TCC Reviews the Ford Fusion

[wpbharry]

http://www.thecarconnection.com/Vehi...180.A9208.html

Taking Ford beyond the Taurus. Hopefully.
by John Pearley Huffman (2005-09-06)

Can Ford's new Fusion sedan do what the Taurus initially did? Without becoming what the Taurus ultimately became?

Between 1986 and 1995 it was hard to imagine Ford without the Taurus. That car came onto the market and was an instant sensation; its jellybean shape and commonsensical engineering effectively rewired the brains of Americans as to what they expected from a domestic sedan. It was the best-selling car in America for five straight years - 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1996.

And then Ford blew it. Big time.

The redesigned 1996 Taurus has to rank as one of the worst makeovers in the history of the automotive industry. It was flaccid, ovoid and goofy where the original Taurus had been taut, straightforward, and sober. By the time the 21st century came around, the Taurus had gone from market leader to automotive shorthand for generic, uninteresting, and institutional. It kept selling to fleets, even as retail sales dribbled down to the negligible.

Ford is slyly avoiding the reality of the situation in its press releases and talking points, but the Fusion is taking the Taurus' place in the company's sedan lineup between the larger and archaic Crown Victoria , the larger and somber Five Hundred, and the smaller and familiar Focus. It's the car with which the company will take on Camry, Accord, Altima, and all those other perfectly engineered, front-drive mid-size appliances. If Ford is going to be a force in the retail sedan business again, the Fusion has to be a hit.

Fortunately for Ford, the Fusion has the potential to be just that. A big hit.

Marshalling of resources

Does it matter that much of the stuff that makes up the Fusion was originally designed for the Mazda6? Probably not, and Ford isn't trying to hide that fact.

Ford calls the unibody base upon which the Fusion is erected its "CD3 architecture" and its expanded riff on the Mazda6. At 190.2 inches long, the Fusion is 3.4 inches longer than that Mazda and its 107.4-inch wheelbase is 2.1 inches longer. But the most significant dimensional difference is width, where the 72.2-inch-wide Fusion spans 2.1 inches broader than the Mazda. The structure is Ford's first to be completely conceived on a computer, and the company claims it's significantly stiffer than the Mazda original.

Compared to rest of its direct competition, the Fusion is almost exactly their size. Honda's Accord, for instance, is 189.5 inches long, 71.5 inches wide, and rides on a 107.9-inch wheelbase. In practical terms, these differences are meaningless. The Fusion is, however, smaller than the outgoing Taurus sedan that stretches out 197.6 inches long and 73.0 inches wide and rides on a 108.5-inch wheelbase.

Chassis and engines

The rest of the chassis designs come over pretty much intact from Mazda. That includes a short/long arm front suspension, a multi-link independent rear suspension, and rack-and-pinion steering. There's nothing startling in all this - and nothing wrong either.

Ford is shipping the Fusion out with two different "Duratec" engines and both are shared with the Mazda. The base four is an all-aluminum 2.3-liter, DOHC four making 160 horsepower at 6500 rpm and 150 pound-feet of peak torque at 4000 rpm. The optional V-6 displaces 3.0 liters, has DOHC heads, a total of 24-valves, and makes 221 horsepower at 6250 rpm and 205 lb-ft of peak torque at 4800 rpm.

While these two engines are shared with Mazda, they're actually both built in North America. The four comes from Ford's engine plant in Chihuahua, Mexico, and the six comes from that venerable institution, Cleveland Engine Plant #2 in Ohio.

The Fusion also shares its six-speed automatic transmission -- a required companion to the V-6 -- with the Mazda6. Amazingly compact, this transmission looks like it ought to be hanging off the side of Harley-Davidson instead of transmitting power in a 3280-pound sedan. Unfortunately Ford doesn't provide any way for the driver to positively control the selection of ratios manually - the conventional transmission control only shows a single "L" indent below "D" which apparently keeps the transmission from heading into the overdrive fifth and sixth gears and not much else.

Four-cylinder Fusions will come with either a five-speed manual or five-speed automatic transmission. Ford didn't have any four-cylinder Fusions on hand for sampling.

Too sexy for its brand

Ford is selling in three different trim levels. At the base is S starting at $17,995, the SE will likely be the popular model while the SEL caps the line by loading on all sorts of luxuries including 17-inch wheels and automatic climate control. All three come with the four standard, with the six available in SE and SEL.

All three are great-looking cars. Taking styling themes established by Ford's 427 concept car during the 2003 auto show season, the lines are handsome from every angle, but particularly so from the front where the three bold chrome slats make up the grille and the headlights manage the neat trick of being both somewhat rectangular and swooping up into each front fender. If there's one problem with so many cars in this class it's that they're boring looking. The Fusion, in contrast, is simply delightful looking.

And that continues inside where the cabin is trimmed with a lot of soft-feel plastic and a lot of airbags.

The dash is well balanced with a hooded binnacle in front of the driver covering four round gauges (the speedo and tach are big, the temp and fuel meters no-so-big) trimmed in fake brushed aluminum. The center stack includes all the audio and ventilation controls laid out with intuitive operation in mind, and there's a neat round clock that adds some sense of elegance to the environment. The four-spoke steering wheel packs some redundant ventilation and audio controls for ease of operation.

Yes, the seats are nice. But what's better is that there's enough room to enjoy them. In stark contrast to Ford's old Contour, the big seat has enough like room so that a six-footer can sit behind a six-footer with enough comfort for a lunch run. If the driver is five-eight, that six-footer might even be comfy for a couple of hours back there. And of course - this is a car designed for American tastes - there are plenty of cupholders.

Every Fusion comes with standard (and required) dual-stage airbags for the front seat occupants. Optional are seat-mounted side airbags for the front passengers and side curtain airbags for both the front and rear passengers. In this tough market segment, Ford may have scored some points by making all those bags standard (as Hyundai has with the six standard airbags in the new Sonata). But price is a critical element to selling in this segment too.

Drives like a Mazda

The Mazda6 is among the very best driving cars in its class and most of those manners transfer over to the Fusion. Riding on Michelin P225/50VR17 radials, the SEL's chassis responds to steering inputs quickly, the four-wheel disc brakes work with composure (though ABS should be standard instead of an option), the suspension rides comfortably over inconsistent roads, and the whole thing remains quiet under virtually all circumstances. The steering may not have quite the quality of the Subaru Legacy's, and the whole assembly doesn't work with the stunning precision of the Honda Accord, but it's fully competitive with everything else.

The V-6 works unobtrusively and with some enthusiasm. But for drivers who want more power, there's always the Altima's snorting 3.5-liter VQ-series V-6. And for anyone wanting dead-nuts silence, should go for the Toyota Camry's 3.3-liter V-6. Still this is a good engine for most people most of the time.

Having said that, the driver needs some positive control over the six-speed automatic transmission to make this car truly fun-to-drive. There are moments when the tranny is hunting for a gear when it should be confidently downshifting for a corner or upshifting at the torque peak. For everyday driving, this transmission is dang-near perfect, but there are days that are extraordinary and this transmission doesn't offer much with which to play.

What the 2006 Fusion boils down to is this: It's not going to be the quickest, best handling, most luxurious, or highest value player in its market segment. But it's completely competitive on all those counts and it's easily more stylish than its direct competition. Combine that with people who want to buy American (that Hermosillo, Mexico, assembly plant is still in America, right?) and Ford's vast network of dealers and this car is bound to be a hit.

Two decades after the Taurus debut, Ford deserves a hit. And if they're careful, this one could last longer.

2006 Ford Fusion SEL V-6

Base price: $21,995

Engines: 3.0-liter V-6, 221 hp

Transmission: Six-speed automatic, front-wheel drive

Length x width x height: 190.2 x 72.2 x 57.2 in

Wheelbase: 107.4 in

Curb weight: 3280 lb

Fuel economy (EPA city/hwy): N/A

Safety equipment: Four-wheel disc brakes; front airbags; anti-lock brakes, side and curtain airbags optional

Major standard equipment: A/C; AM/FM/CD; power windows; cruise control; tilt and telescoping steering wheel

Warranty: Three years/36,000 miles

[AdmiralViscen]

Fantastic.

[goblue]

So, what does the Fusion have that the G6 doesn't?

A DOHC engine, trannies with more than 4 gears, and a platform thats surprisingly more sporty than GM's performance brand.

Sad that all of this was in GM's power to fix.
6 speeds could have been sourced for a few years, the HF engines are already in use, and GM knows how to build a sporty car - they choose not to for some reason.

Hmmm. Is the Fusion going to be the hit that GM should have had with the G6?

[wpbharry]

I came to the realization yesterday that GM should try to counter the Fusion primarily with the G6 rather than the Malibu (after all, it even admits that the G6 was targeted more at the Accord,; the Malibu is aimed more at the Camry; the Mazda 6 is closer to the Accord, so by process of association...).
At least the looks are less of an issue. GM could play its marketing to accentuate what the G6 has that the Fusion doesn't, if it wanted to (and had the money set aside to).

[goblue]

Originally Posted by wpbharry

I came to the realization yesterday that GM should try to counter the Fusion primarily with the G6 rather than the Malibu (after all, it even admits that the G6 was targeted more at the Accord,; the Malibu is aimed more at the Camry; the Mazda 6 is closer to the Accord, so by process of association...).
At least the looks are less of an issue. GM could play its marketing to accentuate what the G6 has that the Fusion doesn't, if it wanted to (and had the money set aside to).

The G6 was supposed to go after the Altima, but GM underpowered it, The Camry was supposed to have been dealt with by the Malibu - but in V6 trim its more of a match for the Lacrosse, and the Aura - if it ever gets here, could deal with the Accord quite handily - but GM will probably find a way to dumb down the concept and the interior - when what it needs to do is build a better car for less money.

Thats basically what Ford did with the Fusion if reports hold up, only the Sonata can beat it on the value scale.

[mbukukanyau]

Sometimes, when I advice auto companies, I feel like an Armchair General who’s never been to war…

[SVT2888]

Good review for the Fusion. Sounds like the car should sell well.

[saturnsteve]

The Fusion is not a bad looking car, I think it will do well. And the Zephyr and the Milan don't look too bad either!

[LoneWolf]

I am soooo loving the Fusion. I can't wait for it (and the Milan & Zephyr) to hit local showrooms!

[asim]

The Fusions seem to be a winner, only if the consumer could get the word of that, then it would be a good buy.

[DrewSG]

Let's hope this will carry on to the people. This could be the big one for Ford..

[drew770]

The Fusion is getting alot of good press buzz so I think that Ford really has done a great job with the Fusion.