jrmckinley

Had this as a rental and wanted to give some thoughts. It had 30k miles on it when I got it and I drove it 450 miles in just over a 24 hour period - about 190 miles each way non-stop on the highway followed by some city driving. I manually calculated that I got 36.9mpg even though the computer told me I had averaged 39mpg. My speed on the highway was almost always above 75mph and topped out at 92mph.

Likes:
- Surprisingly quiet cabin at 80-90mph on the highway. I could hear tire noise but that may be solved with higher end tires. I'm an LS owner so I like a quiet ride and notice when a car is not quiet.
- I love the absolute silence of driving on 100% electric
- Seats were relatively comfortable once I got the lower lumbar adjusted properly on my drive home. The first 190 mile trip to my destination was painful when I got out of the car, but I got into a much better position on the ride home and got out feeling great.
- I like the circular dial to go from P, R, N, D instead of a traditional shifter. I did find myself at times wishing I had something to lean my wrist on while driving since it didn't have the traditional shifter sticking up. I'm sure you get used to not having it.
- Engine was very smooth - in fact I never once felt a gear shift (no RPM's displayed on the dash either)
- I really like some of the data Ford provides you with for the use of the battery and fuel. Some examples:
1) After each trip when you turn the car off, it shows you how many miles you drove after turning the car on and how many miles were on battery vs. how many were using gas
2) When you reset the trip odometer it will give you the same info (I reset it when I picked the car up so I could see my stats after driving it the entire time). On the highway, my EV use was around 8% (only when coasting) and around town it was around 15% of the time.
3) When you brake and come to a stop, the system gives you a "brake coach" to show you what % of power was returned to the system based on your braking technique. I liked figuring out how to hit 100%. Slow & steady.

Dislikes:
- Painfully slow acceleration. At one point on the highway to pass someone I had to floor it and I wasn't sure when I was going to get around them. The 4 cylinder Fusion is really underpowered (140 hp I think). Very very different from my LS.
- 2 level trunk and minimized trunk space due to battery. Felt pretty significant.
- The gap between the driver seat and center console is very wide. My phone fell down there at least 10 times in my one day rental.
- AC vents can't be turned off - only redirected. Not a problem when driving by yourself, but if I had a passenger in the car my only option for the center vent would be to aim it their way (and up). I don't understand this design.
- The screen Ford uses for back up cam, radio display, etc. is so ridiculously small. It's about the size of a classic iPod and is completely inadequate, even for a car this small.
- No key sensing technology to unlock doors- had to manually push the button on the remote which just feels archaic in today's day & age
- I don't like the way the windshield wipers move independently and in opposing directions. I find it distracting and not sure it's as effective. I went through an absolutely torrential downpour (typical FL late afternoon storm) and it became apparent how much I prefer traditional wiper movement.
- There is a delay between turning the dial for the radio and the system catching up with you. For example I'd turn the dial fast a few times and then realize I had ended up way past my intended Sirius channel - there is a lag on the screen compared to what the dial is doing.
- I left the headlights on and locked the car with the keyfob- I came back out 10 minutes later and the headlights were still on. Really, Ford? In a 2017 car you don't have auto shut off lights after like 2 minutes? I wonder how long they would have stayed on.

Overall, I have to say it was a pretty good car to drive 450 miles in a day and it certainly has me thinking about how seriously I would consider a hybrid or all electric vehicle as my next car. My LS460 would get around 27mpg on this type of trip (which I do frequently), so the Fusion added about 10mpg which is about a 40% improvement. For every 1,000 miles I would drive at those mpg's I'd save about $50 when factoring in 87 in the Fusion and 93 in my LS. If using the same octane prices it would cut it to $25 saved per 1,000 miles. Thus the dilemma of a hybrid... at 15k miles per year, I'd save around $750 max and $375 on the low end.

I've driven a Model S which I loved, and after this experience I'd probably look at other hybrids that are slightly larger and more luxurious than the Fusion (Avalon, Volvo, etc) that provide a more luxurious feel inside and out. Even if the size and luxury level of this felt right, the quirky design of certain features and lack of other features that should be included would exclude this for me.

bagwell

with Hybrid powertrain it has 188hp combined, 0-60 in 8.7 seconds per Motor Trend.

jrmckinley

OK, but when you're on the highway you aren't using any of the hybrid... with all gas the 140hp is all you've got. And it feels like it's 90hp...

Sulu

In the Ford hybrid system, when full power is required (such as when accelerating), the electric motor will assist the gasoline engine, so that the full 188hp is available.

Aron9000

Personally if I were to buy a hybrid, it would be a Toyota of some sort. They pioneered this tech. The Fusion is a great looking sedan though, really wish they sold the liftback variant here in the US like they do in Europe. Looks like the sedan but way more useful.

jrmckinley

Really? I'm surprised by that but I'm not saying I'm right because I don't know anything about their hybrid technology. I was going about 70mph and had an opportunity to pass a car that was holding up the flow of traffic and pushed the pedal about half way down and felt nothing, so I floored it and it took quite a while for the car to go from 70mph to 80-85mph. It definitely did not feel like the gasoline engine was getting any help. The Car & Driver review I read before posting doesn't detail my exact scenario, instead they just say "While the Fusion hybrid is not quick, its electric motor adds a nice dose of torque to initial takeoff from a stop, so it doesn’t feel poky in city driving. Even under hard acceleration, the four-cylinder’s noise is well muffled and never sounds strained."

That statement left me thinking the hybrid is only helping in acceleration from a stop.

Maikerusan

Exactly.

Ford hybrid is in no way comparable to Toyota. I had a Ford CMAX for a week when they first came out. They misrepresented the mileage and had to walk that claim back.

I live in Canada and I get it that cold weather affects hybrids, but on a 35 minute urban drive it did not once switch to hybrid/battery power. Not once.

We have a Prius V now for 5 years. On a similar drive in the same winter temps it was and is much more efficient than the Ford.

In any case, Ford has already announce they are getting rid of all cars except the Mustang. No one in their right mind should buy a Fusion Hybrid today.