Ford Fusion Hybrid tops Camry, Prius

[Spectre]

The really nasty ones are the Bose systems that GM ships with some of their cars. God, even Bose should be ashamed of those things.

 

[Hidden_Hunter]

The great thing about this car is it drives like a normal car. I felt the Civic hybrid was the same way. The Prius however didn't really drive well at all. If I were looking for a "normal" car it might make my list.

The funniest is the "leather" on the prius's at work, you know that "genuine leather" you get on those shitty diaries? That's what it feels like

 

[Spectre]

It is leather... they just don't say what it's from. I'm thinking "dog" or "chicken" leather.

 

[Blind_Io]

If I had to buy a hybrid...it would be the Honda Civic Hybrid. It's about the same size, has the same comfort level, might be a little slower but it has a 42MPG combined rating.

34MPG from a Hybrid Fusion seems a bit half-assed. Cars in the past were much more economical, but it seems that the whole world has forgotten about this.
For example, 1983 Honda Accord (1.8 I-4) was rated city 32/hwy 45. Granted, it was a lot lighter than nowaday cars, but what's wrong with that.

The Civic hybrid:
$23,650
40 City/45 Highway
110 BHP
123 lb-ft

Headroom front/rear inches - 39.4/37.4
Legroom front/rear inches - 42.2/34.6
Shoulder Room front/rear inches - 53.6/52.3
Hip Room front/rear - 51.9/51.0
Cargo Volume - 10.4 cu ft
Passenger Volume - 90.9 cu ft

Ford Fusion Hybrid
$27,270

156 hp, 136 lb-ft; AC permanent-magnet electric motor, 106 hp, 166 lb-ft; combined system, 191 hp
city/highway driving: 39/37 mpg (est)

Measurements based on the current Fusion:
Head room - 38.7/37.8
Leg Room - 42.3/37.2
Shoulder Room - 57.4/56.5
Hip Room - 54.0/53.3
Cargo Volume - 15.8 cu ft
Passenger Volume - 100.4 cu ft

So the Ford is larger and more powerful. It has slightly decreased fuel economy but it's more of a drivers car. I think it looks better too.

 

[klankymen]

34MPG from a Hybrid Fusion seems a bit half-assed.

I gotta agree.

The BMW 520i has 170 horsepower, and gets 36 miles per american gallon, without any fancy ass environmentally unfriendly batteries in it.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

Nissan's managed to get quite a few decent systems out of Bose, but yeah, I don't think anyone else has ever been able to get a good one from Bose.

"No highs, no lows? Must be Bose!"

As for the Pioneer stuff in Toyotas - that's because Toyota deliberately cripples the spec for Toyota audio - so they can upsell you to Lexi.

im pretty sure toyota cripples the entire car.... to make you cough up for a lexus.

i've been in an auris and the dash feels like its made of plastic bags it flexes so much. not only that the engine sounds like its sat in the seat next to you.

our old rav4 was even worse... its like they didnt bother at all with the sound proofing and NVH engineering

by contrast you can do 120 in the IS220d without even realising ... theres barely any noise.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

The Civic hybrid:
$23,650
40 City/45 Highway
110 BHP
123 lb-ft

Headroom front/rear inches - 39.4/37.4
Legroom front/rear inches - 42.2/34.6
Shoulder Room front/rear inches - 53.6/52.3
Hip Room front/rear - 51.9/51.0
Cargo Volume - 10.4 cu ft
Passenger Volume - 90.9 cu ft

Ford Fusion Hybrid
$27,270

156 hp, 136 lb-ft; AC permanent-magnet electric motor, 106 hp, 166 lb-ft; combined system, 191 hp
city/highway driving: 39/37 mpg (est)

Measurements based on the current Fusion:
Head room - 38.7/37.8
Leg Room - 42.3/37.2
Shoulder Room - 57.4/56.5
Hip Room - 54.0/53.3
Cargo Volume - 15.8 cu ft
Passenger Volume - 100.4 cu ft

So the Ford is larger and more powerful. It has slightly decreased fuel economy but it's more of a drivers car. I think it looks better too.

fords doing it right.... if they want to sell us Hybirds make them worth driving! and not like you have to ration yourself on bread and water like the rest of the wet lettuce hybrids

 

[ediesbra]

They reckon it'll do about 39mpg in city, somewhere over 40 on open road, according to this site: http://www.juicedhybrid.com/New-Ford-Fusion-Hybrid-Accessories-s/243.htm. Is it just me or does that sound like a bit of a waste of time? I mean a similar sized diesel would eat the mpg for breakfast, and be shit loads cheaper to manufacture and buy.

My opinion is that the Chevrolet Volt has the most promising method of cutting our dependence on petrol for the immediate future. Charge it over night, go to work and back on electric, if you run out of electricity, petrol engine starts and you keep going. It's still in the testing stage so the demos haven't always gone to plan, but when you look at the pit falls of current hybrids and hydrogen feulcell cars, the Chevy seems to be just more sensible a solution for today.

 

[_HighVoltage_]

So the Ford is larger and more powerful. It has slightly decreased fuel economy but it's more of a drivers car. I think it looks better too.

So? You are saying that because it's larger and more powerful, it must be the better car? While some people might in fact need the extra space...I don't, I will be perfectly happy with the Civic Hybrid instead of the Fusion Hybrid. I know the Fusion looks better, but if I wanted great MPG, the Civic would be my choice.
If I was one of the people whose main goal in life is to save the planet, I wouldn't care about the power and rightly so - 110hp is enough for a car the size of a Civic, it might not be very responsive, but I'm sure it will cruise along nicely at 70-75mph.

 

[tigger]

Nice work, Ford. Take a great product and make it even better.

Woo, go Ford. What may become the only American car company.

I don't think GM or Chrysler will go away. Well, maybe Chrysler. But no matter what, I think Ford will be solidly on top for a very long time.

Is it just me or does that sound like a bit of a waste of time? I mean a similar sized diesel would eat the mpg for breakfast, and be shit loads cheaper to manufacture and buy.

Sure would be nice if we got those here. Evidently we American's "don't want to pay so much for small diesels". At least that's what car makers and Washington says. I think it's a load of shit.

 

[Spectre]

Don't forget that most Euro diesels will *not* meet US emissions, so that's a problem as well.

 

[Blind_Io]

So? You are saying that because it's larger and more powerful, it must be the better car? While some people might in fact need the extra space...I don't, I will be perfectly happy with the Civic Hybrid instead of the Fusion Hybrid. I know the Fusion looks better, but if I wanted great MPG, the Civic would be my choice.
If I was one of the people whose main goal in life is to save the planet, I wouldn't care about the power and rightly so - 110hp is enough for a car the size of a Civic, it might not be very responsive, but I'm sure it will cruise along nicely at 70-75mph.

There's the problem.
1 - We've established that hybrids don't save the planet, they kill it.
2 - The Fusion is aimed at regular drivers who want to get better MPG than they would with a conventional powertrain. The Tree-humpers will still go for the Prius because is screams, LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! I'M DRIVING A HYBRID, I'M BETTER THAN YOU! The Fusion doesn't do that so the Ecomentalists won't get one.

 

[NecroJoe]

I gotta agree.

The BMW 520i has 170 horsepower, and gets 36 miles per american gallon, without any fancy ass environmentally unfriendly batteries in it.

That may be, but there isn't a 520i anymore (at least not available in the UK or the US)..according to Fifth Gear's website.

If you're talking about an older model, again take the following into consideration:
1) The NEW rating system in the US is MUCH stricter than it used to be just one year ago.
2) The new rating system is much harder on a hybrid's projected mpg than a standard engine's. For instance, Toyota reports 48/45 mpg for the 2009 Prius. 60/51 for the 2008 model. Same car.

All the UK seems to care about is CO2, but they seem to not care at all about soot and particulates that can cause many many respiratory conditions.

Sure, a diesel may use fewer MPG, but the car also costs more, and the fuel is MUCH more expensive that gasoline here because much less of our imported oil is refined into diesel. At the gas station I just drove by today, it was $2.08 for regular gasoline, and $2.91 for Diesel. That's 40% more money per gallon...and a car that costs more than a gasoline-burning car. No thanks. I'd rather take the car that costs more, but uses less of the same cheaper gas.

 

[bartboy9891]

I gotta agree.

The BMW 520i has 170 horsepower, and gets 36 miles per american gallon, without any fancy ass environmentally unfriendly batteries in it.

I think you meant the 5-series diesel, the only figures I could find for the previous 520i say that the manual version got UK 31mpg and the automatic got 38mpg. That would be US 24mpg and 29mpg respectively.

 

[jasonof2000]

I've been reading that the Fusion Hybrid will have a $3400.00 tax credit so another reason to buy one over a normal Fusion.

http://jalopnik.com/tag/2010-ford-fusion-hybrid-tax-credit/?id=5141291

 

[freeferrarisdonotexist]

If I had to buy a hybrid...it would be the Honda Civic Hybrid. It's about the same size, has the same comfort level, might be a little slower but it has a 42MPG combined rating.

34MPG from a Hybrid Fusion seems a bit half-assed. Cars in the past were much more economical, but it seems that the whole world has forgotten about this.
For example, 1983 Honda Accord (1.8 I-4) was rated city 32/hwy 45. Granted, it was a lot lighter than nowaday cars, but what's wrong with that.

rant:
Exactly. People think they need shit like heated seats, million-watt stereos, three %$^?%ing tonnes of cushion in the seats, blah blah blah, and wonder why their car is slow or gets 9mpg.

/rant

 

[Spectre]

And, of course, both the Euros forget WHY these cars are heavier and less fuel efficient - BECAUSE GOVERNMENTS KEEP TACKING ON MANDATORY SAFETY EQUIPMENT THAT ADDS WEIGHT!!!!!! Adding airbags to a car design? That adds 500lbs. Side impact beams? 50-100lbs per door. Tire pressure monitoring? 10lbs. Pretensioning seatbelts? 20lbs. You get the idea.

The "brick wall" front end mandated by the Euros doesn't help either.


The 1983 Accord had no side intrusion beams, no airbags, no rollover hoop, no tire pressure monitoring system, and it was about a thousand pounds lighter than the current car. You guys forget that it's not just the creature comforts pigging out the weight. Power windows weigh less than manual windows, for example.

 

[klankymen]

That may be, but there isn't a 520i anymore (at least not available in the UK or the US)..according to Fifth Gear's website.

I think you meant the 5-series diesel, the only figures I could find for the previous 520i say that the manual version got UK 31mpg and the automatic got 38mpg. That would be US 24mpg and 29mpg respectively.

Nope. I am talking about the brand spankin new E60 520i, available to be configured in the Vaterland, on bmw.de. Here's a little screeny for those too lazy to click links:

It's a 2.0 liter 4pot, that developes 170hp, and 210 torques.

UK would like it too, it only emits 160 CO2s

Anyways, it does a combined cycle of 6.7 liters per 100km.

The quick conversion is 240 divided by the liters to get US MPG, or 290 divided by the liters to get Imp MPG.
That's 36 US MPG, or 43 Imp MPG.

And it goes 140mph, if it's fast enough for Autobahnland, it must be fast enough for 65-land.

 

[nouseferaname90]

I gotta agree.

The BMW 520i has 170 horsepower, and gets 36 miles per american gallon, without any fancy ass environmentally unfriendly batteries in it.

Thats UK mileage isn't it? US MPG is lower.

 

[klankymen]

Thats UK mileage isn't it? US MPG is lower.

I wrote AMERICAN gallon for a reason.