Ford Energi Thoughts?

I've had an Energi for nearly two years. I get about 25-29 miles depending on time of year; mostly local/rural driving. Out of town, highway trips I use gas. Current tank is 3,400 miles on 4.2 gallons purchased last winter back when it the local fuel prices bottomed out @ $1.86/gal. I still had 1/4 of tank at the time but went ahead and filled up. I use level II charging (a little over 2 hrs) but like the PIP you can easily get by with level I (5 hours from empty).

Car has been like a swiss watch so far. They got negative marks for a buggy windows based MFT/sync system. It received a major upgrade about two summers ago and mine has been OK since. Car is strong, quiet, and roomy. I don't quite get EPA on highway but can very easily surpass city EPA (50-60mpg) the few times I do use gas in town.

 

Not trying to start a fan-boy fight, but why Energi over Volt?

I like the C-Max and I LOVE the looks of the Fussion Energi, but I don't have any stick time with them.
I price shop them every now and again.

Again....just wondering.

 

i've read nothing but positive reviews from energy users. see member 'dadofhedgehog'.

 

Make sure the trunk space neet your needs first.

 

Yeah, one reason I gave up on my Camry hybrid was due to the lack of trunk utility as our other car at the time was a coupe.

Although I'd certainly prefer my CMax have a flat floor, the raised battery portion doesn't interfere much in daily life. It works fine as the family grocery hauler (rear seats still up) yet holds surprising large objects too (seats down obviously). Add a hitch/cargo carrier and it takes on truck type duties.






merged

I've owned both and the simple reason for me and my situation was passenger room. If that's not an issue, then the volt should absolutely be on the shopping list.

 

I'm considering a Fusion Energi only because of my "want" not necessity of more EV range.
The vehicle seems more luxurious, with a better quality touch. lacking on the PiP
Yes, no question;trunk space is smaller that the Prius hatchback , but in case of need I can alway fall back on my wife's 2011 White Prius.
I'n still looking for a gently used and very good priced Fusion Energi.

 

Will you be ok with the lower gas MPG?

 

Are you posing the same question to v shoppers not asking about a liftback? Or to liftback shoppers not asking about a PIP?

 

He has a PiP and going to Fusion Energi would be a downgrade in HV mode MPG. I was asking if he was ok with going from 50 to 38 MPG. EV efficiency also dropped to 88 MPGe. PiP is in the 130+ MPGe figure if driven only in the City cycle as per design. If Fusion Energi is driven in similar condition, I am sure it'll get higher than 88 MPGe but it is possible to drive faster on EV mode and zap the efficiency.

The obvious gains are better interior, ride and handling.

 

The plan to change over to a Fusion Energi is based in the fact that my "WANT" for bigger EV range.
I can really use an exclusive EV driving plus all the comfort it comes with it, in addition to have a remote start built in, the very handy feature of acclimatization of cabin in winter and summer while connected to the grid, faster charging at Level II, etc...Trunk space is not a detriment for me and the not so great city MPG will not bother me at all, the application for this FE is purely EV driving.
The monthly payment for a bank loan I will take, will be lesser than my current PiP loan, hence another saving. Plus I'm recharging with free electricity since...... a long time
My wife is still keeping her 2011 Hatchback and it will be used when the need arise .

 

Ok, just want to make sure "want" is not taking precedents over "need".

 

Folks, this is DadofHedgehog, and my adult son's Ford Fusion Energi now has about 30 months' and 38k miles' use under his and occasionally my driving, including two looong cross-country family trips and a cross-region self-move (Wash DC area to Louisville KY).

The Fusion Energi is a wonderful car. Had it existed in its current model back in early 2012, I would have likely chosen it over the Prius Plug-In Advanced - my 3d Prius. Solid build, very good design and literally zero problems. Plen-tee of power, pure electric up to 85 MPH. Good EV range, as reported in earlier thread comments by others. Note: we have the Titanium trim version.

Trunk space: well, my son the Hedgehog has acquired one, then another Boxer puppy. The young dogs travel everywhere with him and his friends. He folds and unfolds the fold-down rear seats all the time to compensate for the small trunk. It is a choice. Once you get used to the flexibility, it works well.

When he moved from Northern Virginia to Louisville, Kentucky, he and his bud packed all the stuff that would not fit over the plasma large-format flat TV (on the folded rear seats) and in the trunk into a Thule XXL Roof Box (that thing was BIIIIG). Between the now rarely used Thule roof box, the rear seats and the trunk, he has yet to ever run out of space while using the car fro pretty much everything you can think of.

BLUF: the Fusion is a wonderful, well-designed, well-made, powerful, easy-to-live-with car.

Hope this helps.

One caveat: we found that the front passenger seat is a bit too low on its rear mounting points. I cut two pieces of aluminum billet on my table saw to size, drilled & inserted a steel roll pin into each, and raised the rear of the front passenger seat safely. This is described in the Ford Fusion Energi equivalent to PriusChat. The OEM front passenger seat tilt position is an annoyance and not a show-stopper - unless you travel cross-country with passengers.

 

I experienced the same issue and ended up doing a similar fix for the front passenger seat.
No regrets with the car switch, the 2012 PiP is still awaiting for the right purchaser.

 

Quick update on my CMax Energi: approaching 4,400 miles on this tank of gas but getting low. I'll probably wait till gas dips below $2/gal here ($2.04 now). For unknown reasons, the online software MyFordMobile doesn't register/log trips below approx. 1.5 miles in length so MFM only has me tallied at 4,025 miles. A lot of these short neighbor trips are to the kids schools or local stores. My previous hybrids spent most of these trips in warmup mode so I could never match the great mpg's many get.

I carry three teenagers to school each equipped with large backpack, gear bag, and sometimes a band instrument. Glad to have the extra cabin room, powered liftgate, and easy in/out access. Smartphone app to pre-condition car well beyond FOB range is very handy during our long summers.

 

and this one is a such a great feature.....I love it and use it twice a day

 

Hi everyone, Just thought I'd check in here and saw this thread. 1 year of ownership in the Fusion energi and 28k miles later I have a lifetime mpg around 70 MPG. 70.2 at this time. I often have days of 100+ mile driving consisting of 40+ miles where I can't stop to charge. My best tank has been 1800 miles, and worst has been about 500. I can easily average 40 MPG on gas only.

I've used the remote start a few times when I go to pick my car up from the charger and the sun has been beating on it for a couple of hours. Very nice to sit into a cool car after walking about 3/4 mile in the heat.

Trunk, yes it's small....

For me having the additional passenger seat was more important than the trunk/hatch space. CMax would have had a better hatch, but I liked the styling and the vented seats more. Would have loved to have the additional battery range of the volt, but the 4 person config was not going to work for me.

 

is this the fusion?