Ford: there’s a time and place for Drift mode

Ford's Australian chief has refused to be drawn into vocal debate surrounding a "drift mode" in the new Ford Focus RS.

The car is programmed with several driving modes including "drift" and "track" settings for circuit use. Drift mode allows drivers to dramatically slide the car with a degree of help from the Focus, which sends extra power to the rear axle to help customers cut loose in the right environment.

The brand's local arm made international headlines last week following sensational calls for the feature to be banned from local roads.

Ford Australia chief executive Graeme Whickman says he expects customers to use the car "in an appropriate manner".

"We expect them to not exceed the speed limit, we expect them to park in the appropriate place, we expect them to let the appropriate aged driver drive the vehicle and we expect them to behave on the road in the appropriate way," he says.

"We have some functionality designed for track use and we expect them to use that in that environment."

Ford Australia controversially disabled a "line locker" function in the new Mustang designed to allow customers to easily perform standing burnouts in the popular muscle car as it effectively disabled the rear braking system, but it decided to offer the full Focus package as it purely an electronic setting that relaxes the stability control, directs power to the outside rear wheel and softens the suspension. Unlike the Mustang's Burnout mode, it keeps all safety systems in use.

Several manufacturers offer similar dynamic driving modes that allow drivers to hang loose with a reasonable degree of oversteer under the supervision of an electronic stability control system.

HSV has Competition mode, BMW has M Dynamic mode, Mercedes-AMG has Sport +, Ferrari has Race and Lamborghini has Corsa.

Whickman would not guess as to why the Focus had been singled out for attention from the fun police.

"I'm not sure how I would explain it and I don't want to be drawn into that, frankly. Everybody is absolutely entitled to their opinion," he says.

"Cars need to be driven in an appropriate way in the appropriate surroundings."

Regardless of whether the publicity has been negative or positive for Ford, the Focus RS looks to be a hit.

"We are pretty much sold out of our first year's supply and we are taking orders for next year," Whickman says.

"It's putting a lot of smiles on a lot of people."

Read all the latest Ford news and reviews here