Possible new owner

[Cobra348]

Greetings! I'm Larry and I live in the Oswego, NY area. Am retired as of this year and I own 2 2014 Fiesta sedans - one of which my son uses for school. Sometime about the '15 to '16 model year rollover, I plan on trading in one of the Fiestas for a Fusion Hybrid. I estimate that the trade will have about 20K miles on it (it's over 17K now), interior and exterior excellent. My brother in NC has a '13 Hybrid and loves it plus he has offered some advice to me on items as well.

 

I'm looking for more input and some answers to questions I have now and probably will have in the future. I plan on doing a LOT of reading on best driving methods and so forth ... plus I see I have a list of acronyms to learn! :) Here's what I have specced out on the Ford.com Build/Price pages - essentially starting with either an SE or Titanium trim level.

 

The cars are planned to be Bronze Fire exterior with the Terracotta/black interior package. The major points of the Summary pages for each are here and I noted package details to hopefully make things easier as to contents. <shrug>

Fusion SE

502A package - auto-dim mirrors, heated leather seats, foglamps ... in addition to standard Fusion goodies.

Driver Assist package - auto high beams, rain-sensing wipers, 100-volt outlet (meh!)

Adaptive Cruise Control

SE MyFordTouch Hybrid Tech package - required for blind spot and lane keeping stuff?

Intelligent Access w/push button start

Blind spot warning system (part of Driver Assist)

Lane keeping system (part of Driver Assist)

 

Fusion Titanium #1

600a package - basically all things Titanium

Adaptive Cruise control

Intelligent Access w/push button start (included)

 

Fusion Titanium #2

600a package

Driver Assist package

Adaptive Cruise control

Blind spot warning system (part of Driver Assist)

Lane keep system (part of Driver Assist)

Intelligent Access w/push button start (included)

 

Questions

1. Integrated spotter mirrors listed on the features list. Fiestas have spotters in the upper/outer corners of each outside mirror. Is this true on Fusion and if so, is the Blind Spot warning stuff necessary?

 

2. Intelligent Access/push button start - Fiestas with IA setup typically do not have remote start ability available, Fusion lists remote start as part of the feature list. Does remote come on the Fusion Hybrid as a standard item? It would be great if so, because getting things somewhat warmed up inside as I clear snow off would be helpful. Not a show-stopper if not.

 

3 Are the lane keeping and blind spot systems really all that useful? I do like to use cruise control on trips so that's a given. <shrug>

 

4. Given the price difference of Titanium over SE trim, are the added features worth the extra cash?

 

5. Wind deflectors. Due to the curve of the doors I find that if I have these mounted, I don't get kickup from passing vehicles if I have the window cracked a bit. These don't seem to be available on the Hybrid lines but are on the gas models. I assume I could mount gas-model ones if desired?

 

Mind you, I'll be reading a lot so I'm likely to find my answers buried in here somewhere. I appreciate the time to coach a potential hybrid rookie on things! And feel free to ask me questions as well ... I'll answer just about anything you can come up with!

 

Thanks!

 

[murphy]

Blind spot warning and spotter mirrors are mutually exclusive. If you get blind spot warning it won't have spotter mirrors.

I don't use the lane keeping very much, mainly because on the 2013 it defaults to off.

Adaptive cruise control is very nice. The car uses radar to maintain the following distance to the car in front.

[nv rick]

I have a major problem with my neck, in that I have minimal head movement; up/down and side to side.

The blind spot warning, cross traffic alert, and the backup camera are true stress reducing features for me.

I have a 2014 MKZ hybrid which shares much of what is available on the FFH models. Adaptive cruise control, auto high beams and wipers and lane keeping all make for an effortless driving experience.

I ended a lease on a 2011 MKS to buy the 'Z' and was lucky to get it during the 0% promotion in July.

I come to this forum as the MKZ forum is quite dead. I got a lot of info and tips while I was considering the move to a hybrid vehicle. I am sure you will get lots of friendly advice and answers to your questions.

[Sailor]

I had a 2013 Fiesta Titanium with push button start and was able to get a remote start through Ford. It took about 6 months before it was available as it took a while to develope one that played nicely with the push button start. They should have one available with the fusion titanium. From what I was told they started with the higher end fords and worked their way down to the lowly fiesta lol. It didn't cost me anything as I negotiated it into the deal when we bought the fiesta.

[djminfll]

 

Fusion SE

502A package - auto-dim mirrors, heated leather seats, foglamps ... in addition to standard Fusion goodies.

Driver Assist package - auto high beams, rain-sensing wipers, 100-volt outlet (meh!)

Adaptive Cruise Control

SE MyFordTouch Hybrid Tech package - required for blind spot and lane keeping stuff?

Intelligent Access w/push button start

Blind spot warning system (part of Driver Assist)

Lane keeping system (part of Driver Assist)

 

 

This is exactly the car that I bought, except I don't have the push button start. I am pretty sure it was not available on the 2013 except as part of another option package that I didn't want, or I would have gotten it. To be honest, now that I have had the blind spot mirrors, I couldn't go back to not having them. I recently rented a car with the integrated spotter mirrors, and I just think they are old technology, nowhere as effective towards safety as the blind spot mirrors. As for lane keeping, I like it, but it can be a little intrusive. I find myself having to fight the steering on curves, but overall, I do like the secure feeling it gives me.

To be honest, I looked at the Titanium first, but I find the seats in the SE to be more comfortable. The only Titanium feature I wish was on the SE is the tail lights.

Best of luck with whatever choice you make!

[Cobra348]

As accustomed as I am to the spotters, I think I'll drop BLIS. To me it's just another electronic gizmo to go wonky but the spotters won't. Also on my Fiestas, I have them adjusted so there is virtually no blind spots at all on the sedans. Hatches have small ones due to the larger C pillar.

 

My brother advises that you just about have to use signals if you have lane keeping - to keep it from going off when you change lanes. I think I'll drop that as well ... if I forget to use the signal I don't need the car massaging my rump at the wrong time.

 

Sounds like Titanium #1 is where I should be heading. However, is there REALLY any worth to the Titanium trim over the SE in features or just another way to snag an extra grand or so on the MSRP? I couldn't see anything jumping out at me on the features list.

 

Thanks for the inputs, folks!

Edited October 19, 2014 by Cobra348

[hybridbear]

We love lane keeping and BLIS. Our Focus Electric just has the integrated spotter mirrors and I find that when driving at dusk a car without headlights can easily disappear and not be very visible in the spotter mirror. BLIS will always pick it up. Minneapolis is also a city full of bikes, BLIS will also usually pick up bicyclists in my blind spot.

 

The Lane Keep Assist is another feature we really like. It is really helpful when you start wandering out of your lane without realizing it.

 

Some of the features I most value which are part of the Driver Assist package are: rain-sensing wipers, auto high beams and Cross Traffic Alert.

[nv rick]

We love lane keeping and BLIS. Our Focus Electric just has the integrated spotter mirrors and I find that when driving at dusk a car without headlights can easily disappear and not be very visible in the spotter mirror. BLIS will always pick it up. Minneapolis is also a city full of bikes, BLIS will also usually pick up bicyclists in my blind spot.

 

The Lane Keep Assist is another feature we really like. It is really helpful when you start wandering out of your lane without realizing it.

 

Some of the features I most value which are part of the Driver Assist package are: rain-sensing wipers, auto high beams and Cross Traffic Alert.

I totally agree. BLIS and Cross Traffic Alert are godsends, along with the backup camera. Because of injuries to my neck over the years, I have limited ability to move my head. These features really help when backing up or making lane changes. Now if only CTA was available for checking cross traffic at intersections, lol.

[acdii]

The main thing about the HyTi is the Sony sound system, the rest is just bling. The remote start is integrated in the HyTi, not sure if the SE with IA will have integrated RS though. Ever since I got the first 2010 Fusion with BLIS, I never want another car without it. That little light in the mirror makes it so much better when you are looking to change lanes quickly, and there is a car there that you may never see even with the spotter mirrors. Today I needed to make a quick change, and saw the light on, so I avoided an incident by seeing the light.

 

The lane keeping is good for long trips, but not daily driving. Adaptive cruise is great, would not want a car without it. I could do without the rain sense and auto high beams though, they become a PITA when you really dont need them.

 

If you can live with the non Sony sound system, and the SE IA has remote start, that would be the one to go for, the Luxury seat are so much more comfortable.

[Waldo]

The SE with the Intelligent Acces option does have full factory integrated remote start. The remote start available without the IA is not factory integrated, it's just a dealer-added accessory.

 

The lane keep system massages your hands, not your rump. Shame on you for not using your signal for every lane change.

 

I am not a fan of the BLIS system. If you adjust your mirrors like I do (and it sounds like you do), the light is not really visible because the car that's in your blind spot is taking up the whole mirror. The spotters are useful for those times when you're merging at a slight angle or need to see 2 lanes over, the BLIS doesn't always pick up those situations. I do like the cross-traffic alert though, too bad you have to get the BLIS with it (they use the same sensors).

 

I'm a big fan of adaptive cruise, but I didn't get it on my Fusion mostly because I didn't have time to custom-order my vehicle. But if it really came down to paying another $1000 for it, I'm not sure I'd say it's worth the money.