I test drove a Fusion Hybrid

[a priori]

Originally Posted by WPWoodJr

Wow, I'm impressed! I haven't gotten mine over low 60's in any meaningfully long trip, and that was mostly downhill.

How long was your trip? Was it flat, moderately hilly, hilly?

On a round trip of 14 miles slightly hilly, I have made 55 mpg. On that same round trip I made just over 70 mpg in a gen II Prius.

P&G, Bill.

[hobbit]

I also test-drove the Milan/FFH. My reaction was, "meh". It
felt very large, but that's coming from a prius... I'll give it
that it's very smooth, albeit in a yacht-like way. The biggest
annoyance is the way the video-gauges behave -- very *slowly*.
The "regen" arrow on the battery gauge fades in and out in a
positively lazy fashion, which had me almost thinking the
intensity of the little arrow was somehow indicating *quantity*
of regen but no, it's just a very slow on/off. Maybe I like
smooth in my driving and output, but when I make a change I want
to *know* about it instantly and just how much delta it was.
.
And it's still a sedan. The Ford people made some excuse about
how nobody wants to buy hatchbacks or wagons anymore, which I
think is yet another condition the automakers have *created*.
Somebody wants haul space, sell 'em an SUV, right? Blech.
.
_H*

[WPWoodJr]

Originally Posted by hobbit

I also test-drove the Milan/FFH. My reaction was, "meh". It
felt very large, but that's coming from a prius... I'll give it
that it's very smooth, albeit in a yacht-like way. The biggest
annoyance is the way the video-gauges behave -- very *slowly*.
The "regen" arrow on the battery gauge fades in and out in a
positively lazy fashion, which had me almost thinking the
intensity of the little arrow was somehow indicating *quantity*
of regen but no, it's just a very slow on/off. Maybe I like
smooth in my driving and output, but when I make a change I want
to *know* about it instantly and just how much delta it was.
.
And it's still a sedan. The Ford people made some excuse about
how nobody wants to buy hatchbacks or wagons anymore, which I
think is yet another condition the automakers have *created*.
Somebody wants haul space, sell 'em an SUV, right? Blech.
.
_H*

You're wrong about the regen indicators; they do indicate quantity - you can tell because they will stay dim when regen is light. The FFH gauges respond very quickly to changing conditions.

[TonyPSchaefer]

Originally Posted by hobbit

And it's still a sedan. The Ford people made some excuse about how nobody wants to buy hatchbacks or wagons anymore, which I think is yet another condition the automakers have *created*. Somebody wants haul space, sell 'em an SUV, right? Blech.
.
_H*

The Ford presentation was Market-Speak pure and simple. There were technical discussions but the wording and the phrases were very well presented. Rather than asking if anyone drives hatchbacks anymore, the presenter said, "no one drives hatchbacks anymore." Rather than mentioning that the Prius ICE engages for the warm-up cycle, the presenter refered to it as "starting up for no reason" even when he later refered to the FFH warm-up cycle.

I find it hard to get upset when I hear these presentations because they are just doing their jobs. Every good presenter knows that the average listener is trying to 'connect' with them and will often agree even when it goes against their personal beliefs because group-think has kicked in or because "they must know what they are talking about."

[MSantos]

Hi Tony;

Glad to see you had a chance to try out the Fusion Hybrid. I only attended the first presentation since as you said, there's always quite a bit of marketing-speak and I can only take so much of that.
Frankly, I was more interested in Wayne's account of the one tank record they had set. That was more fun.

Anyhow, we had a chance to take the car out for a good drive over an entire evening and man, can that machine perform. Almost every one of us cranked out 70+ MPG's without much trouble... and in terms of handling, this is car to be beat... and nothing is more clear of this when being coached by Wayne in one of those corner carving sessions.

I too found the display as close to ideal and the configurability is without a doubt a welcome first in this industry. I just hope Toyota takes a page out of the Ford Fusion book and adds this much needed feature at some point - including the appliance load among others.

Would I buy this car? Sadly, nope.
No folding seat and a potential of just 70-75 MPG is not my cup of tea since I already have those attributes in my garage.

Is it better than the Camry Hybrid? Personally and without reservation: a resounding Yes.
Is it better than the 2010 Prius? In some areas, yes. In others, not a chance.

In my view, the Fusion hybrid is without peer in that vehicle class.

Cheers;

MSantos

[acdii]

Wow, After reading this I want the Fusion Hybrid more and more. It is really making my Camry look bad. Sadly though none of the dealers around me can keep one on the lot long enough so I can get a test drive of one. I love that snapshot of the dash, nice display compared tot he Camry's one needle and single display.

[acdii]

Well, I got a chance to test drive one and all I can say is



WOW

Nice ride, comfortable seats, handles nice, the dash is SWEET, the NAV is Sweet, the price, too high right now, not budging of MSRP, :sadpuppy:

I didn't get to drive it long enough or far enough like my daily drive to determine if the Fusion can indeed exceed the Camry in MPG land, but I did grow a bush on the dash. I didnt have enough time to play with the display either as I am very interested in the different views.

If I were looking to buy another hybrid, where I didn't have any other cars to pay for, the choice between the Toyota and the Ford would be easy, FORD. Great job guys, it's a winner.

[Tideland Prius]

Originally Posted by acdii

Well, I got a chance to test drive one and all I can say is



WOW

Nice ride, comfortable seats, handles nice, the dash is SWEET, the NAV is Sweet, the price, too high right now, not budging of MSRP, :sadpuppy:

I didn't get to drive it long enough or far enough like my daily drive to determine if the Fusion can indeed exceed the Camry in MPG land, but I did grow a bush on the dash. I didnt have enough time to play with the display either as I am very interested in the different views.

If I were looking to buy another hybrid, where I didn't have any other cars to pay for, the choice between the Toyota and the Ford would be easy, FORD. Great job guys, it's a winner.

but I did grow a bush on the dash


haha. Jokes aside. Looks like I gotta take one out for a drive and see what the hoohaahaa is about.

[ljbad4life]

Originally Posted by acdii

Well, I got a chance to test drive one and all I can say is



WOW

Nice ride, comfortable seats, handles nice, the dash is SWEET, the NAV is Sweet, the price, too high right now, not budging of MSRP, :sadpuppy:

I didn't get to drive it long enough or far enough like my daily drive to determine if the Fusion can indeed exceed the Camry in MPG land, but I did grow a bush on the dash. I didnt have enough time to play with the display either as I am very interested in the different views.

If I were looking to buy another hybrid, where I didn't have any other cars to pay for, the choice between the Toyota and the Ford would be easy, FORD. Great job guys, it's a winner.

Good to hear that likes the FFH as much as I did. Ford did a great job, I think you might see more wiggle room once we actually get closer to 2010

[Bobsprius]

OK, so were gonna compare the Ford Hybrid to the Prius???

I myself test drove the Ford Fusion Hybrid before buying the 2010 Prius. I do concur the Dash is really great with the LCD technology, and I like the user configurability.

As for comfort the car was comfortable and a bit more sound deadening than the Prius.

You know what changed my mind in the end to NOT pick the Ford Fusion over the Prius? 4 Things

1) Fold Down rear seat
2) MPG rating
3) Hybrid experience in the real world market
4) Toyota's almost 12 years of Hybrid Synergy Technology compared to the Ford history

I think it will become better and give the competition a run for the money if they perfect it even more.