MOUNTUNE FOCUS RS
Latest upgrade from the Ford-approved tuner delivers an Rs3-baiting 395bhp. Hold on tight…
THERE ARE MANY WORDS YOU CAN use to describe the Focus RS, but ‘slow’ isn’t one of them. Yet drive one hard and it’s difficult to ignore the nagging feeling that the four-wheel-drive chassis could handle more power. A lot more power. This fact hasn’t been lost on an ever-increasing number of tuning firms, not least Mountune, the only aftermarket operation with an official Ford stamp of approval.
The Essex-based outfit has already tickled the Focus’s 345bhp turbocharged 2.3-litre engine to deliver its M375 and M380 kits, which up power to 370bhp and 375bhp respectively. Yet the four-cylinder Ecoboost unit is capable of delivering even more, so now there’s an M400 version, which pushes power up to an Audi Rs3-baiting 395bhp, while torque swells from 347lb ft as standard to 413lb ft.
The modifications needed to achieve these increases are fairly straightforward and include a high-flow induction kit and charge pipe, a larger intercooler and an uprated recirculation valve. To this little lot is added a 3-inch downpipe, a 200-cell sports catalyst and a freer-breathing cat-back exhaust. Finally, the firm’s mtune handset gives owners access to various performance data streams, a custom gauge display and a fault code reader. It also allows greater optimisation of the exhaust valve, so it can open over a wider rev-band for what’s claimed to be more a more ‘authentic’ sound. The parts come in at £3495 – and you’ll need to set aside a little extra for fitting.
Our test car also showcases a couple of extra modifications, the most intriguing of which is a ‘sport’ spring set. Costing just £199, this lowers the car by 10mm at the front and 15mm at the rear, yet also promises to improve the RS’S rigid ride. Other extras include lightweight two-piece front brake disc and bell assemblies (£735), high performance pads (£135 front and £99 rear), and OZ Leggera alloys (£1520) that are 2.8kg per corner lighter than the standard RS wheels. So are all these upgrades worth worrying your wallet for?
Prod the Ford’s starter button and the deeper burble from the twin-exit exhausts hints at the M400’s greater performance potential. Yet the idle is rock-steady and the M400 pulls away from standstill as cleanly and smoothly as an unmodified RS – this is a tuned engine with some manners. Squeeze the throttle harder and the Focus pulls with real intent, even from low revs, where the standard car can feel a little lethargic as it overcomes the RS’S 1547kg kerb weight. Yet it’s at the top
end that the changes are most noticeable: above 4500rpm, progress turns from vigorous to vivid as the needle on the rev-counter lunges for the red line. Mountune claims 4.2sec to 60mph – 0.7sec quicker than we recorded with the standard car last month.
It sounds the part, too, in a raw and raucous sort of way. You’d struggle to call the exhaust note musical, but the low-rev gurgle gives way to a deep rasp as you work the engine harder. Better still, the tweaks to the exhaust valve result in more natural pops, cracks and bangs on the overrun – they occur in a more random fashion and at lower speeds, conjuring images of a Word Rally Car in full anti-lag mode.
The extra urge from the engine amplifies the Ford’s already-entertaining handling characteristics. Accelerate hard on a bumpy straight and the nose writhes around even more aggressively, the wheel bucking in your hands as the four-wheel-drive system shuffles torque in an effort to deliver maximum traction. It’s not sophisticated, but it’s fully in keeping with the Ford’s more direct approach.
Turn into a corner and there’s the same quick steering and terrific front-end bite, but at the exit the motor’s more muscular midrange delivery makes it easier to edge the rear out under power, particularly in the Sport and Race settings. It never feels wayward, but this opportunity to more frequently access the Ford’s rear-drive attitude makes the RS more engaging on a favourite road.
And what about the other tweaks? The spring kit is well worth considering. It only drops the ride height a little (any lower and the adaptive dampers need considerable recalibration), but it delivers a far less choppy ride without compromising the sharp handling. It’s still firm at low speed, but there are far fewer of the spiky vertical movements that make the standard car a bit of a chore on the daily grind. The brakes are harder to recommend without trying them on a circuit. Stopping power and pedal progression are both excellent on the road, but you can also say that about Ford’s Brembo set-up.
Stick to the engine and suspension upgrades, though, and you’ll get a car that’s almost as quick as an Audi RS3 yet more entertaining and around £10,000 less. And while tuned fast Fords won’t be to all tastes, the increases in performance and entertainment make the M400 upgrade something of a no-brainer.