I visited my mom in Denver over Memorial Day weekend. She has a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid that's pretty much identical to our long-termer, and I ended up driving it around quite a bit. No surprises here -- the Fusion Hybrid is just a great car. It handles securely, the interior is quiet and comfortable, it'll go more than 500 miles between fill-ups and, yes, the fuel economy is quite good.
The trunk's smaller than a regular Fusion's, but it was still enough to fit four small suitcases and a couple bags on my trip from the airport. Acceleration was a bit pokey, but everything normally aspirated in Denver suffers due to the elevation.
One thing I did notice was that my mom has the thick rubber winter floormats. The first time I got in the car the mat was actually covering the throttle a bit (as pictured). It didn't seem to affect things, thankfully.
I've since gone back and read Dan Edmunds' Fusion post about sticking throttle pedals and the winter floor mats. It turns out my mom was stacking the winter mats on top of the original's, something that the dealer did when she bought the car. I've since told her to remove the original mats, and everything's good.
Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor
dracy69 says:
06:34 PM, 06/ 1/11
you guys don't do too many posts on this car, y u no love fusion IL?
done37 says:
06:55 AM, 06/ 2/11
It would be interesting to know your moms long term fuel mileage compared to what Edmunds is getting in theirs? Did you make a note of it Brent? You could give her a call.
texases says:
07:12 AM, 06/ 2/11
Yes, please ask her the mpgs.
bromans says:
01:43 PM, 06/ 2/11
My mom doesn't track fuel economy the way we officially do (fuel at the pump and trip odo) so it'd be hard to compare apples-to-apples. But she says that the in-car gauge usually has her around 39 mpg. When I was driving it the displayed average was 38.9 mpg. Official EPA is 41 city, 36 hwy and 39 combined, so it would seem she's spot-on for the average and certainly getting better than our car's 31.7 combined. -- Brent
fushigi says:
06:19 AM, 06/ 3/11
Get WeatherTech liners. They fit better than generic mats & have high sides so melted snow (or spilled Starbucks) won't get through to the carpet. Not cheap but they are well-designed and American-made.
bobfromvegas says:
10:53 AM, 06/10/11
My 2010 Fusion Hybrid is averaging a little over 37.9MPG over its lifetime (just over 20K miles). There are a couple of minor negatives about the car: it has to warm up in cold weather, and it will not use the batteries and electric motor in very hot weather (around 45C, 113F). When not using the electric drive, the car is a total dog, with no power and mileage around 20MPG.
chicagosandy says:
01:02 PM, 07/20/11
I just bought a 2011, and so far I love it. I notice that the newer the car is, the lower the avg. fuel econ. displayed onscreen is. I originally thought it was because I'd been cranking the A/C (99F outdoors!). Mine's been steadily rising from 20.9 mpg when I rolled off the lot with 50 mi. on the odo and is now up to 25 with 160 mi. But the proof came in an 80-mi. roundtrip I took Mon., with mixed city and freeway (speeds up to 65 before I saw the state troopers parked on the shoulder) driving--and with lots of stop-and-go traffic jams. Climate control was set to 70F. Got home, and the trip odo said 43.5 mpg. Hehehehehe. Riding up to the dealership in the tow truck Sat. (my beloved 2002 Taurus SEL having turned into a rabid pit bull due to sudden unintended acceleration while idling--taking my brakes and tranny with it in order to get me the one mile home alive), I saw to my chagrin that gas was over four bucks even in the north burbs. But now I look at gas stations and giggle.
Couple of points: First thing I checked on the Taurus once safely home was the floor mat and the area around the pedals--they were clear. And here's the weird thing--its engine was revving into the red, but the gas pedal was UP. But I'm not taking any chances: I got rid of the paper courtesy mats in the Fusion as soon as I took title. Despite rotten Chicago winters, I never bought winter mats for the Taurus, and I never will for the Fusion, at least not for the driver's side. That's why God gave us vacuum cleaners. Second, if you are already an XM Radio subscriber, know that there are a very few channels that Sirius does not offer, except streaming online. Unfortunately, one of them is The Village--the folk music channel that (because they offered me a free radio and reduced subscription rate as an indie folk musician) was the reason I got satellite radio in the first place. Not about to let the Sirius subscription run out, because that'd take my traffic nav down with it, so if I cancel my XM subscription (and don't plug the XM radio into the power port and audio-in jack and run the magnetic antenna out the window to the roof), if I want The Village I'll have to stream it from my cellphone's web browser using the same jury-rigged hookup sans external antenna. If you're not a folkie, this probably won't concern you.
Also, I am half of a touring folk duo. For trips of a week or less, the Fusion Hybrid will readily accommodate a couple of small (i.e., rollaboard) suitcases, two guitars, a couple of dulcimers, guitar stands and a folding dulcimer stand, plus some totebags & backpacks and garment sleeves; for a solo gig in town it'll handle my guitar, dulcimer, stands and a small P.A. system. But for longer duo tours, where we'll need regular suitcases and perhaps our P.A., we'll have to take my performing partner's (ugh) Subaru Forester. Once you've experienced 40+ mpg and all the electronic bells & whistles, it's hard to go back to 22 and barebones accommodations. (Sort of like once you've stayed at the W, it's tough to even contemplate Red Roof Inn).
This car's gonna spoil me.