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My GTI vs focus RS

Mk7GTl

Go Kart Champion
Location
USA

Venumous

Ready to race!
Location
NE
i saw motorweek tv yrsterday and they tested the rs it did a 13.6@104mph in the 1/4. not impressed my 5.3 silverado could run that!

15.2 @ 92mph factory... Pretty substantial power bump on that truck then.
 

Stage2Sasquatch

Go Kart Champion
They also mentioned that the rear clutch packs overheated on them multiple times, causing the car to lose AWD.

There was a local one that had trouble completing one 20 minute session because of the RDU overheating in Michigan (I.E. not that hot)

Idk I just don't get the point of the RS. It's almost 40K. For this you get a lackluster performance car with serious issues from the factory that is a worse track car than a cheaper 5.0 w/PP. Because of this you expect it to be a good road car to make it viable right? Wrong. It's so massively overdamped and it literally has the exact same interior as the ST minus a logo here and there. (Which is an already inferior interior in the ~25K price range let alone the 40K range).

Again I just don't understand the RS's place in the market place. The Golf R makes sense because it's shortcomings are trumped by being quite possibly the best "all-around" car there is.
 

dlau9

Go Kart Champion
Location
Canada
There was a local one that had trouble completing one 20 minute session because of the RDU overheating in Michigan (I.E. not that hot)

Idk I just don't get the point of the RS. It's almost 40K. For this you get a lackluster performance car with serious issues from the factory that is a worse track car than a cheaper 5.0 w/PP. Because of this you expect it to be a good road car to make it viable right? Wrong. It's so massively overdamped and it literally has the exact same interior as the ST minus a logo here and there. (Which is an already inferior interior in the ~25K price range let alone the 40K range).

Again I just don't understand the RS's place in the market place. The Golf R makes sense because it's shortcomings are trumped by being quite possibly the best "all-around" car there is.

It's kinda like the STI. I think because that platform is getting stale people are looking for a new hardcore AWD hatch. With the evo dead and STI not getting upgrades engine wise, I think this is the natural move for some. Little do they know the RS is plagued with issues and slower than most think.

On paper the RS looks like a pretty interesting proposition. Limited, Rare, Hardcore, New and huge potential. However in reality, its cheap, has issues, tuning outcome isn't that great, and Meh in the performance department (per $$ paid). It's much easier to make a Golf R fast than to make the RS perform to its expectation.

Fords marketing department is doing a bang up job. Similar to the hellcat marketing.

Literally no one talks about the STI anymore its either the WRX, Golf R or Focus RS. Its like the STI gone and disappered from everyone's eye
 
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TwinDad

Autocross Newbie
Location
Fort Lee, NJ
15.2 @ 92mph factory... Pretty substantial power bump on that truck then.

I would say so. My brother has a Tahoe with the 5.3 and he is running a 13.6. Of course he is supercharged, tuned, and the transmission has stuff done.
 

Giulio24

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Los Angeles
I figured I would share this since this is the appropriate thread.

I'm one of those idiots the put down a deposit for the RS months before it came out. I actually put down tow deposits at two different dealers, because I wanted that car so bad that I did not want to take any chances of not getting it.

Long story short, after test driving the RS and the Golf R back to back multiple times I ended up getting my Golf R.

I just don't see all this greatness in the RS. Yes, it looks better than the Golf. Yes, it sounds better too. But for me that is where it ends. The trickier AWD system doesn't necessarily translate into more fun. I love working hard with my car on the track and having the car doing the work for me it's not what I paid for. I'd much rather have a 50-50 power split and having to do some serious left-foot braking than having the car rotate on its own. Also, the fact there's no cooling in the rear diff is a serious problem if you track your car as often as I do. I met multiple RS's at track days that were running FWD halfway through their sessions in winter desert weather. That's crazy for an high performance car. And I'm not even going to start talking about interior/build quality because we all know how it is. one thing worth mentioning that is not very obvious is that the seating position in the RS is very awkward and, at least for me, very uncomfortable (I'm 6'1 200, not a giant by any means) to the point that heel-toeing doesn't come natural like in the Golf.

Despite all this I still have a bug for the RS. It must be the hype that surrounds that car, or the fact that since I grew up in Europe the RS is such a mythical badge for me. Every once in while I walk into a dealer to test drive one thinking that I might change my mind. Like I did yesterday. But the RS felt so slow compared to my R. Yes, my R is tuned but they should be in the same ball park when in reality they did not even feel close. The steering in the RS it's marginally more direct but the difference is not really noticeable if you have DCC on your Golf. I think all the comparisons that I've seen online used a base Golf R. That's probably why the journalists felt that big of a difference in the steering. The only thing that I envy in the RS is the shifter. Definitely shorter then in the Golf R.

Sorry for the long rant, but I really don't understand why people think the RS is such a superior car. It's an amazing machine, no doubts, but I don't understand all this hype. I hope this post helps people that are cross shopping these two cars or that are thinking of trading in their Golf R (or GTI) for the Focus RS.
 
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gn4rwhals

Go Kart Champion
Location
Detroit, MI
Golf R > Focus RS

My 2017 WRX > Focus RS, or will be once I actually throw power at this motor.

Hell I could buy and fully build the WRX for less than a stock RS.
 

Mk7GTl

Go Kart Champion
Location
USA

Schumm122

New member
Location
Uk
There was a local one that had trouble completing one 20 minute session because of the RDU overheating in Michigan (I.E. not that hot)

Idk I just don't get the point of the RS. It's almost 40K. For this you get a lackluster performance car with serious issues from the factory that is a worse track car than a cheaper 5.0 w/PP. Because of this you expect it to be a good road car to make it viable right? Wrong. It's so massively overdamped and it literally has the exact same interior as the ST minus a logo here and there. (Which is an already inferior interior in the ~25K price range let alone the 40K range).

Again I just don't understand the RS's place in the market place. The Golf R makes sense because it's shortcomings are trumped by being quite possibly the best "all-around" car there is.

Well pretty much every motor journalist does get the point of the new RS, so it is you vs the world!

That car will eat your GTI off the line, it can put traction down better, plus mountune are upping it to 400bhp and it doesn't affect your warranty. A short burst of acceleration like that is hardly a comparison

In all other accounts like build quality and looks, the RS can't compete
 
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