1 month Ford Fusion Hybrid Review

[Howie411]

So, I've now officially had my Ford Fusion Hybrid 1 month. During that time I've filled up 1 time and the car currently has about 590 miles (though I went about 520 on the first tank of gas). My average highway driving seems to be getting better gas mileage then city. I tend to average between 36-37 on the hwy and around 34-35 in the city. I keep the dash display on Engage, as I enjoy seeing the gauge with the dual Battery/Engine. I hope to one day see a 41/39 like Ford States, but honestly I can't see that happening unless I start Hypermilling. And I can already tell some people are getting annoyed driving behind me.

 

The car has some great pick up and speed, and I can merge onto busy highways with the best of them. I love how quiet this car is when I start it up and driving on just the electric engine.

 

This is the first 4 door car I've ever owned, previously I owned a Pontiac G6 Convertible and before that a Mini Cooper Convertible, I thought it would be hard not to have a convertible anymore but then I realized I really didn't put the top down that much, and I tend to open the sunroof a lot now, even if its slightly cold outside.

 

I've gotten a lot of compliments on the car, I opted for the Atlantis Green with the tan interior, (though now I wish I would have gotten the black interior after seeing how easily the tan gets dirty). I also got the 502A package, I figured if I'm going Hybrid I'm going all out.

 

I'll be taking my car in tomorrow to the dealership, there is actually some perforations in my drivers side seat and I'm having the dealer fix it, hopefully it won't be to bad. I already got my first scratch, surprisingly it was on the window, when a bunch of rocks from construction flew up and scratched the windshield, unfortunately the glass and the body shop said it wasn't fixable.

 

 

 

So to start out with the Pros:

 

[backup Camera] - This thing is awesome, not sure how I ever managed without one.

 

[Nav System] - This system is pretty state of the art, especially coupled with TravelLink I think it rivals some of the really expensive portable GPS's. I just wish the maps were more up to date. They say my car came with the latest Maps from Navteq, but both my Garmin and Tom Tom have streets 2 blocks away that don't exist on my FFH.

 

[sirius Radio] - Had XM for the last 8 years, I could never have another car without Satellite Radio.

 

[Microsoft Sync] - My favorite feature is the Bluetooth/Cell Phone connection (when my phone can keep the signal) Also connecting my Ipod through the USB and seeing the song names, artist is awesome. I don't really use any of the other features though or at least not yet.

 

 

 

Now the Cons:

 

[Leg Airbag] - This thing is way to low and I keep hitting my feet on it.

 

 

 

A few suggestions for next years model.

 

[Homelink] - Why is this on the Escape but not the Fusion?

[Cold Seats] - Taurus has them, would be a nice addition.

[Foldable rear seats] - I guess they'd have to move the battery somewhere else.

[Autopark] - Another cool feature the Escape has I would have loved.

[junehhan]

I currently have had my Hybrid for almost a month with 2000 miles on it now, and I have noticed my fuel economy improving nicely. However, I have also noticed that the colder weather has also really put a hit on my fuel economy, especially on shorter trips around town. I am currently getting 38-39mpg on the highway, and 34-36mpg in the city. Before the weather started getting cold, I was easily getting 44-54mpg doing city driving around town.

 

I do not hypermile at all and have no desire to as I believe hybrid drivers need to put the courtesy toward other drivers at a much higher priority than trying to eek out every last 0.001th mpg in fuel economy.

 

I REALLY love the backup camera as I don't know how I lived without it. Especially when I am parallel parking or backing into a spot, it takes the guesswork and uncertainty out as you now know exactly how much space you have left before you hit the other car parked behind you.

 

I also like the Navigation system with Sirius travel-link, but really havn't had a chance to use it as I use my Focus for extended highway driving stuff.

 

I hope that you put a picture of your hybrid up one day as i've never seen a green one before.

[Howie411]

Here is a picture, the Atlantis Green is really dark, when I first saw it I thought it was black, it looks really slick.

 

Edited November 30, 2009 by Howie411

[junehhan]

That really does look good! I would definately prefer it to black, although it really looks almost black to me. I am starting to see a ton of Fusion hybrids around here, but every single one I see is silver! There was a survey done a while back that showed that silver is the favorite color for cars around this area.

 

I would have probably have seriously considered green if Ford would have offered one closer to the British racing green color that you see on some Jaguar and Mini vehicles.

[flavius]

That's green? Really. :blink: It does look quite nice.

[mirak]

My wife's 98 Mustang was a similar dark green. Problem was, the dark color faded a bit over time, and it really showed all the little nics and scratches that accumulated over the years. Especially the front bumper. I'd strongly advise applying some sort of clear protectant to the front of the car.

 

I went with the white pearl this time. Not as pretty, but a really clean look. Of course, the problem with the white is that it doesn't hide paint scuffs left by other cars! The slight flare-out around the rear wheels on the FFH seems to be a magnet for morons who can't park. I've been scuffed at least 10 time in the four months I've had the car. Fortunately, they've all come off with a little rubbing compound.

[Howie411]

My wife's 98 Mustang was a similar dark green. Problem was, the dark color faded a bit over time, and it really showed all the little nics and scratches that accumulated over the years. Especially the front bumper. I'd strongly advise applying some sort of clear protectant to the front of the car.

 

I went with the white pearl this time. Not as pretty, but a really clean look. Of course, the problem with the white is that it doesn't hide paint scuffs left by other cars! The slight flare-out around the rear wheels on the FFH seems to be a magnet for morons who can't park. I've been scuffed at least 10 time in the four months I've had the car. Fortunately, they've all come off with a little rubbing compound.

 

 

Thanks for the tip, I usually do some sort of Carwash Protectant, once a month. I had a Tri Diamond White (same as pearl) on my last car, I've come to the realization, if I'm going to pay extra for anything on a car its not going to be the paint, it needs to be something inside useful to me. :)

 

On a side note, just picked up the car from the service shop and happy to say my front drivers seat looks brand new again, no holes I can tell of.