My experience with the non-hybrid 2015 Ford Fusion

[machoman1337]

Just wondering if any FFH owners here have also driven a gas-only version of this amazing car at some point.

 

I just returned from a family vacation where I spent 4 days in Florida and another week on a cruise to the Caribbean and back. While I was in Florida, I rented a 2015 SE with the 2.5L engine. Fun fact: I rented from Enterprise and had them pick me and my family up from our hotel and bring me to their office. The car that came to fetch me was this very Fusion! The Enterprise worker didn't even have a chance to tell me which cars were available before I declared that I wanted to take the Fusion.

 

Since this was a rental car, I did not set my expectations too high. Nevertheless, I was impressed by how many features come standard on the SE model with no options. I got power-adjustable cloth front seats (though no memory function, not that it mattered) and was pleasantly surprised to find that the front passenger seat's height is now adjustable (as of 2015) - addressing a complaint I have with my 2013 FFH. I also got a rear view camera, which gave me a lot of peace-of-mind when parking. The non-MFT Sync entertainment system worked very well with my phone, allowing me to access music and make calls with voice commands. There was even rear seat A/C, which my family appreciated given the extreme Florida heat (I can't believe 25 Celsius is considered LOW over there!)

 

I noted that the dashboard was quite different from that of a MFT-equipped car. There's a single large LCD screen in between two full-size meters. I'm no longer used to seeing a tachometer in a car, so when I saw the left meter I was like "WTF is this weird thing" at first LOL. This display is controlled using the left D-pad on the steering wheel. At first I thought the right D-pad was redundant, then I realized it controls the small screen on the centre stack (the Sync display), which also has a D-pad underneath for the passenger to use.

 

The steering wheel and shifter felt a little weird, then I realized that my loaded model probably had some leather-wrapping option included, whereas this base model made them purely plastic. The turn signal lever has definitely seen an improvement over the 2013 model. It's a lot easier to activate a signal that isn't auto-canceling since it activates on the first click. To activate an auto canceling signal, just flick the lever but don't let it click. Whereas on the 2013 model the first click would activate the auto canceling signal, which was sometimes frustrating if I forgot to push the lever past the initial click.

 

With the amount of luggage my family brought, I was actually happy to have a non-hybrid sedan for once (no battery taking up space). Our bags filled every cubic centimeter of the full-sized trunk. If it had been a hybrid, we would've needed to squeeze quite a bit of stuff into the back seat which would've been uncomfortable for the rear passengers.

 

Now enough of the interior, on to performance!

 

I was pleasantly surprised by how smooth and responsive the 2.5L engine felt. It actually sounds better (and is softer) than the FFH's Atkinson engine when you floor it to reach highway speeds. When cruising, it's obviously louder than the FFH since the engine is on, but Ford did a surprisingly good job of optimizing it to keep noise to a minimum - at a level on par with Lexus, I daresay. In comparison, my old 2008 SEL V6 was freakin' loud all the time, no matter what. In fact, when cruising down I-95 at 75 mph, I actually felt like I was back home in my hybrid, because the smoothness and silence was comparable. I have never tried the Ecoboost model, but so far I don't feel like I was missing out by not driving an Ecoboost instead. I didn't do any 0-60 time calculations, but as far as I was concerned, the acceleration was just fine.

 

As for fuel economy, when I picked up the car it showed 24.7 MPG. I reset the fuel economy calculator before making a round trip from Fort Lauderdale to Cape Canaveral (200 miles each way), and averaged 33 mpg for that trip. Been a while since I've driven a car that shows such a large improvement in fuel economy on highway versus city.

 

I've attached some photos to show how nice this car was for a rental. Overall verdict: The gas-only Fusion is a great car, not as great as the hybrid but still a pleasure to drive. For anyone planning to travel and rent a car in the near future, don't hesitate to ask the agency if they have a Fusion in their fleet!

Edited September 29, 2015 by machoman1337

[hybridbear]

Glad you enjoyed your trip. Very nice write-up. Some friends of ours bought a 2014 Fusion SE base model and it is a really nice car. They've had their car for a number of months now and love it. A few times when our car has been at the dealer for service they have given us a Fusion SE base rental. The Fusion is a very nice car overall. Much better than the Camry or Accord.

[acdii]

So Ford is still putting the 2.5 in the base? Thats a good engine, too bad you can't get it in higher trims since it does so well with gas.

[machoman1337]

So Ford is still putting the 2.5 in the base? Thats a good engine, too bad you can't get it in higher trims since it does so well with gas.

 

Yeah, I assumed it was the 2.5 since the website says that's available on the S and SE (though many of the interior options like leather seating aren't available on the 2.5), and also, the back of the car didn't have the familiar Ecoboost badge (most other Fusions I see on the road have it).

 

It is definitely a good engine and makes the 1.5L ecoboost redundant IMO (the 2.0 still has a place for people desiring V6-like power). Of course, due to some Asian and European countries calculating annual road taxes based on displacement (rather than fuel economy which would be far more logical), the 1.5 is here to stay.

[corncobs]

In Europe Ford will even sell the Fusion or Mondeo like it's known over there with the 1.0 EB. Hard to believe for such a big car but apparently it does just fine.

[acdii]

If the 2.5 were available in the Titanium models, I would probably have bought one instead of the Hybrid during the BD fiasco, but still glad I have the HyTi.