mmarshall

IN A NUTSHELL: Excellent road manners and good fit/finish, but dash-electronics too complex, and rear-roofline cuts deeply into headroom.

At the D.C. Auto Show, for the second year in a row, Ford and Lincoln, instead of having their own test-drives set up in the city streets around the show like some other manufacturers, offered $50 Mastercards to those who do test-drives at local dealerships. Last year, Buick also did the $50 Mastercard......I test-drove a Verano and, of course, ended up buying one. Anyhow, as I also did last year (when I test-drove a new F-150), I took Ford up again this year on its offer.

I had prevously, a few years ago, did a full-review on the last-generation Fusion Hybrid, and was VERY impressed with it......I rated it one of the then-5-best American-nameplate cars. So, even though I did not have a full-review-request for the new one, I thought I'd check it out and see how well it compared to the excellent previous version...and CL seemed to have at least some interest in the new Fusion in general. A local Ford shop near my house had a nice red one sitting on the lot unsold (it's unusual to find unsold hybrids sitting around, as demand for them is very high). It had a base price of $27K, and, with options, listed for a little over $34K. So I took the chance (while I still had one) to do a test-drive....not a bad way to earn $50.

Never mind the $50, though....even without the incentive, I found the trip worthwhile. This, IMO, is a pleasant car to sit in and drive, as long as you are in the front seat or of average or less height....the humpback-whale roofline cuts sharply into rear headroom for taller adults, especially with the sunroof housing. The big hybrid-batteries rob some of the inner-trunk space behind the rear seat (which is usually the case with a hybrid)...though the overall trunk space is not bad. And the dash-electronics are horrendously complex to set up and configure, but once set up, don't need much else as long as you are satisfied with the info they offer. The interior, though, is generally well-done, with good fit/finish, comfortable seats, and excellent stereo, though the grained-black imitation leather didn't try very hard to hide the fact that it is fake.....you won't easily mistake it for Lexus, Audi, or Jaguar hides.

But where this car really shines is on the road. Its EPA rating is 47 MPG combined, excellent for a family-car of this size and comfort (we're not talking a Prius or Insight here) ....though there have been some recent questions of the accuracy of some hybrid MPG-figures. Its road manners, IMO, are nothing short of excellent....almost to BMW-grade. The chassis/steering, despite the electric-steering-assist, feels like it was developed in Germany. The gas engine, of course, shuts down at rest, and the electric motor delivers a healthy dose of torque from rest, though it has a lot more weight to haul around, than, say, a Prius or Insight. Handling is responsive, with quick steering response and very little body-roll. Wind noise is well-muted, and most (but not all) of the road noise is also well-muted. Engine noise, of course, is almost silent with the electric motor and quite low with the gas in-line four. Ride-comfort (something I often gripe about), was borderline firm but otherwise surprisingly good considering the rather low-profile tires....another sign that the chassis was develped in Germany. And this is probably the first hybrid I've ever driven with regenerative braking that actually had a normal brake-pedal feel, without the usual quirky over-sensitivity and vaccum-pull found in many hybrids. Last, as you go down the street, the sharp-looking front end styling, with the Aston Martin-style grille, is likely to turn some heads.

So, in a nutshell, the last Fusion hybrid, IMO was certainly worth the money....this one, even more-so, though one must also deal with its few quirks.

Good Job, Ford.....again.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Nice review Mike! Love this car and glad it's doing well for Ford. The problem with Sync and technology like that is how to use it. The tech works great but only when you know how to implement it. There's a reason Lexus developed Technology and Delivery Specialists once the car is sold. To teach the guest how to use it. Ford didn't do this and slipped from 5th to near last in IQS. Two years ago Lexus's call centers went from 7,000 to 13,000 calls in the course of a year all regarding "how do I work my car". Lexus saw the need and promptly fixed the situation. Other makes and dealers have since followed.

trexlexus

Mmarshall, i think i recall that you are a fan of the new Lincoln MKZ. Iirc, then I'm with you. Hopefully you get to try the MKZ hybrid soon and tell us how that experiecne was.

If you liked this Fusion so much, the Lincoln mght blow your socks off.

KillaIS250

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for sharing your review of it! I've been trying to convince my parents to buy or at least lease one cuz they need a hybrid that isn't small. Glad to hear that someone as reputable as yourself seems to like the car as well.

pbm317

Other than Prius, no hybrid has had any sort of consistent sales success.

Fly4u

I currently drive a 2010 Fusion Hybrid with a generally satisfying experience. So much so that I was on the verge of purchasing a 2013 model until the MPG debacle surfaced. While it is too soon to judge whether the sub-par mileage is inherent to the drivetrain, due to user error, or an early production flaw, the typical shortfall even among experienced hybrid drivers is roughly 7 to 15 MPG.

A recent test drive confirmed improved handling and a vastly upgraded interior. While a well-equipped Fusion can be had for roughly 10K less than an ES300h, the latter may be a better choice for this driver. Last night I experienced a Lexus for the first time in years and was impressed. Other vehicles cross-shopped are the BMW 328i, Buick LaCrosse, Toyota Avalon, (not yet driven) and possibly Audi A4.

Looking forward to learning more about the ES300h on this forum!

mmarshall

Thanks. It was worth the trip.

This car, though, in particular, had not only the Sync and MyFordTouch systems but the NAV screen/climate-controls and adjustable dash-hybrid graphics all combimed. To describe the dash-electronics in one, simple, four-letter word, they are a mess....at least maybe until you get things the way you want them.


The fact that the need for customer-assist with those controls nearly doubled in one year pretty much describes what I've been saying.......cars are simply getting too complex with their dash-electronics. The answer, IMO is not more Tech-Wizards in the delivery-process, but simply less-complex, easier-to-operate vehicles. One should not be expected to be Space-Shuttle-qualified in order to simply set-up and drive a new car nowadays.

That's not to say that I am opposed to having computers in cars. Quite the contrary.....they have done some marvelous things over the years in engine-control, fuel-delivery, ignition, transmission-shifting, torque-distribution with AWD, braking/traction/stability-control, etc....... But there comes a time when you start to simply have too much....and overkill.

mmarshall

I don't quite agree. The regular Honda Civic Hybrid (not the Insight) and Ford Escape hybrid have both done pretty well in the Amercan market. And the last-generation Fusion Hybrid, while not the line's top-seller, didn't do badly either....it was, IMO, an excellent car, and I had considered buying one myself.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

I consider PCS or Pre Collision too much. BSM or Blind Spot Monitor I adore.

mmarshall

I looked at a new MKZ at the Lincoln display at the D.C. Auto Show last week.....in fact, I spent some significant time looking it over. I wasn't as impressed with it as I was with earlier versions. The new car strikes me as having a lot of gimmicks, from the smiley-buck-tooth grille up front to the electronic push-buttons on the dash for the transmission (ala early-mid-60s Chrysler products) to the low humpback-whale roof line that cuts into rear headroom (also one of the new Fusion's weaknesses) to the almost pimp-white leather inside that will (probably) be almost impossible to keep clean. If its road manners, though, are as good as the new Fusion's (particularly if it can give as smooth or a smoother ride), then I agree..........it will be worth the trip to the Lincoln-shop. But, for now, I was generally more impressed with the Cadillac CTS competitors right across the aisle at the Cadillac display....particularly the non-V CTS models with their richer-looking, less sport-oriented interiors. The CTS Wagon, IMO, has always been dynamite-looking, but Cadillac is dropping it from the U.S. market because of low sales.

mmarshall

Here's one of the simplest, most effective, and easy-to-produce Blind-Spot-Detectors ever done, without a bunch of electronics.....a simple convex piece on the mirror. And, fortunately, you will find it standard on a number of new Ford products....yes, including the new Fusion.

mmarshall

Welcome to CL and CAR CHAT. I see you are a brand-new poster. Your opinions and experience always welcome here.

We have a special CL forum, BTW, for ES owners and ES-specific chat, but it can also be done here in CAR CHAT, where we talk about any car, any time.

pbm317

Well there's what you feel, and then there are facts.

Civic Hybrid:
2008: 31,297
2009: 15,119
2010: 7,336
2011: 4,703
2012: 7,156

Escape Hybrid
2008: 17,110
2009: 14,787
2010: 11,182
2011: 10,089
2012: 1,441

Fusion Hybrid:
2008: 0
2009: 15,554
2010: 20,816
2011: 11,286
2012: 14,100

mmarshall

Sure. Glad you enjoyed it.


There are, of course, a number of mid-sized family hybrids on the market (Camry, Sonata, Optima, Accord, Malibu, LaCrosse E-assist, ES350, and others). But, for the money, the new Fusion is certainly a nice-driving one, and with sharp front-end styling. It's just very complex in the way it does dash-electronics...but some of you younger guys, who grew up with computers, unlike me, may not have a problem with that.



Thanks for the compliment. I try to be objective, thorough, and unbiased, but I'm not perfect. Occasionally I make a mistake, too......I'll leave out something or post an error/typo. Other quite reputable people on this forum occasionally correct me, too.

This, BTW, was not one of my regular full-length reviews (some of which you may have read in the past)......just a basic write-up. With the 10-day Auto Show, show-based test-drives, and other demands of the last couple of weeks, I haven't had time for my regular long reviews.

bagwell

yep, great MPG + low MSRP + Great Reliability!!!!