Comments: 1-15, 16-17
The car handles great and the AWD is great in the snow. The car is for the most part built well. Interior is quiet, ride is comfortable and the seats are very nice. These are volvo seats with lumbar and heat up front. Very supportive for long drives (just did a 1200 mile road trip) Lots of interior space everyone I know comments on how nice the car is to be a passenger in as compared to their imports which tend to be less roomy. Car was a bargain compared to competitors costing several thousand dollars less-with AWD which the competitors don't offer. I love the styling, inside and out. The trunk is huge and the seats fold for more space!
Now for the downsides-for the most part the V6 is fine, but it is a bit underpowered for its class this could be addressed with a slightly larger V6 with another 30-40hp also it's a bit unrefined when not idling, at idle you barely know its running. Another thing that would be nice is manual gear access particularly through an automanual like Volkswagen offers, I'd pay extra for that. Heat/AC and heated seats in back would be cool to, but not a big deal.
I look forward to my continued ownership of this car, its been great so far and I can only see things continuing this way-Consumer reports ranks it very highly particularly in reliability, right up there with the best.
The Fusion IS one of the best. I went to try out a new Mustang and drove one just to see how they drove. I was blown away. It rides and drives like a much more expensive car, and the V-6 literally blows the doors of the V-6 Camry and G-6 (both of which I have also driven). If I were in the market for a mid-size sedan it's the ONLY one I'd consider within $10,000 of it's price range.
The sporty and very distinctive styling also makes the competition look like "Grannymobiles".
Well, the reviewer said it himself. Consumer Reports ranks it right up there with the best (that being Toyota and Honda). Consumer Reports also said that Japanese cars dominate the field in overall reliability. So, if you want to call your beloved Fusion third best, which would be a stretch, that's fine, but the imports still surpass it by far. Wait till all of the major problems on these things start coming out, like most other Ford cars. It's easy to like a new car, no matter what it is. The Camry has proven it's reliability for a quarter of a century.
Consumer Reports gave it an overall score of 77. The Toyota Camry was given an 87. The Fusion is a better attempt by Ford than people are used to, but still not nearly a match for a Toyota, Honda, or Nissan. Nice try, though; if the three imports I mentioned didn't exist, I'd drive this particular Ford and at least not be afraid that it would blow up at any moment like a lot of Fords do.
We are delighted with our 2007 SEL AWD Fusion (MSRP $27,105) purchased Dec. 4, 2006, except for the horrific in-city gas mileage, which was 13 mpg for the first 2,000 miles. This recently improved to 14.8 mpg, but the EPA estimate for this power train is 19 mpg, recently revised downward to 17 mpg.
Other than mileage, we like everything else about the car, especially its bold styling and many creature comforts. The V6 engine and six-speed automatic transmission are exceeding smooth and responsive.
The ride and handling of this car are superb and it has the looks and feel of a much more expensive car. It seems to be one of FoMoCo's best products in ages and we are looking forward to many happy miles with it.
Hopefully, the mileage will improve as the car's engine and transmission get broken in. Our terrain is flat; the climate is mild; the tire pressure is correct; and, my wife and I are both conservative, gentle drivers. The low mileage is our only complaint thus far.
That is strange that the all-wheel-drive model Fusion gets poor fuel economy. I just bought a 2007 fusion V6 with front wheel drive and it got 21 mpg when I first bought it and now it averages at about 25 mpg.
The Ford Fusion is a Mazda6 on a slightly stretched platform. It uses the same engine, transmission and mostly all the same parts, when are you people going to get that.
To comment 10:25. Your gas mileage will improve. My duratech 3.0 V-6 started out at about 15-17 hwy, and is now getting 24 after 5000+ miles and switching to full synthetic oil and a K&N high-flow air filter.
Yeah, I'm sure that their Ford that now gets under 15 mpg will magically increase all the way up to 24. A K@N filter will give you MAYBE 1 or 2 mpg, and using synthetic oil is a great for your engine, but you will not notice it in your gas mileage. Sounds like Ford built another lemon here. Surprise surprise.
I don't own a fusion, so I'm unbiased, but I was just going through the comments. It seems like everytime someone does a good review on a domestic car someone comes in and calls it a lemon a crap. Every domestic car is no unreliable so why try to start a domestic vs. import battle on every review.
Something I've noticed here in the comments and reviews. The people that actually own or have driven the Fusions, praise them. Often, they are coming off owning a foreign car that was trouble for them.
The people bad mouthing the Fusions have never set foot in one. Many have not even looked at one in real life. To the naysayers, I say rent one. Some weekend when you are taking a trip, or just want something new, go down to Hertz and rent one and drive it around. Usually weekend rates are cheap enough that renting is actually cheaper in the long run, then driving your own car when you factor in maintenance, depreciation, etc. I bet after 2 days of driving it around, you won't be so negative about it.
As with any new model, reliability remains unproven.
Just a quick update to my review; 1 1/2 years old and I still love it. Only problem that has showed up is the squeaky passenger seat, which Ford has released a TSB for (I blame this largely on my brother, he's a very big guy and it only squeaks when he's in it). Anyway Ford did the TSB and all is well now. 5700 miles now and getting ready for a 700 mile road trip this week. MPG in city is about 16; still wish that was better, but at least it's regular.
Comment 12:01 makes a good point. People listen to erroneous ad hype or brainwashed import fans and condemn cars they've never even ridden in, let alone driven. One of our friends went against my advice to buy a Fusion instead of an Accord due to ad hype. He never even looked at the Fusion. Since November his new Accord has been in the shop numerous times for both small and serious problems (I've lost count of the number of service visits, it's a LOT). He recently told me he wished he had his old GM car back. It was 14 years old and had over 200,000 miles on it. If people are going to condemn a car without even sitting in it, they have no one but themselves to blame for their mistakes.
Re: 13th May comment...
I was looking into the Fusion for myself. I wanted a well built car with pretty decent gas mileage that could transport my family in style. But, what you're telling me is that it really sucks the gas. I own a '03 Explorer Limited with a v8 4.6l engine and I get about 15-16 mpg in city, and about 23-24 mpg hwy. If the Fusion can't get much better numbers than this gas hog, why bother changing?
Anyone else have fuel economy numbers from their Fusions?
I've had two 2008 Fusions as rental cars within the past four months. I was really impressed by both of them. They are quiet, comfortable, handle well, and are powerful. They cruise so smoothly on the interstate that I have to constantly pay attention, or I look down to find out that I've crept up to nearly 90 without noticing it.
I drove one in Nevada, and one in Colorado, and got over 27 mpg in both. Doing 75, the engine is turning at about 1,800 rpm's. One car had almost 30,000 miles, and the other had less than 5,000 miles. Actually, that 27 mpg represents mixed driving: 75 mph interstates, city driving, and up hills.
The only downside I noticed, is that in a situation where you have to punch the gas, there is a time lag of about a second to downshift and accelerate, which feels like a long time when a semi is bearing down on you.
I've driven the Fusion, but don't own one, so I'm not familiar with the gas mileage. I have owned a V-6 Ranger and V-6 Mustang, and they got almost identical mileage. In town my average was 19-20 and on the highway between 22-26.
Gas mileage figures on cars are obviously grossly exaggerated. I took a trip this weekend with a friend in his '07 Corolla. I was shocked when he told me he does good to get 20 mpg highway. We had to fill it up TWICE on a 300 mile trip. My SUV does better than that!!