Unverified Ownership The modern Fairlane Thunderbolt - Ford Fusion Sport

[argatoga]

Ha! This is a daily driver so reliability is paramount. I'm considering getting a conservative tune though.

So you mean no super charger?

 

[LeVeL]

One of the things I always liked about my Acura is that it could cruise along in quiet comfort or it could be a redlining hooligan. The Fusion Sport is more of both - it's a better cruiser, thanks to the automatic and the active dampers, but it's also fast and brutally efficient with how it doles out the torque, thanks to AWD. It's a pretty spectacular daily driver but it makes me miss my Miata that much more.

 

[Redliner]

Replacing the Acura with a Miata is not possible?
It seem that would be a good 2-car garage

 

[LeVeL]

Replacing the Acura with a Miata is not possible?
It seem that would be a good 2-car garage

The Ford replaces the Acura. I just blew Miata money on a snowblower

 

[Redliner]

The Ford replaces the Acura. I just blew Miata money on a snowblower

Ah, I see. I had the impression you still had the Acura.
Bummer.

 

[LeVeL]

Ah, I see. I had the impression you still had the Acura.
Bummer.

I do but it's for sale.

 

[argatoga]

The Ford replaces the Acura. I just blew Miata money on a snowblower

With a V8 Fusion you could turn your tires into effective snow blowers. Also grass blowers. And dirt blowers... at the same time.

 

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Ah, nice to see it has the heated/cooled seats standard on the Sport trim. Might be a viable option for a replacement to the wife's Lincoln someday down the road.

 

[LeVeL]

Got the old tint removed today. It was scratched on several windows, didn't really reject heat from the sun, and was of questionable legality. As soon as that was done, I had new tint installed - same brand and darkness as I have in the TL. I need to get the car washed and then take some proper pictures.





Hey @GRtak - did I do okay parking today?

 

[LeVeL]

First snow in the Fusion and overall I'm happy. The all-seasons it came with leave much to be desired but the car still did reasonably well. The AWD system is better than I expected a FWD-based setup to be. In fact, I think this system is better than Audi's Quattro in some ways (just based on my experience driving both on similar tires), though not as good as Subaru's AWD.

I'm able to turn traction control off but not stability. The stability control has a mind of its own - sometimes it lets you slide the car around, other times it shuts down the fun pretty abruptly. Still, I was able to get the tail out easily and overall the nannies weren't too obnoxious.

That said, no matter how good your car might be in the snow, it's still a dangerous endeavor, thanks to all the idiots on the roads. Tailgating, splitting lanes, passing in the unplowed breakdown lane, driving without any lights on - morons everywhere!

 

[prizrak]

I'm able to turn traction control off but not stability.

If it's like my Mustang, there might be a special way to do it, like you have to in "park" with your foot on the brake.

 

[CrzRsn]

If it's like my Mustang, there might be a special way to do it, like you have to in "park" with your foot on the brake.

Nope. I thought that too.......

 

[LeVeL]

If it's like my Mustang, there might be a special way to do it, like you have to in "park" with your foot on the brake.

The problem is that it isn't a button - it's a menu function that's specific to TC only. Even the resident Ford expert (@CrzRsn) had to admit that SC can't be turned off (at least not without pulling fuses or disconnecting sensors).

 

[prizrak]

Well that's kind of shitty..

 

[LeVeL]

I've been trying to maximize my gas mileage this week just to see what the car is capable of achieving if I stay out of boost as much as I can.

This was my peak, 27.5mpg, but even today when I got to work the car was showing a 27.0mpg average over the last three days. Not too bad, considering that it's all local roads (no highways) and includes 3-4 WOT redline pulls.

 

[RdKetchup]

The best I ever got out of my little Ford was 28.75, measured at the pump. The on-board computer did show better at some point. That with 0 city driving, with stops only every few hours.