#Rivals The Ford Focus RS how does it compare to its rivals? Lets find out

There have been many rumours surrounding the Ford Focus RS with many people saying that it is the best hot hatch ever. Well, as usual its my job to compare how the RS measure’s up to its closest rivals! In the blue corner we have the Volkswagen Golf R which was the best hot hatch on sale until the RS apparently stole its crown. In the red corner we have the Mercedes AMG A45 the fastest and most powerful hot hatch on sale right now! Lets do this!

Engines

The power produced by modern hot hatches is too much to be compared to a regular hot hatches so they have now transcended themselves into a new group of cars called the ‘super hot hatches’,the numbers really do speak for themselves!

Focus RS
The Ford uses a re-worked version of the crowd pleasing Mustang’s 2.3L 4 cylinder turbocharged engine
Horsepower: 345HP
Top Speed: 165MPH
Torque: 325lb-ft
0-60: 4.7 seconds

Golf R
When the Golf R was released it was the benchmark hot hatch and is the car that started of the hot hatch power craze!
Horsepower: 296HP
Top Speed: 155MPH
Torque: 280lb-ft
0-60: 5.1 seconds (Manual) 4.9seconds (Automatic)

A45
The old generation A45 had to make do with 355HP however since the hot hatch power craze started we have seen Mercedes trump everybody and produce a massive amount of horsepower from their 2.0L 4 cylinder engine
Horsepower: 376HP
Top Speed: 155MPH
Torque: 351lb-ft
0-60: 4.2 seconds

Drivetrain

To get the ultimate performance from a ‘super hot hatch’ manufacturers have stopped sending their power to the front wheels and started sending the power to all four instead.

Focus RS
The RS sends all of its 345HP to all four wheels making it every Hoonigan’s wet dream!
Gearbox: 6 speed manual
Weight Distribution: 60:40

Golf R
The MK7 Golf R sends all of its power to all four wheels much like is predecessors the MK4 and MK5 R32 and MK6 R
Gearbox: 6 speed manual or 6 speed DSG
Weight Distribution: 60:40

A45
The A45 has always had four wheel drive so its pretty much the same story hear as the other two.
Gearbox: 7 speed double clutch gearbox
Weight Distribution: 54:46

Suspension

Focus RS
The RS staying true to its performance orientated core only uses the best for its suspension components.
Suspension: MacPherson struts at the front and stiffer coils and anti roll bars borrowed from the Focus ST, at the rear we have multi link suspension and stiffer coils and anti roll bars from the Focus ST.
Steering: Electronically assisted steering.
Brakes 350mm ventilated disks at the front and 302mm ventilated disks at the rear.

Golf R
The German quality of the Golf does come through as usual.
Suspension: MacPherson struts at the front and stiffer coils and anti roll bars borrowed from the Golf GTI, at the rear we have multi link suspension and stiffer coils and anti roll bars from the Golf GTI.
Steering: Electronically assisted steering.
Brakes 340mm ventilated disks at the front and 310mm ventilated disks at the rear.

A45
The being the only performance orientated A-Class the A45 does have some more bespoke parts!
Suspension: 3-way adjustable dampers with re-engineered AMG coils and anti roll bars.
Steering: Electronically assisted power steering.
Brakes 350mm ventilated disks at the front and 330mm ventilated disks at the rear.

Styling

Focus RS
Nothing to fear from Fords design department here lairy body kits and huge rear wings are as standard on the RS! The RS looks especially good in the Nitrous Blue colour which pops out at the eyes, although truth be told it looks bloody good in any of the four colours on offer. The black 19 inch wheels you see in most of the road test photos are optional, however the smaller 18 inch wheels don’t look as bad and give a more traditional look to the RS.

Golf R
In the world of ‘super hot hatches’ the Golf R does look rather understated although my sister says that it looks like a ‘bad-boys’ car well what the f@ck does she know she drives a Focus ST and calls it understated. Anyway back to the Golf, the R is a very good looking car despite its understated exterior there are some signs of the cars performance character for example the four exhaust tips and big 19 inch wheels which are also options. Also the preferred colour for the R is the Lapiz Blue which looks great!

A45
The A45 could also be regarded as understated and when compared with a normal A-Class there is no significant difference to a normal A-Class aside from the four exhaust tips and AMG badges. However this can be changed with one step which is the AMG aero package which adds a gaping big wing on top and dual front canards, unfortunately the aero pack is optional and costs a massive £1,530.

Pricing

Focus RS
The RS has crazy speed mad handling and equally crazy styling so you’d expect the price to be relatively high but you’re wrong:
Base Price: £29,995
With some options:
Paint: Nitrous Blue- £745
Interior: Recaro shell front seats- £1,145
Luxury Pack: £1,000
Wheels: 19 inch black forged wheels- £595
Painted brake calipers: £100 (For a extra 50HP boost!)
Even with all of these options the RS comes in at a respectable: £34,585

Golf R
The Golf R is also a very well priced car but can it measure up to the Focus?
Base Price: £31,685 (3-door) £32,340 (The 5 door is £655 more than the 3 door)
With some options:
Paint: Lapiz Blue- £630
Interior: Black leather- £1,750
Tech Pack: £1,295
Wheels: 19 inch ‘Pretoria’ wheels- £915
With similar options the Golf R comes to a total price of: £36,930

A45
The A45 is a Mercedes meaning that it is likely to be priced much higher than the other two cars:
Base Price: £39,840
Paint: Jupiter Red (No cost option)
Interior: Black leather (No cost option)
AMG aero package: £1,530
Wheels: 19 inch black wheels: (No cost option)
The A45 with all its no cost options (Which I was suprised to see) costs a hefty:£41,370

Conclusion

So, if I was given £42,000 to spend on one of these ‘super hot hatches’ it would certainly be the Fod Focus RS. The RS is blisteringly fast, corners like a baws it is a bargin and compared with the other cars here and it has a exhaust you can fist! The Ford Focus RS is just too bloody good.

Furthermore, the Golf R is great but it needs a refresh to be able to cope with the likes of the RS, A45 and RS3. The A45 is a German powerhaus but its just too expensive to be a true hot hatch.

Before you say what the ‘f#ck do you know’ haters. Well I’ll have you know that last May (Before I joined CT) I did a work experience placement at Ford for two weeks during the RS’s development process and I got the honour of sitting in the passenger seat while getting hooned at 100MPH round a test circuit. Fair enough it was a test mule with only 320HP but I got closer to a RS than you haters.

Also, I’m currently in the process of trying to get my brother to sell his Focus ST for a RS and he is hooked its just down to the money now! Hopefully, I’ll have a MK3 RS in Nitrous Blue sitting pretty next to a Bayside blue R34 one day!

Hope you enjoyed reading this!

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