The Ford Focus RS has only very recently made its official Australian debut, and prior to that was already on sale in Europe, North America, and South Africa. Surprisingly, or perhaps not, nowhere else has this issue about the car’s ‘Drift Mode’ sparked this kind of dispute.
Despite the love of all things V8 and tyre-smoke, Australia is quite strict when it comes to punishing drivers who are caught driving recklessly. While that is a problem that should be tackled in its own way, singling out a car manufacturer for catering to enthusiasts instead of increasing driver education isn’t the way forward.
In a story that broke on News.com.au, certain “safety advocates” have come out of the woodwork to lambast Ford over offering the Focus RS for sale in Australia without first removing the car’s ‘Drift Mode’. It’s a similar move to what eventually got Ford to locally omit the Mustang’s ‘Line Lock’ feature in response to the “anti-hooning laws”, the Focus RS has now come under attack.
The Focus RS’ ‘Drift Mode’ is one the selectable profiles within the car and essentially tells the Torque Vectoring All-Wheel Drive system to allow slip in certain ways to make it easier to start and sustain four-wheel drifts.
When the mode is selected, a disclaimer message is displayed within the car’s gauge cluster screen, instructing the driver to only use it on closed courses or a race track. Even upon hovering over the mode before selection, the ‘Track Use Only’ text appears.
An organisation called the Pedestrian Council of Australia, major proponent against Ford’s continued sale of a car with a specific ‘Drift Mode’, and its head Harold Scruby, said to News: "A disclaimer is not going to stop an idiot from trying this on public roads. We urge Ford to reconsider its decision, recall these vehicles and disable this driving mode."
But honestly, disabling ‘Drift Mode’ wouldn’t disallow an inclined driver from four-wheel skidding a Focus RS any more than not having a Line Lock feature stops the Mustang from being able to perform burnouts.
Laws exist for a reason and a driver who uses the mode irresponsibly should therefore be duly punished, but removing a benign mode would not make a difference. In fact, it moves to hurt responsible drivers who do intend to use it in a responsible manner. How long until petrol itself gets outlawed because people can technically use it to start fires?
Ford Australia has so far maintained its position to offer the Focus RS as is, with the ‘Drift Mode’ intact.
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