skidpad confirm that the engine has enough torque to keep this up until either you or the rear tires give up. Started in a tight enough turn, the RS will perform donuts in what feels like little more than its own length, spinning-top-style.

It’s a feature we suspect that most owners will use rarely—and which may well feature in various “Hey, watch this!” YouTube blooper reels—but we can’t deny that it’s a neat trick. And one that makes us want to drive the car even more.

11/11/2015 | | Permalink