junehhan Report post Posted February 4, 2010 I thought i'd post my personal comparison between the S and Hybrid Fusions. My dad has an old Crown Victoria and recently the intake manifold gasket was diagnosed as leaking. As some of you guys are aware, many of the older 4.6 litre V8's that Ford used had composite intake manifolds that were known to be spotty. It is not a cheap repair. He has rode along in my hybrid a few times and was so impressed that he wanted a Fusion of his own. He decided on a Candy Red Fusion S because it is likely the best automotive value on the market. You get so much for so little money in that car as there are many standard features that are optional on other vehicles. I have had a chance to drive his car today as he complained that something kept rattling when he was going over rough surfaces. At first, I couldn't figure it out as it sounded like the dash had a very loud rattle. It turned out that his key chain was rattling as I found out when I accidently hit it with my knee and it stopped rattling. I have to say that this is one impressive car. I drove it for 25 miles and according to the dash display, it showed that I was averaging 33mpg. The EPA rating for the S is 23 city and 34 highway. This is on a car that only has 64 miles on the odometer. I know that the in dash display can be inaccurate, but the car only has 64miles on it and that is the only info I can report. The next thing I noticed was how incredibly quiet this car is. I suspect that the 16 inch tires are responsible for this, but the S was in fact quieter than my Hybrid when cruising down the highway at 68mph. Due to the 16 inch tires, I also noticed that the ride quality was very nice as it felt more Toyota Camry like. I prefer the firm ride of my Hybrid, but I know that there are some folks here who believe the Hybrid rides too firm. When doing the city portion of my driving, I also noticed that the engine is definately quieter than the Honda Accord, and about as quiet as a I4 Camry. The transmission is also a gem in the Fusion S. The shifts were so smooth and seamless that I was unable to determine what gear I was in. The interior was a bit cheaper, but you would expect that in a car that costs nearly $11-12k less than my hybrid. I found that the seats are arguably better than the seats in my hybrid as well. The seats in my hybrid are definately of a sporting nature. They are very comfortable, but tend to be a bit aggressive. These base model seats were clearly designed with long range driving comfort in mind. The only fault is that the Focus comes with 6 way manual seats, while you can only get 4 way manual seats in the Fusion S. It would have been nice to be able to adjust the tilt of the bottom seat cushion. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dogo88 Report post Posted February 4, 2010 When we got our FFH in May it was very quiet. After about a month or so, I started to heard a slight rattle. Not a big deal but clearly unexpected since I had noticed how quiet it was when we first got the car. Well it bugged me. It sounded like it was coming from the passengers side, right around the glove box. I figured I must have filled it up with the usual garbage; flashlight, papers, some tools, etc. So I took them all out and it still continued. It wasn't rattling all the time, just when I went over some bumpy patches in the road. Then I thought is was a lose wire or cable behind the glove box. So I reached around to try and find something lose. Nope, nothing there, Finally sitting in the passenger seat I was reaching around and slightly hit the vison and it sounded familiar. Well it seems when my wife was in the car and she had used the visor she had not put it fully back into the clip, but had it so close that at certain car movements it would vibrate next to the clip. So I put it into the clip and the rattle disappeared. These are well made cars. Dan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
acdii Report post Posted February 4, 2010 I have been hearing a buzz in my door, thought it was one of the Sony speakers, NOPE turned out to be my water bottle. I usually have it filled, this time it was empty. Soon as I pulled it out, the buzz went away. Yep these ARE quiet cars. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites