[video=youtube;pkZlwdml__U]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkZlwdml__U[/video]
Article Source: http://www.foxnews.com/auto/2016/09/15/2017-ford-focus-rs-test-drive.html
All-wheel-drive systems are designed to enhance traction. Driving four tires doubles your chances of finding grip when you need it. But what if you don?t want it?
The 2017 Ford Focus RS is the hottest compact hatchback the company has ever made. The little five-door is powered by a 350 hp 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with 350 lb-ft of torque that the front tires alone could not contain. (The Focus ST has enough trouble with its relatively measly 270 lb-ft.) So Ford Performance developed a unique all-wheel-drive setup that can send up to 70 percent of that twist to the rear wheels, where it can be put to good use in a variety of ways.
There, it?s channeled through a piece of mechanical wizardry called a Torque Vectoring Rear Drive Module, which combines a differential and two clutches that can send all, some or none of its share of the torque to either wheel. A computer figures things out on the fly to keep tires from spinning (usually!) while using it to help the car turn, the way a rowboat goes right when you paddle harder on the left.
On a track or a twisty road, there?s no understeer, and just a hint of rear-bias. It?s neat and neutral, even when you hammer it coming out of a hairpin turn. Its perfection in doing this belies the car?s $36,775 price. That?s hardly cheap, but I?ve driven far more expensive cars that can?t manage their power as well. Neither can the Focus RS?s direct competitors: the rawer Subaru WRX STI and more sophisticated Volkswagen Golf R.
Like the Subaru, the Focus RS only comes with a six-speed manual transmission, which gives it serious street cred in an increasingly autonomous age. The stick does have a trick of its own, though: It lets you keep the throttle pedal on the floor during upshifts as it begs the engine not to explode.
Article Source: http://www.foxnews.com/auto/2016/09/15/2017-ford-focus-rs-test-drive.html
All-wheel-drive systems are designed to enhance traction. Driving four tires doubles your chances of finding grip when you need it. But what if you don?t want it?
The 2017 Ford Focus RS is the hottest compact hatchback the company has ever made. The little five-door is powered by a 350 hp 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with 350 lb-ft of torque that the front tires alone could not contain. (The Focus ST has enough trouble with its relatively measly 270 lb-ft.) So Ford Performance developed a unique all-wheel-drive setup that can send up to 70 percent of that twist to the rear wheels, where it can be put to good use in a variety of ways.
There, it?s channeled through a piece of mechanical wizardry called a Torque Vectoring Rear Drive Module, which combines a differential and two clutches that can send all, some or none of its share of the torque to either wheel. A computer figures things out on the fly to keep tires from spinning (usually!) while using it to help the car turn, the way a rowboat goes right when you paddle harder on the left.
On a track or a twisty road, there?s no understeer, and just a hint of rear-bias. It?s neat and neutral, even when you hammer it coming out of a hairpin turn. Its perfection in doing this belies the car?s $36,775 price. That?s hardly cheap, but I?ve driven far more expensive cars that can?t manage their power as well. Neither can the Focus RS?s direct competitors: the rawer Subaru WRX STI and more sophisticated Volkswagen Golf R.
Like the Subaru, the Focus RS only comes with a six-speed manual transmission, which gives it serious street cred in an increasingly autonomous age. The stick does have a trick of its own, though: It lets you keep the throttle pedal on the floor during upshifts as it begs the engine not to explode.
