2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid: Does It Make Sense Now?

And our little car got backed into by an unobservant Audi A4 Quattro driver. Unfortunatly, that leaves us the Flex to make the little trips to the store, work etc. Thats unfortunate and gas is hitting $3.60.

Other gas note: Even in oil country, Houston, TX, gas is running $3.60 as well. Everyone is getting fleeced...

ETA on the little car - 1-2 weeks... stupid Tank errrrr Audi...

Seeing as how most of the driving my wife and I do are trips of less than 10 miles, I thought a Volt would be a great fit as my wifes car. Except for the price. In reality, if we do trade her WRX in for something newer, the top of the current list WRX, Legacy GT, GTI, and used CTS-V. If we had money to buy her a daily driver, AND a car for the weekends, sure I would buy her a Volt, it would be nice to save the gas for fun trips. But as it is, I enjoy driving too much, and am willing to pay for it.

And on topic.... we keep the little car for errands and around town. The Flex is for the roadtrips, big hauling, and limited running. Once gas hits $3.40 or so is when we notice the pain at the pump.

Plan on test driving the new Lexus (Lirus? Prexus) hybrid as a possible, more entertaining, replacement for the little car - 2005 Elantra 5 door hatch... but unrelated to the gas prices. Saw it at the auto-show a couple of weeks ago.

Either that or a Ford Raptor... oh wait, wrong string....

cello_one:

You're getting ripped off...I live in Houston too. You can still get gas on the regular for $3.30. 3.60 at the absolute worst.

http://www.houstongasprices.com/

back to the post. My car may only get 20 miles to the gallon, but it is paid for. I'm sticking with it.

I'm convinced you guys ride around Cally looking for the HIGHEST price you can find.

@cell0_one: "2005 Elantra 5 door hatch" Assuming you mean a 2011/2012 Elantra 5 door, I am thinking that it will replace the Elantra Touring and will have the same 40 mpg as the sedan. The only problem is there will probably not be a manual transmission available in NY State.

Back on topic: I would love to have a new car with great EPA numbers. Right now, the Focus SE sedan is at the top of my list with a 28/38 EPA.

For now I will drive my paid-for Outback.

Cheapest gas in Venice is at the station on the corner of Washington and Abbott Kinney.
Across from Beechwood which has a truly excellent kobe beef burger- get it with the sweet potato fries (better than those served at Father's Office)

The Fusion Hybrid makes a lot of sense, particularly if you don't drive it so wildly such that it ends up with just 31.7 MPG. I am not that conservative of a driver and I use A/C all the time; I'm getting 38-39.

Yeah I gladly drive my paid for 1998 Chevy Z71... especially since I only fill it up every other week. My wife and drive no more than a tank every 2 weeks in both our cars. Although I am paying attention to the running condition of it a little more. I track our fuel mileage on both cars (always have, but a new droid app I found makes it super easy). I've noticed that my truck over the past few months has been creeping down from 14.something to 13. something. As gas has been getting more expensive lately, I decided to try some things to boost the fuel mileage back up and pay closer attention to how its running. Last weekend I changed the fuel filter (have no clue when the person before me did it... i almost looked original I think) and the air filter while I changed the oil (normal time). It seems to be paying off as it's not sucking down the fuel near as fast...

Although it does make our recent car switch up a little harder to swallow. This time last year I was driving a 2002 honda civic and my wife a 2006 subaru legacy. Went from 35mpg & 26 mpg averages to 13 mpg in my Z71 and 19 mpg in her Entourage... we are paying just a bit more these days! Luckily we don't drive much....

@IL Staff,

Please let us know how much it costs to fill up that SVT Raptor.

I'm waiting for the gas prices to peak, and then I'm going out to find an F150 someone needs to get rid of. If you're going to buy fuel efficient cars, you need to buy them when gas prices are relatively low. Our little "fleet's" average fuel economy is currently sitting at 25MPG, and 2 of the three are paid off - so any purchasing moves to increase MPGs wouldn't pay off for us.

Im paying for the next 3 years on a car that I am supper happy if it breaks 22mpg avg. But I am happy every day to drive the car. Sure I go out less, ive cut my food bill and droped cable. All the lights in my house are CCFL's, and I keep the windows open when I can. But I wont and I repeat I wont give up my 6.0 V8.

Why should I get a eco box if I am going to hate it and I might not get better MPG than what im getting now. My dad traded in his 1998 F150 V8 for a 2000 Ford Focus three years back when the gas got high last time. He regrets it every single day and can not wait to get out of the eco box.

Hes managing 26 mpg on the same trip I do every day. 4 mpg difference or 327.37 (454.68 if $5 a gal) a year at the current gas prices. If you want to look at it per day. ~$1.25 based on a 5 day work week.

So saving 1 car payment a year... yeah it would be nice but other ways to save. Getting my food bill down to ~$50 a month is way more rewarding. That saves me 400-500 easy a year. All that involved was changing where I shopped. If I changed what I shopped I bet you I could save another 100.

I think ill not grab coffee in the morning.

I'll be driving my 9 year old Saab 9-5 (paid off) for at least another 2 years. It only has 152K miles and I am still getting 29 mpg all around. Up to 36 mpg on the highway. If I was buying now however, I would be tempted by the 2012 Focus.

3.99 at the Arco per gas buddy.

With gas hovering around $3.50 here in Jawjah, I ought to drive our '09 Fit more and our '02 Accord V6 less. But the truth is, I'm hooked on the comfort of the Accord. If I were buying now I'd probably go for a 4-cyl Fusion with a stick--but I'm not. The Accord is paid off and has only 102k--it will take a lot more miles to make it ready for replacement.

@ptcdawg: $4.07 is a great price. I paid $4.25 for 87 in San Diego on Tuesday.

Brand name 93 octane goes for around $3.60 a gallon in the Louisville area. I drive my Club Sport if I am alone or have just one passenger; it gets @27 mpg in suburban driving, 32 mpg at an 80 mph cruise. If I need more room I take the MS3 it gets @24 mpg in the suburbs and 28 mpg or so on the road. The Wrangler and X3 don't get driven any more or less than they did before the gas prices started to spike. In any event, I much prefer to pay more for gas as opposed to having a car payment. When it warms up a bit more, the Speed Triple will definitely see more miles on the odometer.

Come to Canada "The land covered with snow" and you will see how pricey it is -.- (QUEBEC)

If the fusion hybrid wasn't so damn expensive it'd make more sense to buy a discounted base version.

One more vote for 37-38 mpgs, day in, day out, with my new MXZ hybrid. I'll break even pretty quick at $4/gallon. Sure, not worth buying a hybrid just to save gas, but if you're buying one anyway hybrids make sense. And 500 mile fill intervals feel GREAT. There's real value to put on knowing you're getting just about the best mpgs possible.

So when wil IL ever post regarding the fact that the Fusion has fallen far short of EPA ratings? I like the Fusion, but after so much time was devoted to "exposing" the Terrain and its inability to get 32mpg I'm amazed (OK, not really since this is a Ford) that almost nothing has been said about the Fusion averaging less than 32mpg so far and never getting close to 41mpg for a tank. Any comment on that? Is alignment with EPA averages only critical if it's a GM product? How about they drop the double standards and scrutinize all vehicles that fall considerably short of EPA figures?

I'm going to keep driving what I have because I can't afford anything else at the moment.

"One more vote for 37-38 mpgs, day in, day out, with my new MXZ hybrid"

Cool, how do you like it? I like the MKZ quite a bit...it seems bo be a better value with incentives (I know, none on the hybrid) than the Regal Turbo. It is smart these days to have a hybrid in a luxury mark.....

"So when wil IL ever post regarding the fact that the Fusion has fallen far short of EPA ratings? I like the Fusion, but after so much time was devoted to "exposing" the Terrain and its inability to get 32mpg I'm amazed (OK, not really since this is a Ford) that almost nothing has been said about the Fusion averaging less than 32mpg so far and never getting close to 41mpg for a tank"

They did post about it....every month they post its numbers. It is not IL that made such a huge deal over GM "gaming" of the system....it is the members that do. Another case of distorting something to try and "prove" your point. But if you want to go there, fine.....how many GM cars have they tested that have been well below the EPA estimates and how many Fords have?

@fvfvsix

Smart man. Amazing what paying an extra $5-$10 a week does to the human psyche. I know people who took $3k-$4K hits on SUV trade in values in 2008 to save about $500 in gas a year. USA = math good at.

BB:

Pretty much everything you said was a distortion of the truth or flat out lie. They made NUMEROUS posts about the mileage of the Terrain and noted several time that it wasn't possible to get EPA figures and claimed the vehicle was designed to ace the EPA test, not to get good mileage in the real world. Why isnt the same true for the Fusion? There are no excuses but I do hope you get a job at IL for all your brown nosing. Aren't you the one always questioning loyalty to organizations that could care less about you? Learn to take your own advice and stop trying to be IL"s unofficial spokeman. It's pathetic and unless they are paying you I don't see the point. I know you live in Cali so perhaps you feel all of this will pay off with a free ride in a test car or a milk bone or whatever but if they haven't called you by now I would say give it up. We got it, you agree with everything IL posts and they are never biased unlesss they put down a Ford or Chrysler, in which case you call them out. Point taken, you can stay quiet now.

BB, I really like my MKZ hybrid. I was looking at a Fusion hybrid, but I only fit w/o a sunroof, which requires the absolute base model Fusion. I was able to find a MKZ without a sunroof, but with the leather and electronics package - much more to my liking.

And I pretty much ignore IL mpg values, they just beat these cars. I do admit that I would be getting worse than 37-38 mpg if I drove it aggressivly. But if that's what I wanted to do, I'd have skipped getting a hybrid in the first place.

"Pretty much everything you said was a distortion of the truth or flat out lie"

Prove it.....if you say it then back it up...but you never do. The Terrain could never live up to its claims..ever..they tried and tried.....if the Fusion was in the fuel sipper smackdown and then could not live up to its epa estimates then that would be something else. But NOWHERE have they tested the Fusion in anything like the smackdown. That is the difference you carefully forget to talk about. You need to define "numerous". Here is the definition...since you cant or wont admit it.

adjective
1. very many; being or existing in great quantity: numerous visits;
2. consisting of or comprising a great number of units or individuals:

So they made a "great quantity" of posts regarding GM cars not making the EPA estimates? If you think 3 or 4 is "numerous" then you are wrong.

tesx: Good for you! What color combo did you get?...also does it have the THX system if it does how do you like it? If not how is the stock system? It looks pretty good to me.

I really like my son's Honda CRF 230L. That's, like, 370 trips to the gym and Safeway for me on its 2.0 gal fuel tank!

BTW I paid $3.77 for 87 today on the way to work at an Arco station....they are about the cheapest in the Sacramento area.

"Smart man. Amazing what paying an extra $5-$10 a week does to the human psyche. I know people who took $3k-$4K hits on SUV trade in values in 2008 to save about $500 in gas a year. USA = math good at." It's also amazing how quickly we forget that gas prices won't stay low for long, so that xxx(insert gas guzzler name here)xxx we started gobbling up in the past couple of years will cost us ANOTHER few grand to trade in for a smaller car.

$3.96 in NH for 93 octane.
I will keep driving the same cars (both get 20 mpg in the winter) but that's partly because twins are coming and I didn't realize how many vehicles do not fit 3 car seats across the back... I digress

@DLu

I agree with you...the morons kept buying F150s and Silverados during this downturn for what reason I cant fathom. But one person I know turned in a 2004 explorer in 2008...and the dealer sold it 3 days later for $5000 more than they paid them (after giving them $4000 below KBB trade in value).

They couldve waited until after the oil crash, traded it when small cars were all 0% financing because the world is ending.....you have to play financials smart, buying/selling in times of panic the wrong direction gets you that much more deeper in the hole.....exactly as you put it.

I guess if you really needed or wanted a huge SUV now would be the time to buy....there going to be GIVING them away.

DLu: I feel for ya!! holy cow. What do you have that fits 3 across the back now? We have a couple of friends that ended up having 3 boys all a little over a year apart. their family vehicle? a 2003 tundra EXTENDED cab! I don't know how they did that with those 3 car seats... but it was paid for and they didn't feel like getting something else...

BB, I got the sterling grey with the camel interior. Not that I had a choice, I haven't come across a similar MKZ elsewhere, and the dealer only had one like it. Luckily it's a combo I might have picked anyway.

As for the THX...my biggest disappointment. I have to crank down the bass and crank up the treble to get anywhere near flat response. Once there, it's OK, but I expected better...the rest of the electronics package is fine. I did not compare the THX to the base system.

"I guess if you really needed or wanted a huge SUV now would be the time to buy....there going to be GIVING them away."

I would wait until the summer, when gas prices are expected to be at their highest. You can sell off a fuel sipper at higher than normal market value, or buy up a guzzler at lower than normal market value. Then when gas prices eventually correct, you come out ahead. Play off people's fear that prices will never stabilize.

"As for the THX...my biggest disappointment"

Thanks! I kinda had a feeling that is what it would be like. The standard system has lots of power and lots of speakers but no subwoofers. I love the Camel interior too! Hope you have great luck with your new ride.

People in Texas drive hybrids and hatchbacks?

I thought Wes Anderson and Richard Linklater had left the state years ago.