Prospective Owner - Current Fiesta ST Owner

[Zissou]

Hello FocusRSforum

I'm a prospective Focus RS owner. Joining this forum to lurk like crazy and gather information.

Currently driving a 2014 Fiesta ST (pretty well modded), a 1997 Honda Prelude, and a 2012 Ducati Monster 1100 evo. Considering selling the whole fleet to get a Focus RS and a cheap truck. I drive very little, 7k miles per year between the 3. I live in a smallish town with easy access to mountain roads like the blue ridge parkway, so fun car all the way.

So anyone switch from a Fiesta ST to the Focus RS? Any advice? Willing to be talked into or out of this. Going to go test drive some RS's this weekend.

Thanks!

 

[MKIIIRS]

Hey [MENTION=242]Zissou[/MENTION] welcome to the Focus RS world. This is Zach MKVIIST from FiestaSTForum. [MENTION=201]meFiSTo[/MENTION] from the FiST forum is also here.

I made the switch and honestly it's really hard to compare the two side-by-side. While the FiST is such a fun car, the Focus RS is on another level and the extra power is so addicting. Go test drive it this weekend and let us know what you think. If you have any specific questions please post and I'll be more than happy to answer.

 

[hotfocus]

Welcome

 

[GhostRS]

Good luck! Let us know your thoughts.

[SCAMMER ALERT] a FiST and loves it. He admitted if he had the money he’d have gotten the RS.

Like [MENTION=2]MKIIIRS[/MENTION] said, they are very different cars. Kinda hard to compare.

 

[Zissou]

Alright so I drove one yesterday afternoon. Here are my thoughts of the RS specifically compared against my Fiesta ST:

Pros:
- Traction. AWD means traction for days. Traction is the weak point on the Fiesta ST, especially at stage 3. The FiST might really benefit from a LSD and smaller wheels.
- Interior is a big step up. It should be for the cost, but compared to the FiST it feels like a luxury car.
- Looks. It looks special. The interior with the upgraded seats looks very suave. The exterior in the in-your-face blue is also a very fun look.
- Rarity. I love driving vehicles that not everyone else is driving. Seeing a FoRS on the road is very rare.
- Sound. Even stock it had some very nice pops and burbles. I had to add some components to the FiST to get sounds like that. And I didn't hate the sound symposer, but then again I didn't hate it in my FiST for about a year then I plugged it up.

Cons:
- Ride quality. Obviously this is a high performance car and a stiff ride is to be expected, but it bounces around on the highway just like my FiST did when the suspension was stock. But yes, it's not a highway cruiser - but it does mean that I would want to also own a highway cruiser like my Prelude.
- Power. Specifically the feel of power. I'm already anticipating an argument here, but for 350/350 it really did not pull like I would expect. Granted I was driving faster than I thought and the FiST has a huge advantage of being lighter and feeling much faster than it is.
- Looks (again). It's a double edged sword driving a car that looks aggressive and fast. Sometimes I want to be a little stealthy.
- Cost. It's a significant investment. Granted it will likely hold value very well, but it's still a solid chunk of cash. Plus the fact that it can't do everything means I'd want to keep another vehicle or two. It couldn't replace my FiST, Prelude, and Ducati - just the FiST or maybe FiST + Ducati.

Further considerations:
- This Focus RS was stock, and my point of comparison is my stage 3 FiST. I'm sure a Cobb AccessPort would really liven this car up, just like it did my FiST.
- The head gasket issue seems to be a concern. Because it's not a high volume car, issues might take longer for Ford to address.
- Someone on youtube said on oil change is $90. Is that just because he doesn't know how to change oil himself?

Final thoughts:
I won't be pursuing the Focus RS at this time. I truly adore my FiST and the FoRS wasn't enough to sway me. Now in a few years I could certainly see myself getting one when used prices come down, but I can't justify spending that much coin on the FoRS at this time. Plus after all the cars I've driven since owning the FiST nothing has been more fun, so I'd like to keep the FiST forever.

 

[MKIIIRS]

Nice review [MENTION=242]Zissou[/MENTION], can't go wrong with either car. Thankfully they are so different that you can own both lol.

 

[GhostRS]

Nice review [MENTION=242]Zissou[/MENTION], can't go wrong with either car. Thankfully they are so different that you can own both lol.

I agree- nice honest review. I wouldn't spend the money unless you were 100% int the car.
You still have a great car so you're good

 

[GhostRS]

- Power. Specifically the feel of power. I'm already anticipating an argument here, but for 350/350 it really did not pull like I would expect. Granted I was driving faster than I thought and the FiST has a huge advantage of being lighter and feeling much faster than it is.

FYI- in regards to this statement. I've had a lot of people who test-drove the RS (or when they first purchased one) say this. In fact I kind of thought the same thing when I first bought mine... I've found after learning the car there is a definite sweet-spot to getting that "throw you in your seat" feel from the power. You have to get to know the car to figure it out. But it's there

 

[meFiSTo]

After a few months of having the car, i can honestly say that I'd unquestionably keep my stock RS vs. my MRX FiST. The FiST is a woot to drive and, set to the slot 1 tune, it is perfectly docile in town with enough oomph to squirt out of or into any situation as needed.

I find the ride of the RS to be perfectly tame around town. I do not personally find the ride particularly stiff. However, I have been riding on aftermarket coilovers in my hatchback since 2004. They are a little stiffer that the stock suspensions on all the cars (KW3s on my SVT Focus and Audi S4 Avant, both gone, and BC coilovers on the FiST).

I do completely understand and appreciate your perspective, but for me, the RS is a joy to drive around town. I do wish it had some of the accident avoidance features of other modern $40,000 cars, but that's not what this was. I think this was Ford's last hurrah for gas-powered, high-performance hatchbacks in the US.

As for the power delivery. It is so smooth compared to my 2554-based FiST (when set to slot 2), it's just not in the same league. The FiST is a handful on trackdays, but it's a gas. I've not taken the RS out, but can tell will be fast and stick like dog poop on hiking boots. Ford can keep their Miustangs. I'm going to keep this sucker.

Caveat: I have rarely taken RS over 4000 RPM. Someday, repeated redline bounces cometh, as will the aroma smoking brake pads, glowing discs, and redhot brake fliuds.

 

[Zissou]

Nice review [MENTION=242]Zissou[/MENTION], can't go wrong with either car. Thankfully they are so different that you can own both lol.

Yes that is so true. And dangerous for my bank account! I’m hanging on to the FiST, but a FoRS could join the fleet one day. It’s reasonable enough to own both haha


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[Zissou]

FYI- in regards to this statement. I've had a lot of people who test-drove the RS (or when they first purchased one) say this. In fact I kind of thought the same thing when I first bought mine... I've found after learning the car there is a definite sweet-spot to getting that "throw you in your seat" feel from the power. You have to get to know the car to figure it out. But it's there

That makes a lot of sense. It was a similar thing with the Fiesta - trying to get that fast feel. Admittedly the tuning and mods have made it much easier to do this, and I can only assume that would be the same case in the Focus RS.

Basically I want a Focus RS, but can’t justify buying one right now.


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[GhostRS]

I guess every car has that sweet spot you need to figure out. My Genesis Coupe was the same way.

And I'm sure the Fiesta feels SO much different. I'm going to drive my friends to see how it feels.

That makes a lot of sense. It was a similar thing with the Fiesta - trying to get that fast feel. Admittedly the tuning and mods have made it much easier to do this, and I can only assume that would be the same case in the Focus RS.

Basically I want a Focus RS, but can’t justify buying one right now.

 

[Zissou]

Dang it I'm back to thinking about getting one of these, especially with KW's adaptive coilovers.

 

[MKIIIRS]

Dang it I'm back to thinking about getting one of these, especially with KW's adaptive coilovers.

You should since they are still available

 

[Zissou]

You should since they are still available

RIP me trying to save money and driving my paid off car. I've got my eyes on a 2018 possibly. We'll see what our Jalopnik friend at automatch consulting can find for me.

 

[hotfocus]

Aside from this whole head gasket issue, I've got say the RS is by far the best Focus I've owned and I've owned three Focus in the past.

 

[Zissou]

Aside from this whole head gasket issue, I've got say the RS is by far the best Focus I've owned and I've owned three Focus in the past.

The head gasket thing has been recalled right? So should be fine once that gets replaced for 2016-2017 models right?