Inside, the Fusion is blessed with comfortable seats that suit just about any type of human, and the rear bench seat can accommodate three people if they don’t mind a little shoulder-rubbing. The car is quiet at speed and at 100 km/h, the combustion engine is turning at just 1,800 rpm.
Fit and finish in the Fusion’s cockpit is pretty good, despite some hard plastic surfaces on the dash and door panels. The climate control buttons are too low on the centre stack, and using the small buttons is distracting; the optional navigation system includes auxiliary touch-screen controls for the climate system, however. Ford and Microsoft’s SYNC multimedia system is standard, and as always, is great.
The Hybrid is also equipped with one of the most colourful and informative instrument pods we’ve seen so far in a car, and it’s called SmartGauge. The speedometer is located in the center, flanked by programmable info displays such as fuel level, real-time fuel economy and battery juice level. As you lower your fuel consumption, green leaves appear on a branch. Mash the throttle, and they blow away.
The power readout is very interesting, as it actually tells you with the help of a graph when you’re running in EV mode, when you’re not, and how to get back into EV mode. When the red line is within the variable green EV zone, you’re on battery power alone, and getting back into that zone sometimes only requires that you lift slightly off the throttle. All of a sudden, eco-driving becomes fun, more so than in Toyota and Honda hybrids.
The Fusion has one of the most spacious trunks in its category, but the Hybrid’s battery pack takes up some of that real estate: 334 litres versus 467. It’s still bigger than in the Camry Hybrid (300 litres) and in the Altima Hybrid (286 litres), but the Prius has a bigger cargo hold.
Visually, the Fusion seems half-stylish, half-bland. Drop-dead gorgeous, mid-size sedans are few and far between, but the Fusion seems to stand out, if only because of its massive chrome grille, which resembles a three-blade men’s razor. Some like it, some don’t. The alloy wheels also look like hubcaps. Besides a few badges, the Hybrid looks like a run-of-the-mill Fusion.
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| The rear bench seat can accommodate three people if they don’t mind a little shoulder-rubbing. (Photo: Matthieu Lambert/Auto123.com) |
Fit and finish in the Fusion’s cockpit is pretty good, despite some hard plastic surfaces on the dash and door panels. The climate control buttons are too low on the centre stack, and using the small buttons is distracting; the optional navigation system includes auxiliary touch-screen controls for the climate system, however. Ford and Microsoft’s SYNC multimedia system is standard, and as always, is great.
The Hybrid is also equipped with one of the most colourful and informative instrument pods we’ve seen so far in a car, and it’s called SmartGauge. The speedometer is located in the center, flanked by programmable info displays such as fuel level, real-time fuel economy and battery juice level. As you lower your fuel consumption, green leaves appear on a branch. Mash the throttle, and they blow away.
The power readout is very interesting, as it actually tells you with the help of a graph when you’re running in EV mode, when you’re not, and how to get back into EV mode. When the red line is within the variable green EV zone, you’re on battery power alone, and getting back into that zone sometimes only requires that you lift slightly off the throttle. All of a sudden, eco-driving becomes fun, more so than in Toyota and Honda hybrids.
The Fusion has one of the most spacious trunks in its category, but the Hybrid’s battery pack takes up some of that real estate: 334 litres versus 467. It’s still bigger than in the Camry Hybrid (300 litres) and in the Altima Hybrid (286 litres), but the Prius has a bigger cargo hold.
Visually, the Fusion seems half-stylish, half-bland. Drop-dead gorgeous, mid-size sedans are few and far between, but the Fusion seems to stand out, if only because of its massive chrome grille, which resembles a three-blade men’s razor. Some like it, some don’t. The alloy wheels also look like hubcaps. Besides a few badges, the Hybrid looks like a run-of-the-mill Fusion.
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| Some like the Fusion’s styling, some don’t, as the chrome grille draws mixed emotions. (Photo: Matthieu Lambert/Auto123.com) |