Ted Swing

The summer heat here has required a lot of AC which has been rough on my MPG but I did have a bright spot on my trip to Flagstaff this weekend: Admittedly, this was possible due to a steep grade, but I thought it was still pretty cool. I made it 8 miles straight without burning gas.

I'm happy to get a $775 check, but to be honest I wasn't upset by the controversy in the first place. I bought my FFH back in August after researching the vehicles I was looking at. The real world vs. EPA mileage discrepancy was already known then. I've actually gotten better MPG than I was expecting.

I'm pretty sure 46 MPG is just the highway mileage. No way a diesel does that in city driving. If any significant amount of your driving takes place on roads with stoplights, the MPG will drop considerably. It's good to see GM at least trying something different from most competitors, but I'd still go with the FFH based on a number of dimensions.

Could be the same guy/same fleet, then. If so, then obviously they're still around. It does seem like a good car for a taxi.

I actually saw a Tesla Roadster a month ago. Pretty rare compared to the Model S. Also, I saw two Volts this morning on the way to work.

Most of the taxis in the Phoenix metro area are Priuses. I just saw one taxi company today that's apparently using C-Maxes, though. Could be good news if they can get into that niche.

I see what you're asking for and it is something they could add, but I suspect they won't because it would lead a lot of people to decrease their MPG. If you think about it, any trip over 2 miles is guaranteed to use the ICE some of the time. The question is when do you use the ICE? Optimally, you would use ICE for acceleration and EV for cruising and deceleration, because the ICE is most efficient at acceleration and least efficient at cruising/deceleration and the EV is just the opposite. That's what Acdii and Hybridbear were getting at. If you always accelerated in EV mode, then you will run out of charge more quickly and have the ICE kick in sooner while cruising, which again, it's less efficient for. It would lead to lower MPG. Given all the headaches Ford has had with the EPA numbers, I don't think they'd want to add an option to the car that leads people to get lower MPG. I think your idea's not so far off, though. I would like a mode that tries to keep it in EV for very short trips. I hate it when I'm going half a mile or a mile and the ICE runs almost the whole time even though I could've done it in EV and then recharged the battery on another, longer trip where warming it up would make a difference.

I agree with you generally, but I find the new Avalon to be by far the best looking Toyota.

Most people don't get 47. I'm pretty close (48.4 MPG by the car's gauge, 46.5 by manual calculations). It takes a lot of work and mild Arizona winters to get that high. That said, it should still be better MPG than the Avalon Hybrid. According to FuelEconomy.gov (link below), the 2013/14 Ford Fusion Hybrid averages 40 MPG compared to 38 MPG for the 2013/2014 Toyota Avalon Hybrid. http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=34312&id=33083&id=34486&id=33373 The Fusion Hybrid definitely has a smooth and quiet ride - the best of any car I've been in - though I haven't ridden in an Avalon Hybrid so I can't give a direct comparison there.

It doesn't really make sense to accelerate up to speed purely in EV mode. It's both too slow and drains a lot of the battery's charge anyway. I find that I stay in EV mode up to 15-20 MPH, then go into ICE mode, and back to EV when I reach my speed. I would say don't floor it like you're drag racing, but no need to be really slow in accelerating.

Welcome to the forums, James. I hope you like the car. I still enjoy mine a lot.

Here's mine.

On websites where owners can post their mileage, the '13 and '14 Ford Fusion Hybrids tend to average around 40 MPG. Whether you get more or less than that will depend on a variety of factors with your driving circumstances as well as how much effort you're willing to put in to get good MPG. If you try, you'll see 47 MPG or better some of the time. Getting it in the long run is difficult, but possible. I would say evaluate the other aspects of the car that matter to you (comfort, handling, looks, safety, etc.) and, if you'd be happy with something in the ballpark of 40 MPG, it's likely to be a good car for you. Edit: Also note that other hybrids will tend to fall short of their EPA ratings, too.

Thanks for the review. According to Fuelly the Jetta Hybrid does get good MPG (39.4 MPG for 2013 and 41.3 MPG for 2014) - presumably your route, conditions, and SOC were pretty favorable if you got 58 MPG. I've always had the impression that VW believed more in diesels than hybrids, but it sounds like the ones they make are credible (if not quite as polished as some others).

Yeah, I was looking into HID lights and learned that conversion kits are all illegal to use. You have to replace the entire headlight if you want to change your car to HID, and I couldn't find anywhere that sold HID replacements for '13 or '14 Ford Fusions.

This reminds me of the Formula One drivers. They recently switched their cars to hybrids. The big fear was that the cars wouldn't be powerful or fast enough (which turned out not to be true) but now the drivers complain that they aren't loud enough! They're looking into ways to make them louder.

Agreed. I think there was an impression for a while that American car buyers were not very discerning. Many manufacturers wouldn't sell the best versions of their vehicles here. There was also sense that the American manufacturers made unreliable cars and were not very innovative. (Not to pick on GM, but I think the recent issue with the Cobalt is an example of the kind of thing that reinforces this.) I think people became fans of certain foreign brands like Toyota during that time. I think it has changed a lot in the last few years - not that the imported cars have gotten worse, but the domestic manufacturers are doing a much better job and Americans are more discerning. Ford in particular has done a great job with cars like the FFH. I've gotten compliments on my FFH from many people. I had a visitor from Japan for my work who was very impressed by it after riding in it. One of my bosses also used a new Ford Fusion (gas version) as a company car recently. His personal car is a BMW M5. He had expected not to like the Fusion, but actually driving it changed his mind and he told me he likes it. I don't think the Camry is a bad car, but I was surprised, too, at how much market share it has. It's not really the best at anything, IMO, or particularly inspiring. I think it comes down to certain people having made up their minds about certain brands based on previous experiences and being reluctant to change them. For some it will just take time for them to reconsider. For others, it will be more of a generational shift as younger people come in with a more open mind and come to different conclusions.

Congratulations! Looks great. It'll be interesting to hear what you find out from your testing.

I agree with you guys about the FFH's features and quietness. I didn't mean to sell it short. I think it's reasonable to weigh those above small differences in MPG in highway driving.

Consumer Reports testing got 36 MPG at 75 MPH in the FFH. You'd likely get about 432 miles per tank at that rate (assuming 12 gallons per refill, which is fairly typical). It's not an ideal driving situation for the car, but other hybrids would tend to perform similarly in that situation. Really only a diesel would be significantly better for that type of driving.

That's hilarious! At the risk of being too technical, that's a chimp in the video - not a monkey. I guess Trunk Chimp doesn't rhyme, though.

Yeah, here's a link to some pictures. http://www.autoblog.com/2014/04/16/2015-hyundai-sonata-new-york-2014/ I actually liked the previous Sonata's looks, but it was polarizing - some people didn't like all the curves. The partial redesign - like the Camry the engines are the same - is more conventional looking, but still good IMO.

I think the looks are an improvement over the current Camry, but really more on par with the Accord or Altima. It doesn't quite pull off the grille as well as a Lexus does. Fusion still wins on looks hands down, IMO. I'd also rank the current Mazda 6 and new 2015 Sonata a bit higher than the new Camry, too. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/17/automobiles/2015-hyundai-sonata-modern-maturity-for-fluidic-sculpture-design.html Clearly, the trend is that you have to have an attractive car to compete in the midsize segment, though.

Welcome, thepaulsensbc. I'm curious to hear your impressions once you've had a chance to try it a bit.

This seems to mirror the changes that the EPA made a few years ago (adding test cycles that include heat, AC, faster acceleration and driving). That's good news. I'll be curious what the 2015 FFH (and other cars) get in that new Canadian test cycle.