Focus RS vs STI
In previous years, the Subaru Impreza WRX STI was always in competition with the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. Ever since 1992, the STI and Evo were always competing, trying to becoming the better rally car. Through the past year, Mitsubishi ended the production of the Evo due to high production cost and low sales. There were also some issues like the Transfer case blowing up and a lakh of interior comfort for the price. A sad thing for Mitsubishi but a business opportunity for other car manufacturers. Ford took matters into their own hands and released a sports model of the Ford Focus, the Focus RS.
There are many differences between the two cars. The RS features a 2.3L turbocharged 4 cylinder and is running 350 horsepower at 6000 RPM and 350 ft-lbs of torque. Compared to the STI that has a 2.5L turbocharged 4 cylinder that runs 305 horsepower at 6000 RPM and 290 ft-lbs of torque. This is something quite surprising because a car that has less 0.2 L of less displacement is making 45 less horsepower, it raises many concerns. Both of the cars feature AWD and have different driving settings depending on the environment you are put in.
For the 0-60 times, both of the cars are pretty similar. The 0-60 MPH of an RS is 4.6 seconds, while the STI is 4.7 seconds, top speed is 165 MPH for the RS and the STI has 159 MPH. Relating to the type of gas, the RS actually takes 93 octane while the STI takes 91 octane. Depending on where you live, 93 octane could be a little hard to find, which makes the RS just a tad bit more impractical, unless you tune your car to run 91 octane which would also decrease the horsepower.
The rally experience for both cars is pretty amazing. The STI has a pretty intelligent system. It mostly operates in FWD but when traction is needed, the engine will split power to the rear wheels 60/40 split torque between the front and rear. It really helps in any environment that the STI is stuck in, it’s very hard for the car to get stuck. Compared to the RS which can have up to 100 percent of the torque going to the rear wheels. Many individuals who have drove both cars have said that the transmission on the RS is better and has quicker shifting compared to the STI. Best thing to see which one you prefer would be taking both of them for a test drive and seeing which one suits you.
The end decision is yours now. Both of the cars are pretty similar. The STI is an iconic rally car that has been talking business for the past 2 decades. While the RS is still new, it’s slowly bringing its reputation up. Which one are you going to pick?
Dear Amarinder,
Your piece “Focus Rs Vs Sti” is a well written piece about cars. I enjoy how you describe why the cars have been in competition and hat are ether benefits of both cars. For someone who really enjoys learning about cars, I enjoyed the detail and effort you put in this piece.
To improve, I suggest that after you talk about the cool features of each car, you mention which car you would chose. Also why would you choose that car.
Overall, I enjoyed reading your pieces and look forward to reading more.
Sincerely,
Steve