Finally Got My FFH!

[Nick P]

Well, it took almost 3 months of waiting but I finally picked up my new 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid on Friday 3/8/13. Boy am I loving this car so far. When I picked it up it had 8 miles on it and the lifetime fuel economy average was 12.1 MPG. I've now put only 150 miles on it and I'm already up to 36.5 MPG average. I seem to be getting low to mid 40's in MPG on every trip. My 25 mile commute to and from work has been 40, 43, and 48 MPG. On short trips around town I've gotten over 50 MPG with the highest so far at 58. I will calibrate those figures when I fill up for gas but having travelled 150 miles so far I've only used 1/4 of a tank of gas. So I'm happy to say it'll be a while before I can calibrate.

 

Plus, the car itself is awesome. I'm still learning all the capabilities but I'm loving the voice activated Sync and the way the instrument panel "coaches" you to drive as economically as possible. As a former Mercedes driver (CLS 500) I can honestly say the differences between the amenities in that $75,000 car and this FFH are minor and definitely not worth the extra $$. I'll be recommending this car to everyone I know and am looking forward to learning more about it as I go.

[lolder]

Please read all the manuals several times and try all the buttons and gadgets while parked. Spend several hours doing this and you will be highly rewarded.

[B25Nut]

" As a former Mercedes driver (CLS 500) I can honestly say the differences between the amenities in that $75,000 car and this FFH are minor and definitely not worth the extra $$. I'll be recommending this car to everyone I know and am looking forward to learning more about it as I go."

 

When I saw my first CLS, I feel in love with it. Since it also happened to be my initials, it seemed to be destined to be my dream car. My wife ever since had been encouraging me to buy one since she always wants me to have "the best". It took her a while to get over that I took a "step down" and purchased the Fusion Hybrid. The thought of buying a Mercedes was only feasible back then since we all had imaginary money. Last year I was determined not to go into luxury car debt, and I have never regreted buying the FFH, and the fact that I'm not in over my head financially is a big part of that.

This was reinforced last night when we went to dinner at an outdoor wine bar. My FFH was parked across the street behind a new Porsche Carrera. I didn't feel one bit of envy, and the Fusion held up very well when comparing side profiles. When we were eating, a silver CLS 500 drove by. My first thought was "how do you see out of that thing", but the CLS still looked great. I'm just very happy I didn't spend more than twice as much getting one, especially comparing the yearly cost of ownership.

This morning a white Lexus CT Hybrid parked behind my White Platinum FFH. I talked to the owner, who was very happy with it and getting 40 mpg. The CT was a car I considered, but it's more than $10K more, is much smaller and doesn't look nearly as good as the FFH.

[Nick P]

Been reading the manuals but it sure isn't easy to do. Everything is in there but finding it can be difficult. I'm going to take your advice though and just sit in the car this weekend and play with everything. There are so many options for the left side of the dashboard, what do others think is the best view to use most often? I'm using Engage right not so I can see when the ICE kicks in and when it's off. Is something else more effective? I'd love to hear other folks opinions.

 

Thanks for the advice lolder.

[Nick P]

B25NUT, I agree the CLS is a beautiful car. And from a performance perspective it is unbelievable. The power and acceleration is staggering. But you pay for it in gas mileage and repairs. Plan on taking out a mortgage to get it fixed. My last oil change cost $127 and they wanted $53 to replace the oil drain plug. It was $63 for new wiper blades. I never took the car in and got away with less than a $1000 bill.

 

You were wise to pass up the higher end cars for the Fusion. I wish I learned that lesson 4 years ago.

[jeff_h]

Been reading the manuals but it sure isn't easy to do. Everything is in there but finding it can be difficult.

 

Go to www.motorcraftservice.com and click the left link for "Owner Guides" and download a PDF version, makes it much easier to Ctl-F and find a search term, much better than flipping pages if you have something specific in mind.

[B25Nut]

Nick, I feel Engage is best. One quick look gives you all the system info you need when you have it display all three Battery options and Instantaneous Fuel. If you become obsessed with MPG, Empower will help you stay in EV longer. Are you familiar with the Pulse & Glide method for extended EV time? There are many options for My View (which displays with two pushes of the down button when you're on Engage). I have Range and Temperature. Personally, I think having the Tachometer displayed is of no use since the FFH has a CVT. If you make a lot of calls in your car, you will probably like to have the right display set to Phone. I have mine on Audio. I'm not sure why anyone would like the Green Leaves.

You are so right about the Owner's Manual. The Index is useless 4 out of 5 times. I hope they improve it for next year. You need to go through the manual 2 or 3 times before many aspects become clear.

[lolder]

You're right about the index but you should read the manuals cover-to-cover at least once so that in the future when a question comes up, you may remember reading about it.

[ConFusioned]

I enjoy reading how new FFH drivers are enjoying their cars. I also learn a lot from the advice given in this forum. You guys and gals are good people.

[GrySql]

You're right about the index but you should read the manuals cover-to-cover at least once so that in the future when a question comes up, you may remember reading about it.

My dog-eared Owner's Manual is looking pretty bad, so is my memory.

Now I do as Jeff said and keep a .pdf copy of it on my computers desktop for a fast reference, saves wear and tear on the tissue papered pages of the OM.

Edited March 14, 2013 by GrySql

[acdii]

Have it on my ipad and iphone too.

[Nick P]

Nick, I feel Engage is best. One quick look gives you all the system info you need when you have it display all three Battery options and Instantaneous Fuel. If you become obsessed with MPG, Empower will help you stay in EV longer. Are you familiar with the Pulse & Glide method for extended EV time? There are many options for My View (which displays with two pushes of the down button when you're on Engage). I have Range and Temperature. Personally, I think having the Tachometer displayed is of no use since the FFH has a CVT. If you make a lot of calls in your car, you will probably like to have the right display set to Phone. I have mine on Audio. I'm not sure why anyone would like the Green Leaves.

You are so right about the Owner's Manual. The Index is useless 4 out of 5 times. I hope they improve it for next year. You need to go through the manual 2 or 3 times before many aspects become clear.

Thanks B25NUT. I plan on spending some time this weekend going through all the display options. I appreciate all the feedback.

[Nick P]

My dog-eared Owner's Manual is looking pretty bad, so is my memory.

Now I do as Jeff said and keep a .pdf copy of it on my computers desktop for a fast reference, saves wear and tear on the tissue papered pages of the OM.

I thought I was the only one who noticed the poor paper quality in the manual. It almost feels like a temporary solution if they couldn't get a decent manual ready before launch. Maybe I'm giving Ford too much credit though.

[Nick P]

Go to www.motorcraftservice.com and click the left link for "Owner Guides" and download a PDF version, makes it much easier to Ctl-F and find a search term, much better than flipping pages if you have something specific in mind.

Thanks jeff_h. You've been really helpful on this forum and I really appreciate it.

[mokee]

Yea, thanks. I really like that seach function. Saves a lot of ... :banghead:

[jeff_h]

I thought I was the only one who noticed the poor paper quality in the manual. It almost feels like a temporary solution if they couldn't get a decent manual ready before launch. Maybe I'm giving Ford too much credit though.

 

My guess is that it's (uhh, what's the term for thinner than paper-thin?) really-thin paper-thin so that the printed manual is as compact as possible in order to make the least obtrusive object in the glove box, etc?

[acdii]

Phone book paper!

[jeff_h]

Phone book paper!

What's a phone book?

[GrySql]

My guess is that it's (uhh, what's the term for thinner than paper-thin?) really-thin paper-thin so that the printed manual is as compact as possible in order to make the least obtrusive object in the glove box, etc?

When I was a little kid my folks would keep a Sears & Roebuck catalog in the two holer outhouse. It's pages were about the same consistency as Ford's OM were very useful when we were out of toilet paper.

So, my fertile mind has decided that the paper is so thin because we don't have spare tires and might get stuck in the wilderness and need to use the pages for something more useful than reading.

Just don't use the page with Ford's Roadside Assistance printed on it. ;)

[Nick P]

Well, It's been 11 days of ownership now and I still haven't had to fill up the tank! I'm at about 330 miles with 3/8 of a tank left. My lifetime mileage by the gauge is reading about 40.5 and going up. We've had a rather cold March here in the Northeast with daytime temps in the 30's and 20's at night. So I'm hoping for more as the weather warms and the car gets broken in. I don't see any reason for not hitting the 47 mark going forward (knock on wood). It seems the more recently delivered cars are getting better mileage than the earlier delivered cars. Possibly they tweaked something in the manufacturing process?

[lolder]

It's the temperature !

[acdii]

Yep, temp is having a huge impact on the 13 more than the others.

[Nick P]

Just want to update on how the car is doing. It's been about 1 month since I picked up the car and I'm on my 3rd tank with a little over 1100 miles on the car. I haven't reset the lifetime mileage since I got the car. It had 8 miles on it with a lifetime average of 12 MPG at pichup. I am now at 44.0 MPG and it continues to rise slowly. My 24 mile commute each way to work and back is typically in the 46-54 MPG range each way. I'm noticing it go up significantly on warmer days. When the temp gets to about the mid 50s I consistently get 50+ MPG. I do try to spend as much time in EV as possible and my commuteis about 60% local roads and 40% highway. On the highway it seems very difficult to keep the mileage high. Eco-cruise does seem to help though as long as you don't go much over 62 MPH.

 

All things considered, the car is phenominal and I want to tell everyone who is still waiting for delivery to hang in there and spend as much time learning on these forums as you can before the car arrives. It is well worth the wait.

 

And just for the purpose of full disclosure I'm coming off a 2006 Mercedes CLS 500 with a 5.0L V8 that got 17 MPG. So I do miss the 300+ HP a lot but I'm REALLY loving 44 MPG!

[pers69]

My guess is that it's (uhh, what's the term for thinner than paper-thin?) really-thin paper-thin so that the printed manual is as compact as possible in order to make the least obtrusive object in the glove box, etc?

 

I think it is about reducing the weight to aid fuel efficiency :-)

 

NickP - thanks for the encouraging posts.

[GrayStrider]

Nick, we love our FFH. We're past the 8000 mile mark, and love the improved MPG over our 2005 Saturn VUE. Kept it for our daughter to drive when she's ready to get her license (working on it).