2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid: Twins with Lincoln MKZ Hybrid

The black interior without wood trim does look plain. And silver looks bad on any car IMO. I prefer the Camel color with wood. Bridge of Weir leather on the seats is truly a luxury material whatever the color, so I dont know what you mean about not being "true luxury" at all. Is it the lack of wood or something else? And look at the standard features included in the base price....its a good deal if you want all that stuff (which I dont). I looked really hard at the MKZ earlier this year when I bought my new car. I really liked it but I just dont need as much as these cars have.

Just WHERE is the Fusion anyway? There have no real posts about it for months.

I chose the MKZ because I got a well-equipped car (leather, THX stereo, etc) and did not have to get a sunroof, which is a deal-killer for me. Only base Fusion hybrids come without a sunroof. All MKZs have wood trim, the black interior has a dark wood, I got the camel with the light wood.

I couldn't find a better 38 mpg car for my needs.

p.s. - the MKZ replaced an ES300.

Just a pattern I'm noticing with IL and Ford's.

Ever since the 2008 Focus ran like a top with little to no issues besides the GT, Raptor, Flex, and Mustang all other Fords have gone on into what I would call the Long Term Support Fleet where we hear little to nothing about any issues for months until they are finally sold off.

Am I missing anything else?

The MKZ is kind of a lame reskin, but it doesn't cost that much more either comparably-equipped. I've driven it a lot and while it's a decent car, there's nothing about it that would compel me to want to own one. The interior is nice, but not really that much better than a Fusion's. The chassis dynamics and powertrain are no better than a Fusion's. If anything I prefer the Fusion's handling to the softer Lincoln's. I'd find it hard to spend $35K+ on such a boring, so-so car. The Fusion is good, but when the price climbs to mid-30's and beyond I expect better things in the chassis and powertrain departments.

I personally would take the Ford. I don't care for Lincoln's current style. I liked the look of the Town Car and the Blackwood truck. But now they either look like a Ford with the Lincoln front end slapped on, or they actually get the full Lincoln styling treatment which seems to remind me of a nursing home resident in a tuxedo. They don't seem distinguished, but more soft and frail, but still classy.

"I chose the MKZ because I got a well-equipped car (leather, THX stereo, etc) and did not have to get a sunroof, which is a deal-killer for me. Only base Fusion hybrids come without a sunroof."

I am not a fan of the seemingly ubiquitous sunroof, but if that is the way they come standard then I just shrug. What really frosts my chops is when you want a particular feature and it comes packaged with a sunroof I do not want. Walked out on a SUV deal because the LSD only came as part of a $1200 sunroof package. Yeah, right, LSDs and sunroofs are really similar luxury features./sarcasm.

"Hmmm. Which would you get?"

The Fusion. But let me explain (if an explanation is even necessary). I am not in the target demographic for either of these vehicles. My needs are better served with an SUV for family duty and an econobox for commuting duty... a midsize sedan seems like too much of a compromise. But. If these were the only two vehicles left in the world, price would be the overriding factor in my choice. Since the Fusion is much cheaper, it gets my vote.

When the first gen of these cars came out I went form one to the next in the showroom. One example illustrates the overall impression I got. The grab handles on the doors were typical in that they were holes inset into the door armrest. On the Fusion there were two exposed screws at the bottom of this hole. On the Mercury the bottom of the hole was lined with a piece of cheap felt. On the Lincoln it was lined with a somewhat heftier piece of rubber. My initial thought was, how expensive is that felt and rubber? And does it really raise the perceived quality of the car? And if so, why don't they spend a couple cents and make the Fusion a little more refined? And what's the point of having these three brands anyway? And since they have three brands is there a team of people allocating materials saying things like "you get the rubber, you get the felt and you get nothing!"?
Anyway, Mercury is gone and both the Ford and Lincoln have continued to improve. I would pick the Fusion in a heartbeat but there are two things Ford needs to do in order to help bolster the case for the MKZ: The first is to further differentiate the two cars and I understand they're working on doing just that. The second is to get Lincoln out of the Ford dealerships. This will be much harder and I don't know if there's a way to pull it off but it is essential. Lexus is constantly held up as the bogey for Lincoln yet one of the keys to their success is ignored. Toyota knew that Lexus needed to provide a solid product but it also knew that luxury shoppers/owners don't want to be in the showroom and service centers surrounded by Corollas and Camrys. This is why it never occurs to the typical ES buyer that it's similar to the Camry. Even Hyundai has figured this out and is providing home pickup service so that Genesis and Equus owners don't have to go spend time with the Accents and Elantras. Ford can go ahead and do a great job on the next MKZ but as long as its sitting there with the Fusion, Fiesta and Transit Connect they're just not going to be providing the total luxury experience that Lexus and others are offering.

I had a rental Fusion on a nearly 2k mile round trip and it was a champ. It was the 2.4L, and it was surprisingly eager to go. About 30-32mpg over the trip too, about 8 higher than my Mustang got on the same trip a month later. If I were in the market for a car in this class it's definitely one I'd be looking at, along with probably a Sonata(and probably others, but I'm blanking at the moment) Interior was comfy enough, though definitely not super high quality.

I'd have to sit in a MKZ and see just how different the interior quality really is. It's more visually appealing, but that can only say so much about actual quality.

Also, @agentorange
Uh... you're talking about a differential, right? I only ask cause... I really want to believe you mean something else with that acronym. That's a very silly bundle.

What's wrong with a sunroof? I haven't had a car without one in years. No issues at all.

To each his own, I guess.

I'd go with the Fusion simply because I don't see where the extra $7000 for the Lincoln is worth the upgrade. Since we're also comparing looks: While the Fusion is generically styled, Lincoln hasn't made anything that I find attractive since the LS.

@ ptcdawg:

Some people just don't want to pay for something they do not feel has any utility for them. For instance, the sunroof on the Regal will cost one an additional $1000. I could think of a lot more things I'd rather have for that money. But then again, that's just me. Others may love sliding part of their roof open no matter what they're driving.

"the Lincoln MKZ (twins with our long-term 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid) doesn't attract the same derision -- perhaps because many people don't care?"

Bingo. Lincoln is drowning in its own irrelevance. Also, the Fusion is a great car to begin with, while the Camry is not.

@ptcdawg - 'What's wrong with the sunroof?'

Simple, I don't fit, I need max headroom...

"there's nothing about it that would compel me to want to own one."

Not a big surprise since you rarely have anything good to say about any car that is not a BMW.

I don't buy new cars, but If I did, I would spring for a roof. I like the fresh air....or just the airiness it brings to the interior of cars....even closed.

If I was concerned about fuel economy-the Fusion.

If I was concerned about (desperately) trying to impress people-the MKZ.

@mrryte: I doubt the MKZ will impress anybody.

I bet you can negotiate a huge discount on the MKZ vs. the best-seller Fusion. And the interior looks like a huge improvement - this being where I enjoy the car. And the Fusion leather is very plasticky (I assume the Lincoln has much softer stuff). For me, interior design/quality has major sway in my cars.

If those above posits hold true, I'd spring for the MKZ.

I had a rental Fusion 2.4L as well. I got 28mpg city. CITY! My best-ever mileage record for any car in the city. And such a good car, too. Perfect size, etc. I'd recommend it to anyone.

Last Lincoln that sold great was probably the 2nd gen Navigator. And IMHO, it had everything to do with great styling inside and out. It looked cool. And it looked 'premium'. Like the current Escalade looks 'premium. The current Lincolns don't look cool, and/or don't portray an upscale image.

And the dealer experience, while important, is not deal-breaking. Clients will walk past the stray dogs and greasy salesmen to buy an Equus/Genesis, and they also weather the big tent, local-radio-station-truck to buy a Corvette and CTS.

Lincoln needs better-looking products.

Fusion for the same reason I'd buy a Camry over the Lexus. At least the MKZ is a couple grand less than the ES350.

"Lincoln needs better-looking products."

Lincoln just needs better products period. Their sales have fallen off a cliff because there's little compelling reason to buy a Lincoln-anything over the competition. Ford is too damn conservative sometimes - the entire Lincoln lineup is comprised of lightly warmed-over, uglier Fords. They not only need more differentiation but they need to incorporate the actual costly things that make luxury cars worth the extra money - like powertrain and chassis refinement. And like Mr. Austria said, the interiors are nice but not really 'true luxury'.

What the hell is a Lincoln?

@esoterica - by all measures, it seems the new Camry is leaps and bounds better than the previous iteration, definitely in the same class as those on the leaderboard so I'm guessing your comment refers to the lackluster 6th gen? In the IL track test, it was even noted that Camry's transitional responses were reminiscent of the Fusion.

I think the real issue for Lexus now is that the 2012 Camry in XLE V6 trim trumps that of ES 350 in technology/amenities/infotainment, likely performance and efficiency (since Toyota has trimmed all Camrys of weight), and even potentially interior design/quality, making the arguments in this thread and those discussed by Austria, all the more relevant. Theres no question in my mind that I'd reco and buy 2012 Camry over an ES.... but I'm interested to see what direction is taken with the next ES, which isnt that far off.

~alpha

At $39000.00 I'd take an Acura TL with Tech. package over an upgraded Fusion zany day of the week.