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Hi all,
So like the title says, I test drove a Nitrous Blue 2016 RS so I wanted to write a quick review on it.
Appearance:
First and foremost, I love how it looks. I think it has enough of the ST in it and enough thats new. I really like the hood shape and I am glad they didnt change it. I think it has an aggressive appearance is it looks better than the smooth hood from the 2013-14 (IMO).
I love the front bumper. They did a nice job opening it up to expose more of the radiator and IC, which I really like. They also added some black mesh which I thought was a nice touch.
The one thing I an not a huge fan of is the rear bumper. While I like the black rear valance and the vortex generators and the dual exhaust, I didnt really like how the very bottom portion of the bumper seemed to flare out a bit. It made me think of an underbite and I felt as though it took a little away from the style.
Interior:
I drove the highest package RS they had and I really liked some of the interior touches. The partially trimmed leather seats were very comfortable, and I could see myself taking a 8 hr trip in them. They were a bit nicer than the feel of my ST3 seats. In addition, I really liked the steering wheel feel. Yes the shape is the exact same as my 15 ST but they leather quality was substantially improved. It was a much finer and smoother grain than on my ST and it seemed to have a little more cushion for the grip. My eyes were also immediately drawn to the blue stitching, I thought that was a really nice touch and I wish they did it on the ST. Other than that, the rest of the interior was just mehh. It has the exact same feel as the ST, buttons are located in the same spot and dash was the same. I felt as a whole the interior was just OK. For the 40K price point I would hope they would have done something different to stand out and make if feel like its worth the extra 10k but I didnt get that feel from the RS.
I think the ST3 interior is more impressive on the ST than the RS. Even though they are pretty much the same I think this is the difference for me. On the ST, its a 30k car, so when you get in and see the cool look, the nice seats, the bells and whistles you feel as though you are getting a lot for a 30k price point. On the RS, the interior didnt seem like it was offering enough for someone to get in and feel like its the interior of a 40k car.
Engine:
When I popped the hood, I was impressed with what I saw. The simple engine cover was nice and I really liked what they did with the airbox. Visually, it had a nice appeal. Looking at what it can do and how its made I think its impressive. 350 hp/ 350tq for a 4 cylinder is pretty sweet! I have been a fan of the ecoboost engine, it seems to be a very solid platform that can even support modding. It delivers great power numbers and decent fuel economy.
Performance: I drove in Sport and Track mode
To be 100% honest, I was not blown away with the performance and feel of the car when driving. Right off the bat I noticed two things.
1) The clutch seemed to have a shorter throw and a softer spring. The length wasnt really as big of a deal but I was not a fan of how soft the clutch felt. I grabbed and heal really well but for me when I drive a performance car, I like a heavy clutch. It makes me feel like theres an upgraded clutch in and to me it adds to the feel of "Racecar". I felt as the though my ST had a stiffer clutch so to me I felt like my ST won the clutch category.
2) The shifter, while very smooth, felt light. I know the heavy shifter is not desired by most people, but to me there is a point where it feels too light, and to me the RS was flirting with it. A light shifter to me feels cheap and it feels like if Im slamming it through the gears, that ill snap it off. Anyone who has driven the FiST will know what I mean when I say light shifter feeling cheap.
While it was no where near as bad as the FiST, it was still too light for my liking. I personally think the ST shifter is a bit to heavy and clunky, a nice middle ground between the ST and the RS would be ideal for me.
As I started driving, I clearly was punching it. To be 100% honest, I was a bit let down by the performance and accel of the RS. for a car that has 350 hp/tq, i was expecting much more in terms of acceleration. Especially since it was AWD....
I was looking for the feel that at any moment I was going to break traction and I just couldnt really getting it there without launching. The AWD had a lot of grip which I like but I was hoping that if I WANTED to, I would be able to drive it on the edge of traction like I can my ST.
That being said though, I think Ford did a good job of controlling the power and were able to deliver it to the ground efficiently. In a way, I guess I hoped they didnt do as good of a job with that if that makes sense??
It really didnt feel that fast though. The torque seemed like a let down, and when I switch on data collection mode of my butt dyno I can honestly say that it didnt FEEL much, if any faster than my ST. I know that the RS IS faster, but idk if it was the awd or the lack of torque steer but when I gave it the beans, it FELT like my ST would have kept up no problem.
Maybe my butt dyno is out of spec and needs to be sent out for re-calibration.
Other:
The exhaust doeeeeeeeee *Drool*!!!!!!! I think it looks amazing. I have always loved the dual tip look and I am glad they did it for the RS. But beyond the looks, the sound is intoxicating. Outside the car, Idle sounded sweet and I sure it sound great when doing a flyby. Inside is a little different. While it still sound great, the cabin deadens the sound quite a bit. I wish i could have heard it a tad more under normal driving conditions.
While under hard acceleration though it comes to life inside the cabin. The aggressive tone is great and all but the part I liked the most was the backfiring. While under hard accel, when I would throw the clutch in to upshift, the exhaust would pop, and it brought a smile to my face every time. Even when downshifting, the pops and cracks where great and I was smiling ear to ear.
All in All:
At the end of the day I liked the car but I was left a bit disappointed. For a 40,000 price tag, I didnt think I would be able to justify ever really buying one. Interior is a huge deal to me and honestly it really didnt feel much different than the ST and I was a bit disappointed. Also, performance wise, while quick, it didnt blow me away. It felt very similar to the ST and for those and the other reasons I listed above, I dont really think its worth the extra 10,000.
All of what was said was just my feelings and opinions, I know many of you may not agree with me but I wanted to share my experience just to be another voice on the subject. Please dont crucify me on here if you dont agree with me lol
Thanks for reading!
So like the title says, I test drove a Nitrous Blue 2016 RS so I wanted to write a quick review on it.
Appearance:
First and foremost, I love how it looks. I think it has enough of the ST in it and enough thats new. I really like the hood shape and I am glad they didnt change it. I think it has an aggressive appearance is it looks better than the smooth hood from the 2013-14 (IMO).
I love the front bumper. They did a nice job opening it up to expose more of the radiator and IC, which I really like. They also added some black mesh which I thought was a nice touch.
The one thing I an not a huge fan of is the rear bumper. While I like the black rear valance and the vortex generators and the dual exhaust, I didnt really like how the very bottom portion of the bumper seemed to flare out a bit. It made me think of an underbite and I felt as though it took a little away from the style.
Interior:
I drove the highest package RS they had and I really liked some of the interior touches. The partially trimmed leather seats were very comfortable, and I could see myself taking a 8 hr trip in them. They were a bit nicer than the feel of my ST3 seats. In addition, I really liked the steering wheel feel. Yes the shape is the exact same as my 15 ST but they leather quality was substantially improved. It was a much finer and smoother grain than on my ST and it seemed to have a little more cushion for the grip. My eyes were also immediately drawn to the blue stitching, I thought that was a really nice touch and I wish they did it on the ST. Other than that, the rest of the interior was just mehh. It has the exact same feel as the ST, buttons are located in the same spot and dash was the same. I felt as a whole the interior was just OK. For the 40K price point I would hope they would have done something different to stand out and make if feel like its worth the extra 10k but I didnt get that feel from the RS.
I think the ST3 interior is more impressive on the ST than the RS. Even though they are pretty much the same I think this is the difference for me. On the ST, its a 30k car, so when you get in and see the cool look, the nice seats, the bells and whistles you feel as though you are getting a lot for a 30k price point. On the RS, the interior didnt seem like it was offering enough for someone to get in and feel like its the interior of a 40k car.
Engine:
When I popped the hood, I was impressed with what I saw. The simple engine cover was nice and I really liked what they did with the airbox. Visually, it had a nice appeal. Looking at what it can do and how its made I think its impressive. 350 hp/ 350tq for a 4 cylinder is pretty sweet! I have been a fan of the ecoboost engine, it seems to be a very solid platform that can even support modding. It delivers great power numbers and decent fuel economy.
Performance: I drove in Sport and Track mode
To be 100% honest, I was not blown away with the performance and feel of the car when driving. Right off the bat I noticed two things.
1) The clutch seemed to have a shorter throw and a softer spring. The length wasnt really as big of a deal but I was not a fan of how soft the clutch felt. I grabbed and heal really well but for me when I drive a performance car, I like a heavy clutch. It makes me feel like theres an upgraded clutch in and to me it adds to the feel of "Racecar". I felt as the though my ST had a stiffer clutch so to me I felt like my ST won the clutch category.
2) The shifter, while very smooth, felt light. I know the heavy shifter is not desired by most people, but to me there is a point where it feels too light, and to me the RS was flirting with it. A light shifter to me feels cheap and it feels like if Im slamming it through the gears, that ill snap it off. Anyone who has driven the FiST will know what I mean when I say light shifter feeling cheap.
While it was no where near as bad as the FiST, it was still too light for my liking. I personally think the ST shifter is a bit to heavy and clunky, a nice middle ground between the ST and the RS would be ideal for me.
As I started driving, I clearly was punching it. To be 100% honest, I was a bit let down by the performance and accel of the RS. for a car that has 350 hp/tq, i was expecting much more in terms of acceleration. Especially since it was AWD....
I was looking for the feel that at any moment I was going to break traction and I just couldnt really getting it there without launching. The AWD had a lot of grip which I like but I was hoping that if I WANTED to, I would be able to drive it on the edge of traction like I can my ST.
That being said though, I think Ford did a good job of controlling the power and were able to deliver it to the ground efficiently. In a way, I guess I hoped they didnt do as good of a job with that if that makes sense??
It really didnt feel that fast though. The torque seemed like a let down, and when I switch on data collection mode of my butt dyno I can honestly say that it didnt FEEL much, if any faster than my ST. I know that the RS IS faster, but idk if it was the awd or the lack of torque steer but when I gave it the beans, it FELT like my ST would have kept up no problem.
Maybe my butt dyno is out of spec and needs to be sent out for re-calibration.
Other:
The exhaust doeeeeeeeee *Drool*!!!!!!! I think it looks amazing. I have always loved the dual tip look and I am glad they did it for the RS. But beyond the looks, the sound is intoxicating. Outside the car, Idle sounded sweet and I sure it sound great when doing a flyby. Inside is a little different. While it still sound great, the cabin deadens the sound quite a bit. I wish i could have heard it a tad more under normal driving conditions.
While under hard acceleration though it comes to life inside the cabin. The aggressive tone is great and all but the part I liked the most was the backfiring. While under hard accel, when I would throw the clutch in to upshift, the exhaust would pop, and it brought a smile to my face every time. Even when downshifting, the pops and cracks where great and I was smiling ear to ear.
All in All:
At the end of the day I liked the car but I was left a bit disappointed. For a 40,000 price tag, I didnt think I would be able to justify ever really buying one. Interior is a huge deal to me and honestly it really didnt feel much different than the ST and I was a bit disappointed. Also, performance wise, while quick, it didnt blow me away. It felt very similar to the ST and for those and the other reasons I listed above, I dont really think its worth the extra 10,000.
All of what was said was just my feelings and opinions, I know many of you may not agree with me but I wanted to share my experience just to be another voice on the subject. Please dont crucify me on here if you dont agree with me lol
Thanks for reading!