Ford Fusion Hybrid - thoughts?

[Juddog]

Saw this on dailytech: Ford Fusion Hybrid

38 mpg in the city, and it's a Ford. Decent enough horsepower for a daily driver, plus good gas mileage. To me if the price was $20k or less I'd probably pick one up.

 

[shafeen]

bit overpriced..........this things would get cheaper one day

 

[Zenmervolt]

IMO the Fusion is one of the best-kept secrets in the automotive market today. A real jewel of a car. I've rented several and I love them.

ZV

 

[desy]

I currently don't like the look of the Fusion but I do the new model and the interior is upgraded as well.
It will be on my short list

 

[LS8]

If the Fusion-Hybrid were on the lot today I would go buy one. Fusion is priced right IMO, it isn't a compact car and thusly a fully optioned example will be over $20k.

 

[mwmorph]

The Fusion is a nice looking car and the 240hp Duratec V6 bump sounds very good. The 220hp was too little and the 3.5L 263hp V6 doesn't sound like it'd be needed since the Fusion is a half size smaller than it's rivals.

The problems I have with the Fusion is 1. Cheap interior quality and 2. Horrid rearward visibility due to the high deck. I've driven a few and being relatively short (5'7"), I couldn't see anything out the back at all due to the high decklid.

I hope they've changed the seats since then to move them higher to improve rearward visibility. With that fixed and with a better interior (even on higher spec version, the Fusion interior looks and feels cheap), it could be a very nice vehicle, certainly better than the new Mazda 6 which grew too large and moved away from it's fun to drive roots.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: mwmorph
I hope they've changed the seats since then to move them higher to improve rearward visibility. With that fixed and with a better interior (even on higher spec version, the Fusion interior looks and feels cheap), it could be a very nice vehicle, certainly better than the new Mazda 6 which grew too large and moved away from it's fun to drive roots.

Interesting. At 6", my favorite thing about the Fusion was that the seats can actually be adjusted to be low, I hope they give more range of adjustment for you without sacrificing the ability to adjust the seat as low as it can go now.

The very first thing I do when I get into a rental car is lower the seat height to its lowest setting.

ZV

 

[Vetterin]

Definately worth watching.

 

[evident]

fusion is a promising american car, but still needs work. a hybrid is always welcome

 

[EvilYoda]

This is a much better version than what they were going to originally release - we (auto show team) were all ready to for the launch of the Fusion Hybrid last year, but then they delayed it. I think the new redesign looks much much better and the numbers it's putting out are very respectable.

 

[senseamp]

First hybrid I am actually interested in, since it should also be reasonably entertaining to drive, unlike boring Toyota and Honda hybrids.

 

[randomlinh]

i probably wouldn't buy it, as I'm not a fan of ford's styling (tho, oddly enough, I kinda like the Fiesta), but would gladly like to see it in the market. hybrid has a lot of potential.. we need more innovation in it, and thus competition.

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

Originally posted by: EvilYoda
This is a much better version than what they were going to originally release - we (auto show team) were all ready to for the launch of the Fusion Hybrid last year, but then they delayed it. I think the new redesign looks much much better and the numbers it's putting out are very respectable.

Were they going to put the hybrid powertrain into the original Fusion? Is that what the delay was for - to release it with the updated design?

 

[Arkaign]

Fusion and Malibu are head-and-shoulders above the standards of past Detroit cars. Kudos for GM and Ford raising the bar. Oh, and poo on Chrysler for continuing to make garbage.

 

[ElFenix]

that's pretty nice looking. pretty compelling car with the 4, hybrid, and 3 liter.


is the 3 liter still the old duratec? or have they put some of the cyclone's tech in it?

 

[cheesehead]

Meh. I'd rather have the Mazda6, which is more or less the same car but better looking and slightly nicer to drive.

Of course, I'd rather have a Mazda3 anyway, which can get pretty similar fuel economy (nearly 40mpg on the highway if you're anal and drive a manual) at a much lower price.

 

[Mermaidman]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
IMO the Fusion is one of the best-kept secrets in the automotive market today. A real jewel of a car. I've rented several and I love them.

ZV

+1
I was impressed with my Fusion SEL rental. The interior was very nice too.

 

[SearchMaster]

Originally posted by: Cheesehead
Meh. I'd rather have the Mazda6, which is more or less the same car but better looking and slightly nicer to drive.

Of course, I'd rather have a Mazda3 anyway, which can get pretty similar fuel economy (nearly 40mpg on the highway if you're anal and drive a manual) at a much lower price.

Same (er, similar) as the last-gen Mazda6 but not the current.

 

[Quixfire]

Originally posted by: KnightBreed

Originally posted by: EvilYoda
This is a much better version than what they were going to originally release - we (auto show team) were all ready to for the launch of the Fusion Hybrid last year, but then they delayed it. I think the new redesign looks much much better and the numbers it's putting out are very respectable.

Were they going to put the hybrid powertrain into the original Fusion? Is that what the delay was for - to release it with the updated design?

The delay is Toyota or their lack of releasing the battery technology to third party members. Toyota owns the hybrid technology most hybrids used today. They developed it back in 1994 with the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. Toyota is willing to license the technology to Ford, GM, & Chrysler but they won't allow any other company to make the battery packs. Toyota is having trouble keeping up with demand for Prius and Honda Insight. At this point Ford is scaling down their projected Hybrid products because they know they can't bring them to market in a quantity to make an impact.

This is what I was told when I helped build six prototype Hybrid Fusions last winter for Ford at Roush Industries.

Quixfire

 

[sindows]

Theres no way it'll be priced ~20, I would expect it to be closer to 24. However I do like the Fusion, its many many times better than any Accord or Camry when it comes to ride quality. I like my cars firm and responsive...

Things Ford needs to work on:
engine noise(4 cylinder): quite loud and they sound uninspiring, however in terms of vibration, its about the same as an Accord or Camry
Interior materials: definitely on the cheap side but "durable"

 

[EvilYoda]

Originally posted by: Quixfire

Originally posted by: KnightBreed

Originally posted by: EvilYoda
This is a much better version than what they were going to originally release - we (auto show team) were all ready to for the launch of the Fusion Hybrid last year, but then they delayed it. I think the new redesign looks much much better and the numbers it's putting out are very respectable.

Were they going to put the hybrid powertrain into the original Fusion? Is that what the delay was for - to release it with the updated design?

The delay is Toyota or their lack of releasing the battery technology to third party members. Toyota owns the hybrid technology most hybrids used today. They developed it back in 1994 with the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. Toyota is willing to license the technology to Ford, GM, & Chrysler but they won't allow any other company to make the battery packs. Toyota is having trouble keeping up with demand for Prius and Honda Insight. At this point Ford is scaling down their projected Hybrid products because they know they can't bring them to market in a quantity to make an impact.

This is what I was told when I helped build six prototype Hybrid Fusions last winter for Ford at Roush Industries.

Quixfire

This. Same reason why the Escape Hybrid was in such low supply last year.

Thanks Quixfire

 

[halik]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
IMO the Fusion is one of the best-kept secrets in the automotive market today. A real jewel of a car. I've rented several and I love them.

ZV

The i4 is very very underpowered, but I did like the car overall. It will do 105-110 on a flat road

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: halik

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
IMO the Fusion is one of the best-kept secrets in the automotive market today. A real jewel of a car. I've rented several and I love them.

ZV

The i4 is very very underpowered, but I did like the car overall. It will do 105-110 on a flat road

I drove an I4 SEL and didn't think it was terribly underpowered. Not any moreso than any other 4-cylinder car I've driven and certainly more spunky than the flat-4 Subarus I've driven (non-turbo models, of course). Like any non-turbo 4-pot though, you need to put your foot into it.

ZV

 

[Q]

I hope it does well -- Ford needs it and I think it's a very good looking sedan

 

[Juddog]

I'm a fairly large guy - 6'2", yet for some reason I have a love of smaller cars. I'm a big Mazda fan, but knowing that Mazda's in the US are mostly built by Ford anyways, would gladly move to a car like the Ford Fusion if the price point was good.