If money wasn't an issue, I'd take the Merc. I love its looks and the interior. But I can't justify spending 50k on it when the Focus RS is just as good at 20k less. So I would have the Focus RS.

I would chose the Focus even if the Merc was 31k. Because hooning is love, hooning is life.

the RS is a great fun car and that's upset a lot of people, particularly badge snobs. It's the best value hyper hatch on the market that is truly fun to drive.

You just see him turn into a kid again at 9:00. That is what is so great about the RS. You literaly see it in his face how much fun it is.

Focus RS for me, I like a classic three pedal manual and it makes up for any speed loss by just being more fun.

Id take the Focus RS. More fun.

Just got back from a weekend away in my Focus RS covered around 350 miles, no issues, amazing to drive!

A45 is 381bhp... . Much better car. Have driven both and have an a45... most fun car I've ever had.

It's funny how he criticizes the Benz for being so expensive, yet ignoring the fact, the interior is 1 000 000 times better, than the ford and it has an automatic gearbox and the ford is a manual. If you are going for pure performance, get the ford, but if you want a nice interior and more comfort, get the Benz

You'd take the Merc over that nasty plastic Ford any day at the right price!

AMG for me....it's phenomenal

I've had two A45s and have just got an RS for a change and while the Focus has a rough ride and a so so interior it certainly feels more "immediate" and fun in terms of handling so far. I think the Focus will make me laugh a lot more even if the A45 was faster on paper.

As a Brit , we love fords Ford motor company supplied us with a place called Dagenham ' Our holy grail We used your money ' and made Capris, Cortinas and Escorts , we rallied raced , and even spurned the GT40 ' We think of ford as our friend honest and reliable ... And now our favorites like cosworth Sierras , lotus cortinas ! are Ferrari money ... So you can keep your oversized , over engined mustangs . we will bang out our pocket rockets .. :)

More power, more grip, always the same answer. I propose a different opinion. Both are too grippy and too fast to get to the zone where you can have being-on-the-limit-fun under normal dry or wet real-world road conditions. For track use that's a whole different story. Fully accelerating for more than 5 seconds will put you so far above most speed limits (unless it's a piece of derestricted Autobahn) that it restricts you very much from using anything near 100% of the car's capabilities. So what you see today is owners of really fast cars not even touching 30-40% of their cars potential on the road because A they can't handle 100% and B because it will often cost you your licence should you be caught. I'd rather have a car that get's to it's limits earlier so you can have more playful fun with it on the public road. Assuming you are capable of dealing with every kind of sliding that might occur. I once followed a Jaguar E Type on the public road in the rain and it was beautiful to watch him manage all the little drifts he was inducing. That was pure driving pleasure. So reducing grip can be a good thing if you like at least some little oversteer moments when giving it the beans. Going fast in a straight line is easy, therefore not really something I desperately want from a fun car.

That price difference cannot be ignored

Why do brits love fords so much? I thought they were an American company. This just felt like a comparison to make the focus look good against a pricier car. Why not compare it against the golf and Megane?

New Audi RS3 has north of 400hp and it sounds like the Audi Group B Rally car. The sound is absolutely immense.

Great review!

I love'em both! with all the available upgrades, the rs was for me.

Should have done a drag race and circuit time comparison. Tad disappointed to say the least!

That seating position in the Focus.. he looks like he's standing up

I think this guy is cool

Great video

would love the merc if it had a manual gearbox

You sold me the Focus RS, what a beautiful car

Auto Express, you are about as much fun as one can have in a KZfaq car channel! Love it. I would have the Subaru WRX or STI over either of these if I could get one with a dual-clutch. The RS is so much fun on an open road I'm sure, but the real world involves traffic. Shifting sucks in bumper to bumper traffic. And he's right about the Merc, there an awful lot of better choices at that price. You're getting into Porsche Macan territory at that point.

RS3 because sound

Id be getting the a45 with the aero pack...

M140i/240i with a manual! A proper rear wheel drive hot hatch!

Super video!!! 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

Why hate.....if you dont like the a45 then go get a rs3, golf r or 1serries..some people just love the a45 me included I don't care if it's slow or its cheaply made , it just my favourite hatch

It is amazing how far hot hatches have come in my lifetime. I have had my A45 for a year now, in that colour (designo mountain gray) and whilst it may be considered sober (for a hot hatch) there is still an element of menace to it. As for the ride I take it over short stretches of cobbles everyday delivering my kids to school and they actually find it quite fun! For me though it's the look back test, whenever I get out of my car and walk away I look back. It's a love affair that keeps giving. Does the Focus seem like a hugely accomplished machine ? Absolutely. Would I buy one ? Probably not. Maybe that says more about me that the car. It has been worth the money, but as they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Good vid once again, keep em coming

A45 for Choice of spec, build quality and personally - style. I own Churchs Performance Cars we specialise and have 8 of them, perhaps I am biased !!

focus rs the proper driver's car.

Not a super car in the world can keep up with the ford in those condition.... you having a laugh!!!! 😂😂😂

This guy can drive.

Focus rs is the best

I took the RS (M375) for a test drive recently, and honestly..... I wasn't impressed with the performance. cornering yes, amazing. Straight line, very flat / linear and progressive. Doesn't feel like 500nm at all.

Oooh wonder where this test will be? Oh it's Millbrook again. Can't wait for the next one...

I don't get Mercedes comparison to tuner/sport cars. Mercedes is a luxury brand and AMG turns a luxury car into a german muscle car not a sports car. BMW is a performance brand that integrates luxury. There's a difference. The Focus RS is a sports car...

Pointless without a drag race to 100!

I would take tunned Golf R over this two.

Can't believe you didn't drag them. Would interesting to see the difference that the tune made. In gear times for the revo stage 1 on the focus are not that strong. 30 to 130 was at best 17.4 sec. Pre facelift A45 stock Vbox times are around 16 sec. The facelift is quicker than that but not sure by how much. The cost of a delivery milage / low milage Focus RS seems to be between 34-36.5k. Cost of a well speced aero A45 through car wow or similar is around 42k with low milage 16 plate cars at 37-40k. The gap in price is not that big. My car was 48.7k car ex demo with 150miles for 42k. Good discounts available from Mercedes, they do deals better than what ford will offer on the Rs I'm guessing. You get so much more with the Mercedes, led lights, pan roof etc etc and it's simply quicker in a drag and round the track wet or dry unless the rs has cup tyres on a tight track. Most 45's come with Dunlop sport max RT 1's (shocking tyre choice for a 380 bhp hatch.) At the nurburgring the focus does 8.06 on cups . The 45 has done a 7.58 on Dunlop dirrenza's. Focus is a really good car without doubt and if drifting about is your thing, I'm sure it will be allot of fun. I just think it's a little bit hyped.

can you get any closer to the wheel?

Should you be going all out on a B road covered in leaves and frost in any car?

The 45 is sick AF!

my top hothat cars ! ...mercedes top 1. ! sound power looking luxury quality best ! 2.focus rs this same good sound power looking for this money !

Well, if fun is all you want and price is a factor then this will be a 30-27 fight for the Ford.

As much as it is important to state performance figures, so should drag races be for every showdown/ head to head..

Is this the 2016 or 2017 model? Does the 2017 model have more power/torque than the 2016 model? Or was it the 2016 that they beefed up?

Having owned an RS and subsequently sold it I feel that a lot of the observations in this video are subjective or inaccurate. The boot size is not “decent” it’s awful; you’d struggle to fit more than a couple of kit bags in it, and the rear seating is cramped. For a car that needed to transport a family on occasion it wasn’t up to the task. The recaros whilst supportive are insufficient padded so on motorway journeys you get out the other end with a very sore back! (I’m only 38!) Then there are the reliability and other issues. After just 4000 miles my Focus (fitted with the Mountune 375 upgrade) exhaust valve stuck (common issue apparently), and the car always suffered from sudden veering at full throttle when you reached 70mph even though the wheel wasn’t moved on a straight uncambered road which was - as agreed by a ford master tech - dangerous. Ford apparently aware of the issue say “characteristic of the car”. The ride was also very firm even in normal mode. Lastly I felt the car always felt very heavy and slow - a dyno showed before the Mountune pack that it was 25bhp down on the sales pitch figures, and it showed. Then headgasket failures started being reported on an increasing basis. I liked the looks, and the grip was great but it’s a flawed car and with the unreliable engine and poor mpg (no better than the M3 v8 it replaced!) it was time to go. If Ford had shown more interest in fixing the problems I might have kept it but they appear more concerned with wringing money out of the model, and for me that was enough to get rid before prices dropped significantly. Shame, it had great promise.

I don't bother watching these videos unless it's Steve Sutcliffe. Sorry, but true

My apologies if this question has already been asked below. Is this"Ford Performance/Mountun" factory approved tuning kit available for purchase? I asked MountuneUSA about approved tuning kits and was told they have none.

well i have both

Sees the R.S. drift at the start. R.S. is the winner. Looks on autotrader.

RS all day.

Alternate title: Thin, British Kevin reviews 2 hyper hatchbacks

That AMG Engine in the FORD would be GREAT

What's with the driving position? Up high and really close to the steering wheel. 🤔

Autos are for people who want to be driven. Manuals are for people who want to drive. It takes skill to drive a Manual car fast anywhere. An auto takes that skill away.

If you get the ford in black or that dark grey colour it actually looks very discreet its this blue colour that makes the car stand out.

My dream car is the Ford Focus rs

reaffirms that I made the right decision in buying an RS. Mine is Magnetic Grey and looks subtle and more premium in that shade. Yes there are faster cars with better interiors and the higher price tag to go with it, but do proper petrol heads spend much time praising the virtues of soft touch plastics and leather door cars, not I. I'd rather just jump in, drive, and smile. Oh and I've sat in an A45 and the infortainment screen looks like a cheap stuck on android tablet, and not very premium at all considering the cost, and is also very clunky to use compared to the latest sync 3 apple car play Ford touchscreen.

Merc all the way... the RS engine has a now rather well known design flaw, if I was spending that kind of money again on a hot hatch I would not go near the RS now... which is a shame as it's a belter of a car.

Well if anyone's really bothered by the strident blue, the RS also comes in a stealthy gray to fly under the radar.

Does anyone know where is this filmed?

Weres the "vs" part?

What colour is that A45?

On finance, Ford with £3000 down wanted £520 a month. Mercedes for an A45 with options wanted £522. I know what I'd have 😂

Rs anyday of the week and twice on Sundays

The Focus interior is hideous. Also how tall are the seats!? Who wants to sit ontop of the car...

When I past my test in a ford Mondeo 1.8 the insurance was £2.000 pound

Mercedes needs to bring this car to the US. Now. And Audi needs to give us the RS3 hatch. Not this sedan nonsense

I love the Focus.

A remapped Golf R please

He was buzzing in the focus he didn't giggle once in the merc

I thought y'all used lb-ft in the UK

a road course comparison would of been nice, but a drag race would make no sense. Cheaper priced car matters too

I'd like the ford focus rs because of the colour and the design and also the price a lot cheeper then the Mercedes

So in the Ford, he was sat on a cushion right?

Love my a45 amg 👍💪

I own a Mercedes A45 which I love even thou the focus rs might be fun and cheaper it still a ford which just is a brand I don't wanna buy but if money not a option I think the best hot hatch has to be the AUDI RS3 they just sound amazing

6:00 The stitching on the wheel looks nasty!

Was this regular RS versus A45 or Mountune RS versus A45? I just want to figure out what I just looked at, because to be it looked like you just did a general presentation of each in particular, you didn't actually compare them. You don't compare 6th or 5th gear acceleration from 60-70mph on performance cars, mentioning small suspension comfort differences when cruising may not be what people expect either.

Drag race??

Golf R + Burger JB4 = good compromise. Also weighs less.

Right the a45 starts at 37k

Rs all day i would spend 10k etxra boost it up a bit merc is prestige crap you pay for more service tyres etc

hahaha 0:40 you just red lined it to 8k revs lol

focus RS all day

RS

M2 >>>>> both. I don't do hatchbacks. I only like 6sp manual, rwd coupes! The original recipe for a fun sports car.

did he really just drift the a45 I have a cla45 and can't get it to lose traction even in the rain but maybe I'm not trying hard enough

Now that there is the new RS3 with that amazing 5 cyl I think none of these two are worth the purchase. Not the A45 at least.

I feel BMW may have to drop the beautiful 140i engine, to properly compete in this market. But it doesn't seem like it's gonna happen any time soon

Good movie. In my opinion, You sit like You drive a Van or Bus:) Veeeery high driving position :)

Yeah the Mercedes is the most powerful hot hatch at the moment, but only until Audi releases the new RS3 with 395BHP!

You'll save on the repairs too

I'd rather the AMG but I'd have to go for the rs as the AMG is out of my budget 😭

Look at the stiching on the steering wheel of the focus RS, it's so bad, even 1990's mercedes has a better interior. That's enough to justify the price difference.