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2018 will be the final year for the current iteration of the Ford Focus RS.
Shed a tear.
Now shed another tear for the old base price, because the old base Focus RS is done, CarsDirect says. For 2018, Ford is equipping every U.S.-bound edition of the Focus RS with a limited slip differential, the RS2 package, and 19-inch wheels.
As a result, the $36,995 2017 Ford Focus RS gives way to a $41,995 2018 Ford Focus RS.
Paging the Civic Type R. Civic Type R to the showroom.
Nah, probably not. The Focus RS will be thin on the ground for 2018. With only 1,000 copies imported to the U.S. from the Focus RS’s plant in Saarlouis, Germany, sufficient demand even at the full bore price is all but assured.
The $41,995 MSRP is uncomfortably high for muscle car fans. Ford’s Mustang GT, a 5.0-liter V8-powered coupe, stickers from $34,095. Even selecting the performance package barely ticks the Mustang GT’s price past $37K. The Mustang EcoBoost, which shares a powerplant with the Focus RS, is a whole ‘nuther, less expensive matter.
But while cross-shopping of the Mustang and Focus RS may occur, drawing parallels between Ford’s all-wheel-drive compact hatch and the rear-wheel-drive pony car is a mostly fruitless exercise.
The final 1,000 copies of the Ford Focus RS will more likely be purchased or leased because customers preferred the Ford over the Volkswagen Golf R, the sedan-only Subaru WRX STI, and the front-wheel-drive Honda Civic Type R, pricing for which has not yet been firmly announced. (Recent revelations lead us to believe the MSRP will slide in just under $35,000 for the 306-horsepower Civic hatch.)
Further suggesting demand won’t be a problem for the final 1,000 Focus RSs, CNET’s Roadshow reported a few months ago that Ford was selling around 500 copies of the Focus RS each month. The 2018 models may not last long at all.
The new $41,995 base price likely won’t be a problem, either. Road Show said the Focus RS’s average transaction price was $42,351.
[Image: Ford]
Timothy Cain is a contributing analyst at The Truth About Cars and Autofocus.ca and the founder and former editor of GoodCarBadCar.net. Follow on Twitter @timcaincars.
This type of car will be around for a long time (Focus RS)
Get the cheaper V 8 Mustang GT now before they re gone.
Gone forever.
The RS is an impressive hatch. Much more attractive than Civic or subie to my mind.
2nd only to me is Golf R.
Snowbelt folk can’t compare a stang to this group.
Of course, that $34,095 Mustang GT may dip below $30K once Ford puts some cash on the hood. Which probably won’t happen with the RS. That’s a big premium to pay for a slower and much uglier car.
I’d buy a Mustang just for the sequential turn signals. I love those. Too bad they’re red though.
I like seeing them on other Mustangs, but I don’t get much enjoyment out of them on mine. I have to get out of the car to see what they’re doing. Now the turn signals on the hood, those are cool.
Such a short life in North America.
Ford Focus RS – born Spring 2016
Death announced in Spring 2017
2018 end of the the line RIP
Camaro SS 1LE can be had for under $40K or a GT Premium for close to $30K are much better choices.
RS buyers and Mustang/Camaro aren’t necessarily the same person. Plus, there are only 1000 being sold in the US this year. They can find 1000 buyers.
I know I must not be the target audience for this, because that seems like a very steep price for a compact car, even thought it goes fast. One could go fast and have more practical space and comfort in a Taurus SHO and probably have more room to negotiate with the SHO as well. You could probably get an Audi S3 for very similar money too.
But I know that hatchback people want hatchbacks, and the RS comes with a manual, so they will pay more for what they want.
Each dealer gets one-add ADP sticker….you need only one guy.
This is a strange move by Ford. I feel as if someone else reading this understands a relatively simple profit strategy behind this move, and I don’t.
What confuses me is, if there’s enough pent-up demand to sell 1,000 at gouger’s prices, why not make more cars and take in even more money?
Looks fun enough, but at over $40K you’re into really nice CPO luxury brand material, cars that won’t drop like rocks in value either. Consider that the ST version is, real world, exactly half the price, and this looks even worse.
Oh look, its another “I could buy a used ____ for that!”. Okay, go get yourself a used CLA and enjoy your badge whoring.
Luxury cars are some of the fastest depreciating vehicles out there, by the way. A (very) limited production sports car? Not so much. Give it a few years and low-mileage, unabused examples will be selling for more than they did new.
Overhyped, too harsh on the softest road settings, and as it turns out a bit too brittle with the RDU weak link. Ford really sold the development of the RS…preproduction videos and all…but ultimately it fell a bit short and the hype died quickly. It’s fortunate that the production numbers are low enough to make it seem “in demand” and drive that ADP.
I really want to like cars such as the RS. However, they’re mostly just a reminder that Europeans pay way too much for even a modicum of performance. That doesn’t translate well over here, and having Ford on the nameplate makes it even more problematic.