I drove our long-term 2010 Ford Fusion for the first time last night. It's an great commuter car with good space and excellent fuel economy, of course, and it's as utterly boring as the similar Camry Hybrid.
The center stack on our Fusion has a very good HMI (Human Machine Interface) with good, quality-feeling switch (and knobs) operation.
And the appearance is... well, a bit dated, but not too bad. That's because we popped for the Navi, which has a different center stack than non-Navi.
If you don't get the Navi, you end up with this...
This non-navi center stack is also fine...in a mid-90's Hertz rental car.
But Ford will take care of this soon with their new MyFord and MyFord Touch center stack.
Ford will introduce this new interface on their 2011 Edge, 2012 Focus, and 2011 Lincoln MKX.
We previewed MyFord Touch during our 2010 CES coverage -- we shot a video where my colleague Doug Newcomb gave a good overview of the system.
In case you missed it:
Albert Austria, Senior Engineer @ 2650 miles
brn says:
03:37 PM, 01/26/10
I like the non-navi stack. The Navi stack has so many buttons, it looks like a Honda. Well, maybe not that bad.
wobbly_ears says:
03:38 PM, 01/26/10
Why aren't all the buttons lining up? Is this the legendary Ford fit & finish??
tenta20 says:
03:48 PM, 01/26/10
The non-navi stack isn't horrendous.............it's livable.
uncanny_man says:
03:59 PM, 01/26/10
How do these look dated?
bodyblue says:
04:06 PM, 01/26/10
They may look dated to an auto journalist who sits in brand new cars every day but not to the rest of us low lifes that only buy a car every few years......I get the feeling this post was to make the import fanbois happy.......and if someone has to squint to find a micron of difference in button line up then that person is verrrrrry small....along with the "line up"
hybris says:
05:57 PM, 01/26/10
+1 bodyblue
bradyholt says:
06:40 PM, 01/26/10
I wouldn't say it looks like it's out of the mid-1990s, but it certainly looks like it's out of the mid-2000s. (I wonder why that might be...)
chavis10 says:
06:47 PM, 01/26/10
Note this post for anyone who thinks auto writers aren't biased against "American" cars. Please, please PLEASE show comparison photos of the Accord, Camry, Mazda6, Atima and Sonata interiors without navigation.
gdmstrb says:
07:27 PM, 01/26/10
How is this dash dated? I fail to see what's so horrible here.
bc1960 says:
08:07 PM, 01/26/10
Sorry, I prefer the non-navi stack. Even more preferable would be the stack from the pre-2010 Fusion. MyFord Touch seems cool from a technology standpoint, but it's not something that would interest me as a buyer and I hope it doesn't become something you're forced to pay for to get other, more essential equipment. But my bet is it will be, just like happened with Sync.
wrinklebump says:
10:13 PM, 01/26/10
Plain and functional. Kinda like the Fusion.
1487 says:
07:12 AM, 01/27/10
"This non-navi center stack is also fine...in a mid-90's Hertz rental car."
Have you seen an Accord without nav? Please do a direct comparison if you want to be objective. The Accord without nav has a radio display that is VERY similar to what you see in this Fusion. Its funny that numerous recently tested GM and Ford vehicles have been criticized for their standard radio displays when the Accords is even worse.
"How is this dash dated? I fail to see what's so horrible here. "
Its not the interior of an Accord. Enough said. You need more justification than that? These auto writers are so used to testing fully equipped test cars with nav that they dont even know what the standard interiors look like on cars like the Accord and Camry. BTW, 80% of buyers in this class don't get nav.
compliance says:
08:56 AM, 01/27/10
I agree with this post completely. I'm puzzled any time the Fusion interior gets complemented. It's ugly, the silver inserts are bad, the colored inserts on the sport model are even worse, and the plastics all have a cheap sheen to them. It's not far enough from the Focus interior.
nomercy346 says:
09:07 AM, 01/27/10
at least they managed to move the clock into the main screen - unlike most Japanese cars that still use those horrible separate '80s digital clocks not to mention their displays in general are mostly the old bar style displays (think accord w/out nav) instead of a '90s dot matrix display like the fusion
milt721 says:
09:12 AM, 01/27/10
1487 - Since you asked:
http://www.edmunds.com/flipper/do/MediaNav/year=2010/make=toyota/model=camry/firstNav=Gallery/photoId=20282199
http://www.edmunds.com/flipper/do/MediaNav/make=Honda/model=Accord/year=2010/firstNav=Gallery
We're all waiting for your apology. (Also, the writer did not mention anything about displays, only the center stack design - comprehend much?)
cr_driver says:
09:32 AM, 01/27/10
This non-navi center stack is also fine...in a mid-90's Hertz rental car.
NO WAY.
gdmstrb says:
10:27 AM, 01/27/10
"I agree with this post completely. I'm puzzled any time the Fusion interior gets complemented. It's ugly, the silver inserts are bad, the colored inserts on the sport model are even worse, and the plastics all have a cheap sheen to them. It's not far enough from the Focus interior."
From those pictures alone I see absolutely no sheen on the dash, the Sport model can be equipped with an all black interior and ugly is subjective.
The only car near the Fusion's price point that offers up a better interior is the VW CC.
bodyblue says:
10:44 AM, 01/27/10
Again....this is desperation in finding anything bad about Fusion. I am sure there will be real issues to talk about but at least wait until one of them actually comes up. When the trannys fall out like on the Nissans or the steering needs to be replaces like on the Audi or the nav screen on the Mazda 6 or the leather wears badly like on the M or the gauges crap out like on the Camaro...........so for all of you that cant wait for something to happen to the Fusion all I ask is just be patient before you make fools of yourself.
1487 says:
11:09 AM, 01/27/10
"We're all waiting for your apology. (Also, the writer did not mention anything about displays, only the center stack design - comprehend much?)"
Apology for what? How does this interior look any more 90s than whats in the Accord? It doesn't. The radio display on recent Fords and GM products has been dogged in recent IL road tests and both displays have been called 80s VCR throwbacks that need to be updated. My point was the Accord has a similar radio display and its even worse.
hondacura4 says:
11:22 AM, 01/27/10
This is what turns me off when it comes to the Fusion as it's dash does look a bit dated.
1487, if one compares the non navi Accord to the Fusion (interior) the Accord still looks more modern and has a higher level of perceived quality. Why bring the Accord into this in the first place as it's interior design does not set the standard in this class.
chavis10 says:
01:32 PM, 01/27/10
What this post proves is that no matter WHAT, an American car will NEVER get a fair shake. If they release a good product, the nitpicking will be such that it will still be reduced to utter garbage.
Hondacura- the Accord's dash is a mess. While I agree it looks "modern" that to me does not translate into something "good." The Civic and Fit also feature modern dashboards but are terribly designed. We won't even mention the Pilot. Honda's interiors are by the far the ugliest and most haphazard designs in their respective clasees.
firstwagon says:
02:18 PM, 01/27/10
Must suck to be a writer. You can't comment on anything without a bunch of insecure "the whole world is out to get me and my American car" types jumping all over you.
Reality check folks, they find faults with every make of car. I know you need to pick and choose what you read to keep your complex alive but sooner or later you'll have to deal with the fact that your favourite car has both good and bad points.
uncanny_man says:
04:28 AM, 01/28/10
@firstwagon: not the audi!
dougmare says:
11:51 PM, 01/31/10
I like both center stacks; navi-less is more than acceptable. The upcoming one is even better. Ford clearly is getting things right with the Fusion and other current products...this from a dedicated import lover. In fact I'd buy a current Ford over darn near anything the Japanese offer in kind. Kudos to the designers and engineers who are doing such a good job of making this "domestic" product lineup more appealing than it has been in decades!
frank908 says:
05:12 AM, 02/ 1/10
I have to agree with the author. I've sat in this car and the plastic on that useless storage compartment is a real piece of crap. A lot like the rest of the interior. It was depressing. Reminded of cars in the early 1990's. EARLY, not even late.
omelet1978 says:
08:27 AM, 02/ 1/10
I have the Sport model and the trim around the Nav system is a smoke like color. I think it makes a difference b/c I sat in a hybrid at one point and the trim around the nav was silver, but looked cheap. I think if the author had sat in the Sport he would like it better.
My other car is a Nissan Altima and the Fusion Sport's interior feels like it is higher quality with the contrasting stitching and perforated leather seats.
The non-nav looks ok. I wish that they had just made it double din so that it would be simpler to replace the radio with aftermarket stuff.