Howdy from Central Orygone!

[Neil Mackey]

Greetings, fellow FFH inmates!

 

I'm a little late to the party but figured I'd check in and say "hello"...

 

Bought a 2014 FFH SE In Ruby Red clearcoat the end of April. So far, am really enjoying the car...I knew up front that the 47/47 rating was probably "a bit" optimistic, but I AM amazed at some of the mileages reported by other owners. Due to the country being fairly mountainous here, I don't think I'll ever be able to match some of those "flatlander" figures...

 

This is not our first foray into hybrids...we owned a 2005 FEH previously. Put a lot of miles of that and ended up trading it in for a 2011 Kia Sportage. A few years with that, disappointing mileage, but otherwise a very solid little rig, and very good in the snow, which we do get here locally.

 

Wife drives the car 95% of the time, back and forth to work (and of course, I spend 100% of the time keeping it clean!). She got about 19-20 with the Sportage, and we really never got anything over 30 on longer trips. So far, with only 1600 miles on the FFH, she's getting ~38, so almost double the in-town mileage.

 

She learned how to drive the FEH to maximize the mileage, and is having to relearn with the FFH. When I DO get a chance to drive, I can generally get 4-5 MPG more than her, as I know how to hypermile a little better than her. She tends to just drive it like a "normal" car, but she's learning to practice the economy tips more regularly.

 

Observations:

• Biggest thing to get used to is the lower ground clearance! Pretty easy to drag the front spoiler when coming into the driveway.

• I'm 6'2" and am very satisfied with how I fit the car...and how the car fits me. Although we've not really done any longer trips, I think it will be quite comfortable.

• As Oregon is one of only two states (NJ is the other) where we can't pump our own gas, full fills can be a challenge. Fortunately, we generally get gas at the same station, and the jockeys there let me top off. Other stations usually stop at the first click, even on a slow fill. When you ask them to top off, they'll generally point to the Oregon DEQ sticker on the tank that says topping off is "illegal". I can generally get another 1.5-2 gallons in after the pump clicks off, and that makes me feel like my mileage figures are more accurate.

• The overall fit and finish is very nice...we'll have to see about the durability of some of the interior materials.

• I've had two people approach me so far and ask how I like my "Aston Martin"... ;)

Questions:

• Since we are prone to winter weather here, what are others using for winter tires? I know on the FEH, we had a set of winter tires mounted on aftermarket rims that we'd swap in for winter and out for spring. I know the overall fuel mileage will drop due to the colder weather and the lack of low rolling resistance tires, so no surprises there. (From experience, I'll only run a set of four, not just snow tires on the front and all-season tires on the rear).

• What's the consensus on how the FFH performs in the snow? Any concerns about the lower ground clearance? Are there any issues with running snow tires with no TPM transmitters or should I plan on having those installed on any aftermarket winter rims?

Appreciate the value of being able to check in with others and learn new things, or how to do things "properly" to maximize the potential of the FFH. Any comments and guidance is greatly appreciated!

 

Cheers,

 

Bendmac

 

[GrySql]

Welcome!

Please avail yourself of the interesting pinned items in the Welcome section, our Mods put a lot of effort into making things easy to find.

But we're fanatical sleuths and like to field questions too, so if you can't find what you're looking for just ask away.

In addition, we have two honest to goodness Ford Reps on our site, Ashley and Kim, they are an immense help when we have a problem.

[Silver Bullet]

Welcome, neighbor! We're a bit south of you, about 30 miles south of the Oregon border in Siskiyou County, CA. We picked up our 2014 FFH SE Christmas Eve in Yreka and Dec. 26th I had our tire shop swap out the Michelen LRR's for a set of one-season used CooperMastercraft Glacier-Grip studded winter passenger tires. These had run one season on the 2008 Mercury Milan that we traded in on the FFH. We've also run this tire on a previous 2003 Toyota Camry SE, like you, running on all four.

While I have separate winter wheels for our Ford Explorer and F-150 pickup, I've chosen to pay to exchange tires on the Milan and FFH, paying $50 each fall and spring and enjoying the fresh balance and tire rotation associated therewith, but having no issues with TPSM.

Hope you enjoy your FFH as much as we enjoy ours. Just had the oil changed today for the first time at 9980 miles and and couldn't think of a single warranty squawk to add to the work order. Mileage has crept up to 42 and we're happy.

[machoman1337]

I read somewhere that "topping off" can be bad for your tank and/or the pump due to the vapors needing space or something like that. With gas being so cheap in the US, I wouldn't worry about it since you'd have to pump again sometime during the month anyway :D

 

Can't say anything about performance yet, but I used to live in Ontario and I got a cheap set of $588 (tax included) winter tires without rims and they were just fine in the snow. Mounted them on an old '08 Fusion. No fancy brand names - but they worked very well despite punishing weather. I've been to Oregon and I know it's nowhere near as harsh as that region, so you don't have to think too much about it haha.

Edited June 26, 2014 by machoman1337

[SteveB_TX]

Howdy! :)

[hybridbear]

Congrats & welcome! How is the plowing in Oregon? In Minneapolis they plow very quickly after a snowfall so winter tires aren't needed for us. Very few ppl who live in the city bother with them. However, if you're out in the suburbs or in the country where they don't plow very well then I understand the need. We've found after 2 winters with the FFH that it does pretty well in the snow. The handling is very predictable. Check out the "Wheels & Tires" section for threads about winter tires and owner experiences.

[acdii]

When the tires grip, the Fusion handles snow very well, as long as it isnt too deep. My first one has the Goodyear LS and had very good snow traction, the same ones on my current HyTi suck in snow. Go figure. I will be getting dedicated snows later this year myself. I haven't decided yet if I want to get 17" rims and all seasons, and put 18" snows on the OEM rims. I dont care for the thought of swapping tires on rims, eventually the beads get damaged and then you wind up with slow leaks. Since these are low profile tires, the stiff sidewalls make them more difficult to install on rims and can lead to the beads getting damaged if the installer is not 100% on his game. (I used to mount and balance a LOT of tires)

 

Enjoy the car when ever you get a chance to steal it from da WIfe!

[FordIVTteam]

 

… Appreciate the value of being able to check in with others and learn new things, or how to do things "properly" to maximize the potential of the FFH. Any comments and guidance is greatly appreciated!

Cheers,

Bendmac

 

 

Welcome, Neil Mackey!

 

As GrySql mentioned, we’re here and eager to help out if you need anything. I handle concerns related to MyFord Touch, navigation, and SiriusXM. Ashley handles most of the other stuff. :) Check out her introduction for more info: http://fordfusionhybridforum.com/topic/8045-official-ford-service-rep/?p=71669

 

Enjoy your new ride!

 

Kim