Before America had even an inkling of intent to sell a turbocharged Ford Focus, the Europeans were already enjoying the hot hatchback known as the Focus RS. America now has its own turbo Focus, the Focus ST, but many in Europe are still hopeful that an even more-powerful Focus RS will debut from Ford soon, though they might be in for some disappointing news.

While it appears Ford still intends to build a Focus RS, unlike much of the competition, the hot hatchback for Europe will not make the jump to all-wheel drive. So says the UK’s Car Magazine, which also goes on to insinuate that the 2.3 liter EcoBoost four-banger debuting in the next-gen Mustang might also be shared with the Focus RS.

The Ford Focus ST is a powerful car no doubt, with 252 horsepower on tap and up to 270 ft-lbs of torque. But European customers expect at least 300 horsepower from the next Focus RS, and power output could be as high as 350 ponies if Ford deems it so. But with the next-gen Mustang slated to go on sale with the same 2.3 liter engine, Ford could end up cannibalizing sales between the two models.

That is what makes the decision to eschew all-wheel drive so baffling. Carmakers like Subaru and Mitsubishi have found a lot of success with their performance AWD cars, yet Ford seems dedicated to a front-wheel drive Focus. That’s a shame, especially for one who lives in a place where it snows a lot (like most of Europe). Should Ford make an all-wheel drive Focus ST or Focus RS? Or is front-wheel drive good enough?