God the RS looks so good next to that thing
And people were complaining that the RS styling was too shouty. If thats true, then the CTR is a torch carrying mob compared to the RS.
I won't deny the RS' ride is definitely firm. And "Sport" mode on the shocks requires perfect pavement. There is a bit of a thing about that though. In the RS, I only notice the bumpiness when driving on normal roads in a normal fashion. When my mind is free to ponder other things.
Start pushing though, and the bumpiness of the ride completely disappears to my senses as a driver. I'm 100% focused on braking, turning, acceleration. Lots of cars are like that though, you notice quirks about them in normal driving. But when pushing the limits, you literally do not have time to spare a conscious thought about those quirks so they effectively disappear.
The Turning Circle dilemma is real, anyone with a Focus ST or RS can attest, its atrocious. Its the same as a 3rd or 4th gen F-body though. Which is about equal to an F-150 truck. Roughly 39ft diameter.
Still wouldn't trade the RS in for a CTR though. The AWD is amazing.
The other day I pulled the RDU fuse, which disables the AWD, leaving the car FWD. And its shocking how much difference the AWD makes, even when you wouldn't think its making a difference. The turn in is there, but the front end pushes so much more under throttle. A stab of the throttle no longer causes the car to dive into the corner, but instead simply blow the tires away with front end push.
RS has its faults, but it really is a shockingly quick car, not so much straight line, but on any winding road the car just begs for more. Very rewarding car to drive, and I thought the ST was rewarding to drive. The RS blows the ST away in driving dynamics.
I'll probably never drive a CTR, some is lack of opportunity, and the other is not seeking the opportunity out.