After one year of driving our 2016 Ford Focus RS in stock form, upgrades to the hot hatch are well underway. One area that we have been interested in upgrading is the sound of this vehicle’s exhaust note.

Even though the engineers at Ford Performance spent countless hours creating a stock exhaust that works extremely well with the different drive modes this vehicle features, the stock exhaust on the RS is just a little too quiet for our liking. And many RS owners are opting to swap out their cars’ stock exhausts in favor of something with a more aggressive tone.

Because this vehicle is driven primarily as our daily driver, our main focus is finding a system that will give the hot hatch a deeper, more aggressive tone without adding any drone. We are also looking for a quality exhaust that will stand up to any future bolt-on upgrades we have planned for this vehicle as well.

(Photo Credit: Borla)

Borla just released two new cat-back exhaust systems for the 2016-2017 Focus RS that are worth consideration. The company has released a new comparison video on its YouTube channel that gives RS owners the chance to see and hear the difference between the two cat-back systems. In the video, Borla conducts three different sound tests; one with the stock exhaust installed, one with the S-Type exhaust, and finally one with the more aggressive ATAK exhaust.

The Borla S-Type Exhaust (PN 140702), gives RS owners a nice aggressive tone over the stock exhaust without being too intrusive to the driver. But the system we are most interested in is the new Borla ATAK Exhaust (PN 140730).

This cat-back exhaust system is equipped with a Sound Suppressing Valve simulator that avoids any warning lights on the dash while providing maximum flow at all times. And according to Borla, the new 3-inch systems produce zero drone in any gear at any speed or rpm.

Each Borla Exhaust System is built from premium 300-series stainless steel to offer durability. And judging from the video above, the ATAK Series exhaust looks and sounds like a nice upgrade for a Focus RS.

With the new ATAK Series exhaust system not creating any drone at speed, this system looks like it may be the perfect exhaust upgrade our daily driven RS. What about your RS? Which system do you prefer?