Evo magazine takes a lot of flack for not doing its drag races the right way. But when you are dealing with two AWD, turbocharged hot hatchbacks, the results can be unpredictable. Looking at this video, we knew the Golf had no chance of winning, but we didn't expect the outcome to be close.
After all, the power deficit between these two is as large as that between a Focus ST and Clio RS.
The new Focus RS is much more powerful, on paper at least. We say that because we've seen independent dyno tests where it produced 5 to 10 horsepower less than officially claimed.
But the way it launches is a clear advantage over the Golf R, one which could have been nullified if the German car had been fitted with a DSG gearbox.
By the end of the 1/2 mile drag race, the RS had only secured a 0.2-second lead over its rival, which had even reached 130 miles per hour (209 km/h) faster.
In the real world, the advantage still goes to the Focus, as reaching 130 mph on most public roads is difficult and, of course, illegal.
We want to compare the outcome of this race with a previous one from a French magazine, which pitted the RS against the best SEAT Leon Available, a Cupra 290 coupe. Ford's pony-hatch walked all over its Spanish foe, proving that if you want to go fast, FWD is not the answer.
One of our readers said racing the Leon Cupra was "like kicking a Labrador puppy, cruel and needless." But despite that, Honda and probably Renault too are making their next top performers FWD. Why? For track use.
Ford has that all figured out, as the AWD system developed for the RS makes drifting accessible via a special setting. Considering that it's also a cult car that will hold onto its value forever, the Focus RS is the no-brainer buying decision here.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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