On the right of the speedometer is what the company calls the "vibrant Efficiency Forest" which grows (or loses) leaves according to your driving style. Here, it’s easy to compare the leaves to dollar bills -- drive too fast and the greens will fly away! Naturally, this display encourages the driver to be gentle on the throttle so that the forest doesn’t die.
I quickly became addicted to the EcoGuide, almost as if it was the latest Wii game. It’s so interesting to watch that I often stopped looking at the road for dangerously-long amounts of time! It seems to me that, in order to reduce distractions and potential accidents, all this information should be projected onto the windshield using head-up display technology.
Mother Nature’s friend and society’s bad citizen
Trying to maximize fuel economy can be pretty fun at times, but it can also become stressful and irritating for other road users.
In order to keep driving in full electric mode or simply limit fuel consumption, you must adopt different habits behind the wheel, starting with the imaginary egg between your right foot and the pedal. The goal is to achieve maximum acceleration and minimum consumption.
There’s nothing wrong with that on flat paved roads with nobody around you, but as soon as road conditions deteriorate and traffic starts to increase, things get complicated in a hurry. A small bump is enough to startle your right foot and therefore break the imaginary egg. The gasoline engine immediately activates; fuel is burned and your efforts are wasted.
Meanwhile, think about the driver right behind you; he or she probably doesn’t have the time and patience to accelerate for what seems like forever. You’ll make enemies on the road faster than you can spell "fuel economy."
While testing the car’s performance on a city boulevard with a speed limit of 70 km/h (outside rush hour, of course), it took 30 seconds to sprint from 0 to 30 km/h without burning a single drop of gas… and 1:40 to reach 60 km/h! In real life, such type of driving would most likely become the source of road rage!
Can you imagine a high number of hybrids (Fusions or others) circulating at such a low pace during rush hour? Chaos would take over the roads!
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| Stylistically speaking, the Fusion Hybrid stands out with exclusive aluminum wheels and a Hybrid badge on the trunk lid. |
I quickly became addicted to the EcoGuide, almost as if it was the latest Wii game. It’s so interesting to watch that I often stopped looking at the road for dangerously-long amounts of time! It seems to me that, in order to reduce distractions and potential accidents, all this information should be projected onto the windshield using head-up display technology.
Mother Nature’s friend and society’s bad citizen
Trying to maximize fuel economy can be pretty fun at times, but it can also become stressful and irritating for other road users.
In order to keep driving in full electric mode or simply limit fuel consumption, you must adopt different habits behind the wheel, starting with the imaginary egg between your right foot and the pedal. The goal is to achieve maximum acceleration and minimum consumption.
There’s nothing wrong with that on flat paved roads with nobody around you, but as soon as road conditions deteriorate and traffic starts to increase, things get complicated in a hurry. A small bump is enough to startle your right foot and therefore break the imaginary egg. The gasoline engine immediately activates; fuel is burned and your efforts are wasted.
Meanwhile, think about the driver right behind you; he or she probably doesn’t have the time and patience to accelerate for what seems like forever. You’ll make enemies on the road faster than you can spell "fuel economy."
While testing the car’s performance on a city boulevard with a speed limit of 70 km/h (outside rush hour, of course), it took 30 seconds to sprint from 0 to 30 km/h without burning a single drop of gas… and 1:40 to reach 60 km/h! In real life, such type of driving would most likely become the source of road rage!
Can you imagine a high number of hybrids (Fusions or others) circulating at such a low pace during rush hour? Chaos would take over the roads!
 |
| The trunk of the Fusion Hybrid is just 4-percent smaller than the regular Fusion’s. |