---
title: "Can a New Ford Focus RS Tear Around on Gravel?"
description: "Ryan and Alex head to Team O'Neil's skidpad to test \"drift mode\" on the rocks."
date: "2017-05-31"
modified: "2017-05-31"
authors:
  - name: "Mike Spinelli"
    job_title: "VP of Content"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/mike-spinelli"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/video/10923/can-a-new-ford-focus-rs-tear-around-on-gravel"
categories:
  - "Ford News"
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
  - "Watch This"
tags:
  - "compact"
  - "focus"
  - "Ford"
  - "Hatchback"
  - "sports car"
---

# Can a New Ford Focus RS Tear Around on Gravel?

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2017/05/mlaar_ep10_thumb1.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

For years in the U.S., the Subaru-Mitsubishi rivalry galvanized rally fans. These days the major rivalry pits the Subaru Impreza WRX STI against the [Ford Focus RS](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/10914/ford-puts-the-limited-slip-in-focus-rs-limited-edition>) in a battle for top budget hoon-machine. But while the long-running STI is a known quantity, the RS -- despite a year of hype -- is still ripe for discovery. And so...

On this week's episode of [/MY LIFE AS A RALLYIST](<https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHa6PXrV-yIhodHcMEdc1-EPiozkqa6YJ>), Ryan meets up with his friend Alex Jagger with a plan is to try out Alex's stock Ford Focus RS on gravel. Sounds safe enough, right? After all, the RS is bred from the rally-charged Ford Performance team, which has been building batshit, motorsports-based Focus models for Europe since almost forever.

After some RS hooning on the rough skid pad, with obvious results, Ryan bails out and jumps into a 300-hp, home-built, front-wheel-drive rally car, mainly to have a silly good time on the Team O'Neil stages.

## Author
A sucker for Ford-era Jaguar XJs and glitchy, early-90s BMW V12s, Mike was the founding editor of car culture site Jalopnik, and a former editor-in-chief of 0-60. He's also a co-host of the TV show /DRIVE on NBC Sports, which can be seen from time to time on NBCSN, usually after midnight.

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/mikespinelli>)  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/mikespin>)