Ford Fusion Hybrid Road Test.

[Sprint XR8]

Shock! Ford beats the Japanese at their own game.

BY MARK GILLIES
December 2008



The first thing you need to know about the 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid is that it’s the best mid-size hybrid sedan on the market. Yes, that’s right: it wipes the floor with the Toyota Camry hybrid.
Like the Camry, it mates a four-cylinder gasoline engine with two battery-driven electric motors and a continuously variable transmission. The Fusion has a 2.5-liter four-cylinder Atkinson-cycle engine that makes 156 hp and 136 lb-ft of torque. Although the Atkinson cycle, where the intake valve is held open longer during the intake stroke, is more efficient than the usual Otto cycle, it doesn’t produce as much power and torque. In a hybrid’s case, electric motors augment the gas engine so that acceleration isn’t compromised. Here, the hybrid system puts out a combined 191 hp.

Ford has worked hard to significantly improve the system in the Fusion over the one in the Escape hybrid. The trunk-mounted nickel-metal-hydride battery pack is smaller and lighter, for instance, and uses a different chemistry so that it doesn’t need a separate cooling system, simply drawing air in from the cabin to manage temperatures. The pack also produces 20 percent more power. Variable timing on the intake cam allows the vehicle to more seamlessly transition between electric and gas modes, according to Ford, and the Fusion can be driven up to 47 mph on electric power alone, depending on how leadfooted a driver is. Most hybrids can pull off the electric-only trick only as high as 25 mph or so.

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...take_road_test

[barbarian]

[Hunter]

The whole instrument cluster thing whilst a novelty sounds a bit dangerous to me... last thing I want is some air-head bimbo running up my bum because she was watching the 'leaves grow on the vine'.

[Martys-Bionic-XR]

thats not a bad looking car from Ford USA.

[Luke Plaizier]

Isn't that a US Mondeo? I'd be pretty impressed if the drivetrain turned up in a Mondeo soon.


Lukeysn

[GS608]

have to admit their cars are getting better looking, although i don't fancy the grill

[Ohio XB]

Originally Posted by Luke Plaizier

Isn't that a US Mondeo? I'd be pretty impressed if the drivetrain turned up in a Mondeo soon.


Lukeysn

No, this car is designed off of a Mazda platform. Not related to the Mondeo. The next gen Mondeo and Fusion are being designed together so I would suspect that Fusion to be Mondeo based.

have to admit their cars are getting better looking, although i don't fancy the grill

Thanks. I agree, better looking car. I also believe this new fascia is styled after the FG Falcon. Can ya see it? The grill......yeah, I know. Ford is attempting to say "We aren't afraid to try something different" with it. I like the look of the car even better than the present one. The 3.5L Sport model should be a ball to drive. It also has a real nice body kit.


Steve

[Sprint XR8]

Mondeo and Fusion are both based on the Mazda 6 platform.

[kocho]

I really like that bonnet. Grill is a bit too intense for me.

[DoreSlamR]

All good and well, but at the end of the day...it's still a hybrid.

[Ohio XB]

Originally Posted by coupex

Mondeo and Fusion are both based on the Mazda 6 platform.

The 2007 and up MK4 series of the Mondeo was based on the EUCD platform with Volvo and is the same used in the new large MPVs Galaxy and S-MAX, but not the North American Ford Fusion or the Mazda6 in Japan. American Fusion was based on Mazda6.

All good and well, but at the end of the day...it's still a hybrid.

Well, with all the people that our government says are aching for a hydrid, there ya go.


BTW you do know this same car is also available with an I-4 and 2 V6's, 3.0L and 3.5L? You also get 6 speed transmissions, manual or automatic.


Steve

[TUF_302]

Thats a very good looking car for an american one!, not sure about the chrome grill though either lol!

[Ohio XB]

I just had a thought. What if the grill was gunmetal gray??? HHmmm.....


Steve

[GS608]

Originally Posted by Ohio XB

I just had a thought. What if the grill was gunmetal gray??? HHmmm.....


Steve

would look better, not as bling but IMO the honeycomb type grills we have here are much better for sedans, the big 3 bar grills are for trucks

[Bossxr8]

People will still probably buy the Camry though, its probably a similar situation to here, no matter how much better the Ford is people still buy the other brands due to reputation, ie, FG Vs VE.

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

People will still probably buy the Camry though, its probably a similar situation to here, no matter how much better the Ford is people still buy the other brands due to reputation, ie, FG Vs VE.

This reputation is gonna require years to change. Unfortunatly the BA with all the problems didn't help...neither did the poor service by the dealers.

[JerseyVics]

saw a Fusion recently with a mesh grill that replaced the current three bar set up... and from a distance it looked identical to the Cadillac STS-V...

[Ohio XB]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

People will still probably buy the Camry though, its probably a similar situation to here, no matter how much better the Ford is people still buy the other brands due to reputation, ie, FG Vs VE.

I agree, but Jim Farley, the head of marketing in the US that came over from Toyota, said that the publicity that Ford got from being in front of the Feds is actually going to be real good for them because it is causing people to question why Ford is not in the same boat as GM and Chrysler and to look into their health as a company.




Jim Farley, group vice president of marketing and communications for Ford, says he's been frustrated by some of the debate in the media about the bailout. "It's one thing for the consumers, but for the mass media and our real thought leaders in the country to literally have a five- to 10-year-old image about where Ford Motor Co. is, it's mind boggling."

Still, he's never seen so much interest in the auto industry. And Farley says he thinks the conversation will change as soon as people delve more into the details about each company.

"It's raising the awareness to a level that we couldn't do with all the marketing money in the world," Farley says. "If GM, Chrysler and Ford joined up tomorrow, we could not get the American public to be as interested in the car companies' health as it is right now."



That is an exerpt from a REALLY good article about Ford....

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/...nterview_N.htm




Steve

[Ohio XB]

Originally Posted by XR-CHIEF

would look better, not as bling but IMO the honeycomb type grills we have here are much better for sedans, the big 3 bar grills are for trucks

I like the honeycomb better too.


Steve

[GK]

I really like the car.

Unfortunately, perceptions are everything. Ford must work very hard to change them.

It'd be great to see that car shipped here and beat the Japanese. That'd go a long way to starting the reversal that's needed in the perceptions of the Aussie public.

It also might shut Gover up for a while too! LOL! You never know, he might even say a few nice things about it.

GK

[Ohio XB]

Originally Posted by GK

I really like the car.

Unfortunately, perceptions are everything. Ford must work very hard to change them.

It'd be great to see that car shipped here and beat the Japanese. That'd go a long way to starting the reversal that's needed in the perceptions of the Aussie public.

It also might shut Gover up for a while too! LOL! You never know, he might even say a few nice things about it.

GK

Perception is a huge concern of Ford and they are working extensively to change it. With the country's eye on the Big3 now because of the loan requests Ford is looking to capitalize on this timing to get more reality across to the public.

Ford is heavliy working to improve "perceived quality". These are characteristics that people reference to denote quality in a vehicle such as how solid the door sounds when it closes, how quiet the interior is during driving, and the quality of the interior materials, how they feel whether cheap or substatial.

Because of this Ford now uses much better quality materials for the interior, even using Scottish hides for the leather interiors because they are tanned in the most enviromentally friendly method in the world, and the hide quality is also very high. Plastics and cloth are of a higher grade now and wood accents are real wood instead of plastic with a wood pattern on it.

Ford has established a "Ford sound" for what closing the door on a Ford sounds like whether you pay $14,000 or $40,000. It is solid and deep in sound. Interiors are much quieter and even the door chime is a pleasant sound.

This goes on top of real quality. In safety no other manufacturer in the US has more 5 star safety rated vehicles than Ford. No company has more IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) "Top Picks" than Ford.

The Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan surpass the Camry and Accord in quality.

Ford's new hybrid system obsoletes any other system currently out there.

There's also a lot more coming out 2009.


Steve

[axeray]

I'm not a fan of the grill. It's really off putting.

[FoMoKid]

Ohio XB, all that sounds very positive for Ford in the US. But I guess Ford Globally, maybe not so much Europe, would still have a hard time getting people to experience the improved quality of the entire Ford range based on impressions people have of the brand from 10 to 15 years ago which is a shame a damn shame. I actually had a mate from Sydney ask me if Ford still actually made cars in this country! :

As for this Fusion hybrid, it all looks promising. Now where are motoring media in Australia doing full page write ups on this... silent as always...

[silvergsvan]

I saw a left had drive evaluation Fusion Hybrid on the Geelong Ring Road yesterday. No photos :(

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by silvergsvan

I saw a left had drive evaluation Fusion Hybrid on the Geelong Ring Road yesterday. No photos :(

Yes , I believe that car and possibly a Taurus have been over here for a while now...
I suspect that the Ecoboost I-4 Falcon is being bench marked against the Fusion hybrid
but really doubt that we will see the CD3 Fusion Hybrid here, it's too late in the product cycle
to do a RHD version, all of that technology is being rolled into the next Fusion/Mondeo.

The next Fusion /Mondeo combined platform will offer I-4 diesels,
V6 petrol, I-4 Ecoboost petrol and Hybrid as well as AWD version.
I bet Ford Australia are being tempted with "30 pieces of silver" to
switch to a larger version of this as a Falcon replacement (Nooooooo).
I hope they remember who they really are in all of their deliberations...

[Brazen]

I really like US Fords, Have a lot of character rather than all the blandmobiles sold here.

The Fusion and Taurus certainly appear to be very impressive cars.

[Ohio XB]

The Fusion and the Taurus have all the journalists here (US) gaga for these cars. They seem to have an "I can't believe THIS is a Ford!" complex. It's all good.

Steve