Another Prius Convert

[jeapa]

Hi everyone. I have been reading the forums for a few days to learn all I can about the FFH. I will be picking up my white platinum SE tomorrow and I am super excited. I am getting the dune leather, moonroof, my ford tech, rear video camera, reverse sensing, and navigation.

 

I am selling my 2006 prius to my son. It was/is a great car and I have had no issues with it at all. I am a heavy driver with a 550 mile a week commute with 177,000 miles on the odometer in just under 7 years. I averaged 42-46mpg per tank with my commute being about 80/20 expressway/city driving. I had some >50 mpg tanks with my prius, but I tend to drive 70-75 on the highway and if I got 44 mpg I was happy.

 

My main reason for not buying another prius is purely style. I need a car with great mpg, but I have never really liked the style of any of the newer hybrids enough to pull the trigger, until now. When I saw the 2013 fusion on the road one day I had to do a double take. I could not believe that cool looking sedan was a hybrid. To think that I can drive a car with some style and get decent mpg has me excited.

 

I am looking forward to seeing how this fusion measures up. I suspect it will get in the 37-40 mpg range unless I slow down a little. I am willing to give up a little in favor of comfort and style. I spend a lot of time driving everyday and I figure I should enjoy it a little more. Life is just too short!!

 

Thanks.

[corncobs]

Welcome and congrats on your decision the FFH sure is the best looking most fuel efficient hybrid sedan out at least in my book I couldn't be happier with mine.

 

Well I (we) can't wait to hear feedback from you as another Prius convert.

[GrySql]

Good decision and welcome!

Getting good mpg's is not all the FFH is about, most of us find it a very comfortable car to travel in, ending the trip refreshed is why I love my FFH.

I hope you enjoy your car as much as we have for the last 8 months. Your commute might feel a little nicer in this car.

Don't be afraid to ask questions, we all have shared our knowledge and profited by it, this is a pretty happy forum.

Edited July 29, 2013 by GrySql

[jeff_h]

I'm also a former Prius driver, had one for 128k miles and sold it to co-worker (see it in parking lot at work each day, it now has about 196k miles). It worked fine and I only had a couple issues with it, but thought the styling was cheap and the ride was not very comfortable - the FFH is much better in both areas, IMHO.

[kuzzi]

Welcome! If you haven't already done so, please feel free to add yourself to our ever growing FFH owner's map!

 

http://fordfusionhybridforum.com/topic/6884-ffh-owners-map/

[acdii]

Hi everyone. I have been reading the forums for a few days to learn all I can about the FFH. I will be picking up my white platinum SE tomorrow and I am super excited. I am getting the dune leather, moonroof, my ford tech, rear video camera, reverse sensing, and navigation.

 

. I suspect it will get in the 37-40 mpg range unless I slow down a little. I am willing to give up a little in favor of comfort and style. I spend a lot of time driving everyday and I figure I should enjoy it a little more. Life is just too short!!

 

Thanks.

It is good to know you are going into it expecting this! Shows you did some homework first! :) You will love this car. I was a former PPP(cant come to say the word) owner too. If ever there was a car I hated, it was that one. Getting good mileage is one thing, but if you dont enjoy the car, or makes you and your family not feel safe, its gone!

[jeapa]

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone. I got the car this morning and drive it into work. I was amazed to see when I parked at work 48 miles later, I average 47mpg. The commute was about 40 miles on the expressway at 65-70 and 8 miles on a two lane at 45. Pretty impressive numbers!!!

 

I hated my Prius as far a the looks and comfort went. It was a very reliable car with great mpg, but I already know this Fusion is so much better in so many ways. I will post some photos tonight when I get off work!

[corncobs]

Well that's what a call a well deserved start into a hopefully long and reliable relationship.

[jeapa]

I know I have only had this car since this morning, but I am very impressed. From most of the research I have done I expected comfort and style, but I did not think I would be getting such high mpg numbers this soon. When I picked up the car it had 60 miles on the odometer and this is what I had when I got to work:

 

 

I stopped off at the dealer on my way home and had the car cleaned up and he put a full tank of gas in her. I reset the lifetime miles because I wanted this to reflect my driving only not the first 60 miles driven by the dealer. I live 17.5 miles away from the Ford dealership and I took the expressway for 10 of those miles.

 

 

This is my first photo of her in the driveway;

 

 

 

Another shot

 

Edited July 30, 2013 by jeapa

[acdii]

Yeah

 

We need MORE More MORE!!!

 

Ppp(still cant say it) Converts! :)

[jeapa]

Yeah

 

We need MORE More MORE!!!

 

Ppp(still cant say it) Converts! :)

You know as much as I disliked my Prius..LOL, it did serve a very good purpose. It taught me how to drive a hybrid. The dealer was amazed when we were on the test drive and I found the sweet spot on the pedal.. the car was driving in EV and the mpg was steadily climbing He said he had never been able to do that...

 

This car is a perfect fit for me. As I was driving along on my way home tonight I realized why I had started driving my prius more like a regular car... it was no fun to drive. I couldn't wait to get the hour commute over with so I had gradually started driving more in the 75 mph range just to get home sooner. I still got about 44mpg most tanks, but I wasn't relaxed or enjoying the ride.

 

I am going to see just what this car can do. I am going to keep my speeds at 65-70 expressway and posted speed limit everywhere else and see where my mpg is at in thirty days.

[corncobs]

... It taught me how to drive a hybrid. The dealer was amazed when we were on the test drive and I found the sweet spot on the pedal.. the car was driving in EV and the mpg was steadily climbing He said he had never been able to do that...

 

I would say you nailed it with this comment and your dealer is probably not the only one that could say that.

 

Awesome numbers!!!

[GrySql]

A very nice start, I'd say.

I like to hear stories like this, especially the Dealer being surprised at your hybrid driving skills.

[djminfll]

Welcome, good luck with your new FFH, and congrats on such a superb start! My dad has a Prius, and every time I drive it and then get into my Fusion, I am so happy with my choice. THe Prius compromises too many things in order to get a couple of mpg more than the Fusion. And my dad has been driving a little faster lately, and my Fusion is doing better than his Prius.

Are you going to sign up at www.fuelly.com and track your mileage? If so, please use that as your signature - a lot of us do it, as you have probably seen already.

[jeapa]

Thanks guys. I am really glad that I found this forum. I had almost decided not to buy the hybrid model based on reviews from Consumer Reports and others. Reading this forum led me to believe that I should at least take one out for a test drive and that sealed the deal.

 

I hope these numbers are encouraging to those that are still learning. This car is definitely capable of achieving the EPA numbers in mixed driving conditions hwy/city ( at least on my commute).

[jeapa]

Welcome, good luck with your new FFH, and congrats on such a superb start! My dad has a Prius, and every time I drive it and then get into my Fusion, I am so happy with my choice. THe Prius compromises too many things in order to get a couple of mpg more than the Fusion. And my dad has been driving a little faster lately, and my Fusion is doing better than his Prius.

Are you going to sign up at www.fuelly.com and track your mileage? If so, please use that as your signature - a lot of us do it, as you have probably seen already.

 

I do plan on signing up at fuelly. I need to get another tank of gas before I will have stats. It won't take very long since I average about 550 miles a week. :shift:

[jeff_h]

Thanks guys. I am really glad that I found this forum. I had almost decided not to buy the hybrid model based on reviews from Consumer Reports and others.

 

I was also ambivalent after reading various posts from others that the hybrid was no way gonna make the MPG numbers, So all I said last October was that I was anxious to see for myself, as I was not able to get MPG numbers from the Prius but got better than MPG from the 2010 FFH. So I got it and am doing well, and now many others (but sadly there are still some not happy) are also doing the same -- however wait for winter to come back around and the number of 'my MPG sucks again' posts will creep back up. So Spring and Fall are definitely the best time for a hybrid...

[djminfll]

I was a little hesitant when I first took the FFH out for a test drive and I was at 31mpg on my trip. That is still better than the 21mpg I was getting with my Volvo, but not even close to the 40's. But the salesman told me about "hybrid driving", and he drove it afterwards and his little trip was at 42mpg. I must say, I had probably the best, and most honest, car salesman ever, and he did quite a bit of follow up after the sale. I actually think they enjoy selling these cars more than ICE vehicles.

Edited July 30, 2013 by djminfll

[jeapa]

however wait for winter to come back around and the number of 'my MPG sucks again' posts will creep back up. So Spring and Fall are definitely the best time for a hybrid...

I am guessing I will lose about 3-4 mpg during the winter, but it will still be great mileage for a car this size.

[hybridbear]

I am guessing I will lose about 3-4 mpg during the winter, but it will still be great mileage for a car this size.

Glad to see another Prius convert and welcome to the Forum!

 

If your winters are cold you'll lose a lot more than that. In MN the MPG difference summer to winter is 10+ MPG. However your MPGs should continue increasing now through the break in period where your summer numbers will be well above 47 MPG and your winter numbers likely below.

[jeapa]

Glad to see another Prius convert and welcome to the Forum!

 

If your winters are cold you'll lose a lot more than that. In MN the MPG difference summer to winter is 10+ MPG. However your MPGs should continue increasing now through the break in period where your summer numbers will be well above 47 MPG and your winter numbers likely below.

Thanks hybridbear.

 

I am basing my estimates off how my prius behaved, but I guess I shouldn't do that. I am in Delaware and our winters are a toss up, but no where near the cold you get. The last two years with my prius I averaged 44-48mpg in the summer depending on ac usage and how fast I drove on the expressway. I never had a tank come in under 41 mpg in winter.

 

I will be happy if I can stay in the low 40's, but I guess only time will tell. After 2 days with the car i have driven 204.9 miles and my average is 47.2 I am happy with that!

[hybridbear]

Thanks hybridbear.

 

I am basing my estimates off how my prius behaved, but I guess I shouldn't do that. I am in Delaware and our winters are a toss up, but no where near the cold you get. The last two years with my prius I averaged 44-48mpg in the summer depending on ac usage and how fast I drove on the expressway. I never had a tank come in under 41 mpg in winter.

 

I will be happy if I can stay in the low 40's, but I guess only time will tell. After 2 days with the car i have driven 204.9 miles and my average is 47.2 I am happy with that!

That's an awesome start! Hopefully the Ford fuel economy updates will improve cold weather MPGs. Our winters are a lot worse than Delaware but you can take a look at my Fuelly to see how we did in the winter. I tried to put comments in for every tank so that the data has more meaning.

[acdii]

You dont have a true reading yet on the grill covers though to see how much they help. Hopefully th ecombination of the update and grill covers will get the winter numbers up to the 10-15% loss instead of the 30% most saw.

[jeapa]

You dont have a true reading yet on the grill covers though to see how much they help. Hopefully th ecombination of the update and grill covers will get the winter numbers up to the 10-15% loss instead of the 30% most saw.

 

I am curious to see what will happen when the cold weather comes. I do expect a drop, but I am hoping for the 3-5 drop, not 10 like I have been reading here. I am going to go ahead and schedule my car for the PMC.

[jeff_h]

 

I am curious to see what will happen when the cold weather comes. I do expect a drop, but I am hoping for the 3-5 drop, not 10 like I have been reading here. I am going to go ahead and schedule my car for the PMC.

 

It depends where you live and what you mean by the word 'cold' -- back in January I noted that my MPG was not too good since it was 'cold' and 25-30 degrees outside, and Acdii fell out of his chair laughing... in my experience from this FFH and the last one, it dropped off about 5 MPG on average, which was a bit less than the dropoff on the Prius that was probably around 7-8 MPG or so.