GR Yaris Ford Focus RS vs GR Yaris

Michael Knight

Michael Knight

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Any comparisons between the two?

2016_ford_focus-rs_4dr-hatchback_base_fq_oem_1_600.jpg




From ZePerfs-duel it looks they're very close to each other even though GR Yaris is behind almost 100hp.

Common issues with the car are
- Selection of the pope issue (at least with early cars) - white smoke emerging from the exhausts.
- Rear differential durability when driving fast for a longer periods of time. Drift mode (party trick) rear differential clutch pack seems to have heat issues.



When was waiting for my GR watched some videos of the car.
Candy Machine did a comparison between the two, and that comparison the RS won. Car was tuned so maybe not a fair comparison in that sense..


Have not driven one but is on the to do list. At least in Finland it seems to be rather rare car (cannot remember seeing single one in real life), in car market listing there is similar number of cars sale as GR Yaris.
 
I've had my focus from new in early 16 and haven't heard of the rear diff having heating issues? Maybe if you're aggressive on track but that's not really a day-to-day thing. In fact it does recommend in the manual to fit an oil / diff cooler if you do lots of track work come to think of it.

There was the head gasket cock up where the silly Spaniards at the engine factory fitted the Mustang gasket rather than the focus one (focus one has more cooling hole access) but that was done FOC and meant a free oil change too lol

I've not driven a GR Yaris but I can imagine it's been nimble compared to the lard-arse Focus. But then the chassis on the focus is sublime when you start to "press on with vigour" and then the extra power never fails to impress.

I did think about chopping my Focus in for a Yaris, but then the Focus is handy for the dogs sometimes and the extra space is good for touring.

Depends what you want really I guess.
 
I cross shopped these two. Buckle up for a lot of words.

The GR was little more than a Toyota and journalistic wet dream and my money was on the RS and I had tracked down a decent 100% stock version with low km. I drove it a couple of times and it felt good but I was stepping into that from a tuned M2 so it felt slow. And heavy if that makes any sense.

I was not convinced by the suspension tune and it felt like the front and rear were set up by different people. That would be no big deal because there were a few options here and in the UK. Engine power too was no issue because we have some experience with the engine and the head gasket thing wasn't a concern. I thought the brakes were a bit weak and the car wasn't as chuckable as I expected but again that is tyre/suspension related. I don't recall what rubber it ran but it wasn't premium. There was an RS with a fair amount of work doing the sprints (I was driving our XR4 / ST150 Fiesta) and it was top 10. From memory it was very close to 450hp, coilovers from pumaspeed or similar and track only rubber.

I was still heading that way until a mate suggested I hold off and at least consider the GRY. I wasn't sold on the yaris because the last decent Toyota to me was the old GT4 Celica. Calm down 86 peoples.

Anyway I sold the M2 and kept looking and about a month later Toyota Oz did their A$40k on the road deal for the base model here and there were lots of early reviews and information. Fully refundable so I slapped $950 down sight unseen and waited. To be honest I still wasn't sold and 0-100 of over 5 seconds was a concern. No chance of a rallye / circuit pack either early days and it was another $20k or so. I hadn't had a car that slow for over 10 years but we all know that is just part of the story. By the way at this point I also had a deposit on the never happened next gen Focus RS and next gen M3 (insert vomit emoji here).

Perhaps 4 weeks later I had a chance to test drive the GRY. I had organised a 2 to 3 hour stint on roads I punted the M2 and RS and XR4 before it came off the road. Shit Dunlops aside I was sold. The car pointed and turned better than any of the above though the tyres let it down and the confidence I had straight off the showroom floor was amazing. I drove on some well known gravel and was stunned, the RS wasn't happy on the loose surface and I didnt feel I could push it (could have been tyres but it felt fwd heavy not awd nimble), my M2 was all over the road, fun but slow and the XR4 just got no traction. The GRY just went where you pointed and drifted around the tight corners (sport). I was absolutely sold and it brought back memories of off road racing many years before.

I took the car back to the dealer and apologised to it because it was so new and I had really rung it out. Handed the keys over and the salesman said that from the grin on my face it went well. I said are you going to ask if I want to cancel my order and he said no, everyone so far was hooked.

Fast forward 2 months and I took delivery on the last day of 2020. I drove 20km to my mate's workshop and I swapped the wheels and tyres for some I prepared earlier.

I ran the car in and had a few runs on some gravel roads. At the first sprint day I went up against the above RS and was beaten by about 0.5 seconds in a high 57 second lap. I was learning the car and other than green Toyo R888Rs the GRY was stock with 2,000km on it.

Since then I have dropped 2+ seconds and finish top 10 with the odd awd category trophy. Some serious stuff usually turns up like 600hp evo VII and a 900hp R35 and the myriad of WRXs with turbos that would look big on a truck.

I still think the RS is a great thing and a much better tourer than the GRY. Inside is dated and it is less planted than the GRY. I would still buy one but not for street sprints.

The GRY is my car to drive around roads and do sprints and track days. I have modded it and will get it some more horses but I don't see me selling it.
 
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I currently own both - 2017 Focus and a 2022 CP GRY.

The GRY is more of a driver's car, has better handling, better ride quality and in real terms no slower.

The Focus is better equipped, and has a nicer interior. The ride quality is poor and average mpg is not much better than low 20's.
 
Focus has heated steering wheel and front screen. Lots of cubbyholes for phone and stuff. Has more doors, a bigger boot and far better seats, but I drive my GR a lot more than the RS.
The ford is a lot more fun if you like tail slides🤔.
 
How did I miss this thread. Sold my 2017 Mk3 Focus RS a few weeks back, which I’d had for a year and truthfully never really bonded with it. It is a better daily than the GRY. Mine had been tuned to 400bhp by the previous owner, but I can’t give you any indication of 1/4 mile times, sorry.
 
From what I can see online and in the dragy score boards the power they have doesn't really translate to performance. I suspect it's the weight and drive loss of their 4wd system.
 
Boosted8 said:
From what I can see online and in the dragy score boards the power they have doesn't really translate to performance. I suspect it's the weight and drive loss of their 4wd system.
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Former RS owner here. They are very lardy (gross weight 1800kg+) so never really felt particularly sprightly off the line until at least 375-400bhp
 
It's a difficult one the ol' RS vs GRY debate as I still own both of them and both of them are amazing... 🤩
They are both just the best hot hatches around and you cannot go wrong with either... 😍 (y)
Of course the GRY has a better AWD system and is light AF but the FRS is also very powerful and sounds great... :giggle:

Boosted8 said:
From what I can see online and in the dragy score boards the power they have doesn't really translate to performance. I suspect it's the weight and drive loss of their 4wd system.
Click to expand...

Kaxe said:
Got both too... love both too... :love:

View attachment 14398
Epic drivers cars! 😁 👌
Focus is now M400r - Milltek exhaust - loads of mods, love it! :cool: (y)
Click to expand...
 
Kaxe said:
It's a difficult one the ol' RS vs GRY debate as I still own both of them and both of them are amazing... 🤩
They are both just the best hot hatches around and you cannot go wrong with either... 😍 (y)
Of course the GRY has a better AWD system and is light AF but the FRS is also very powerful and sounds great... :giggle:
Click to expand...
No denying the RS soundtrack. Mine was M400R spec and the sports cat in particular gave it a very pleasant growl. Been trying to replicate some of that soundtrack with the GR but even with a GPF delete and sports cat it’s still pretty muted. Neighbours don’t miss the 5am cold start theatrics though 😂
 
GRBadger said:
No denying the RS soundtrack. Mine was M400R spec and the sports cat in particular gave it a very pleasant growl. Been trying to replicate some of that soundtrack with the GR but even with a GPF delete and sports cat it’s still pretty muted. Neighbours don’t miss the 5am cold start theatrics though 😂
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Yeah I had the Mountune downpipe with standard cat-back for a while and it did indeed give it more growl... :cool:
Yeah I know what you mean I would like a bit more noise with the GRY but it's difficult to get that balance... :unsure:
haha yeah I bet the neighbours appreciate that LOL! :ROFLMAO:
 
Kaxe said:
Of course the GRY has a better AWD system and is light AF but the FRS is also very powerful and sounds great... :giggle:
Click to expand...

In a nutshell. They're not rivals as they're different.

The GRY is a spritely young puppy happy to scamper about like a nutter. The FRS is more the cruiser with a turn of speed that is also fun on a B road.

Just goes to prove that the GRY may be more fun if that's what you want, whilst the FRS may be more powerful and faster, but that's not important if you want nimble and puppy like.

I've still got my FRS (from new in April '16 - jeez, it's 10 years old in a couple of weeks! ) but have just got an EV with 422bhp / 543NM equivalent and a 0-60 in the mid 3 seconds. Will it be more fun? Who knows.
 
Dal3D said:
In a nutshell. They're not rivals as they're different.

The GRY is a spritely young puppy happy to scamper about like a nutter. The FRS is more the cruiser with a turn of speed that is also fun on a B road.

Just goes to prove that the GRY may be more fun if that's what you want, whilst the FRS may be more powerful and faster, but that's not important if you want nimble and puppy like.

I've still got my FRS (from new in April '16 - jeez, it's 10 years old in a couple of weeks! ) but have just got an EV with 422bhp / 543NM equivalent and a 0-60 in the mid 3 seconds. Will it be more fun? Who knows.
Click to expand...
The way I like to think of the GRY and having owned both previously, is it’s the AWD Fiesta RS that Ford Performance never and should’ve made, combining the compact and nimble Fiesta ST with the AWD turbo grunt of the Focus RS. They even had the perfect opportunity to do this with the Puma but then decided to downgrade the ST further and all but kill it off. Oh well
 
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