Ford Focus RS'09 is.. FWD.

That's disgusting. I don't like that at all.

I've never really liked the new Focus shape. The old RS is still much prettier.
 
Competing with price is a good thing though. The new STi has priced itself to 335i range, this sounds more like it.
23k pounds. Is that a lot in britain, what else can you get with same money? R32?
 
I am disappointed at the car not being AWD, but then isn't the Renault Megane f1 cup thing a FWD with the trick diff? That seems to handle pretty well around a track.
I think i'll wait till it is unveiled before i comment further, however if they can further improve on the already decent ST (XR5T for us Aussies) then the RS should be a bloody good car.
 
Ugh, I feared this would happen. Ford could have made a real WRX competitor. but instead missed the whole point.
 
I am of course feeling a faint whiff of dissappointment of the RS lacking 4wd, but if it turns out to manage without, using some clever diff then I can't see the problem. After all this car will be fairly cheap. If it turns out to be ? 21K, then it's about five grand less than an STI, and eight grand less than the cheapest EVO.

After all the technical director for this project, don't remember his name, was actually very well known for his distaste for things that added weight. The Haldex system that was proposed for this car wasn't a good one anyway. It's quite simply FVD untill slip is detected and then it sends up to 30 % of the power to the rear, it's also quite heavy.

The mkV Escort was originally a transreverse FVD design, so the reason why the old Escort RS Cosworth was given 4wd, was that it was built on a shortened version of the (then) old RVD Sierra platform. The 4wd system was a very simple TorSen system with a longditutionally mounted engine and 70 % of the power going to the rear and 30 % going to the front, with a limited slipp diff at the back. This system was used in all of the 4x4 Sierras and Scorpios (Granada in the UK), pluss the Escort RS Cosworth.
 
FWD is massive fail, period. It doesn't matter what trick diffs you put in there, limit the torque output etc, it won't handle anywhere near a WRX or EVO. I've driven (owned) powerful FWD cars and now I own an EVO. You cannot compare the two. FWD cars, even with a good LSD and a bunch of handling mods, will understeer on corner entry and exit, and under hard load off the line will axle tramp and torque steer all over the place. AWD cars do not.

Ford had the chance to make a proper competitor, but decided to whimp out and aim it at the hot hatch market, to which I'm sure it'll do well. It looks decent, but way too flashy.
 
FWD is massive fail, period. It doesn't matter what trick diffs you put in there, limit the torque output etc, it won't handle anywhere near a WRX or EVO. I've driven (owned) powerful FWD cars and now I own an EVO. You cannot compare the two. FWD cars, even with a good LSD and a bunch of handling mods, will understeer on corner entry and exit, and under hard load off the line will axle tramp and torque steer all over the place. AWD cars do not.

Ford had the chance to make a proper competitor, but decided to whimp out and aim it at the hot hatch market, to which I'm sure it'll do well. It looks decent, but way too flashy.

You do realise the previous RS Focus without AWD lapped the Top Gear track 4 seconds faster than the WRX at that time?
How about waiting until this thing is released, drive it, then pass judgment.
 
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You cannot compare the two. FWD cars, even with a good LSD and a bunch of handling mods, will understeer on corner entry and exit, and under hard load off the line will axle tramp and torque steer all over the place. AWD cars do not.

Someone was doing something wrong if they did all sorts of mods and never cured the axle tramp. Also you still need to adjust that brand new/expensive fully adjustable suspension, you can't just slap it on the car and go :tease:
 
Also because of the CO2 emmisions thing, 4WD would seriously increase their CO2 output for their range.
 
It's uber-chav. Ford aren't as lazy as Vauxhall so it shouldn't sent you into a tree when you floor it. Unfortunately........
 
That's disgusting. I don't like that at all.

I've never really liked the new Focus shape. The old RS is still much prettier.

I'll have to agree with you there, the old RS had the look of a quiet psycho. It is disappointing that it is not AWD, (Ford Sierra Cosworth, anyone? it can be done!) but the FWD layout will appeal to a broader range of drivers, since people feel more in control of a car that understeers than one that oversteers.

Or in the case like my car, under/oversteers, then settles down goes absolutely batshit out of a corner. :D
 
So Ford is leading WRC and the new Focus looks more aggressive then the new Subaru WRX STi?

What is the world coming to.
 
For some reason I read the title as "'09 Focus RS is......RWD"

Then I saw the com-gen images and went "oh my god, Ford have done it, they've given us another Escort!!!!!!!"

Imagine my disappointment when I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes :(

Should still be a good jigger though.
 
FWD.. dont you mean FWGAY. thats bullshit. why cant ford just put power to the rear ??? so they need a new tranny and a rear end. Whoop de doo! there doing the same thing like with the mustang and its suspension and drive train. such a shame for such a pretty pretty car
 
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