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Mum Tries to Drift 2016 Ford Focus RS, Hilarity Ensues

Ever since Ford spilled the beans on the 2016 Focus RS' Drift Mode, everybody's been all too eager to slide the hell out of the manic hatch.
Mum Tries to Drift 2016 Ford Focus RS 1 photo
Photo: Youtube screenshot
We've obviously done it too in our review, with the full circle skidpad stunt being the most delicious moment. But we didn't bring one of our moms along for the job.

However, the crew over at Carfection did just that, with one of the editors' mothers being asked to powerslide a Focus RS in the wet. We're not here to spoil the fun provided in the piece of footage at the bottom of the page, so we won't throw too many spoilers at you.

Even so, we can't help but applaud the fact that this isn't one of those staged stunts - in her 60s, the mother is asked to give it her best shot and, as you can imagine, things don't go exactly smooth.

While certain enthusiasts would argue that the Focus RS is the kind of car that makes things too easy by doing the work for you. But such an approach is wrong.

In fact, the GKN-supplied all-wheel-drive system found in the third-generation Focus RS, together with its electronic control, is the kind of hardware you can easily lean onto in order to deliver devilish slides.

For one thing, the setup on the Ford Focus RS is found halfway between the slightly understeer-biased feeling of the STI and the tail-happy character of the now-retired Evo.

The idea is that you have to learn to work with the system. For instance, when willing to slide on the skid pad, you'll have to watch your countersteering. While millimetric maneuvers are fine while you're sideways, applying greater steering wheel corrections will make the electronic brain of the car decide it's time to end the drifting show.

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About the author: Andrei Tutu
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In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist.
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