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Sedans Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan
5511 messages, Last post on Nov 11, 2009 at 9:26 AM
You are in the Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Replying to: tim156 (Apr 30, 2009 6:14 pm) OK, I went yesterday to a Ford dealership to visit the Fusion & Milan in person. I must say it looks much better in person than on pictures. Especially the 3D gauges, which except for the fonts which I don’t like (a matter of taste), I think it’s really nice and upscale. Good job, Ford! The steering wheel is also not AS big as it seems from the pictures, even though it’s still a bit bigger than I would prefer. Its design needs a refresh, though. The button-happy center stack is nice and feels of higher quality, but some buttons are placed too low and are being blocked by the gear selector. I must repeat, there are too many buttons. Even for the basic low-end cars, the temperature controls are too awkward and needlessly complicated to control. In the higher-end, there is even more buttons. The 4-way directional pad for track/seek scanning is also difficult to use, especially while driving. (See Edmunds review, they also mention the many buttons is not good). Also, the center stack needs to be more angled towards the driver. The 2010 Ford Taurus is much better in this area. The seats feels comfortable, and the leather seating feels of high quality, with nice stitching. Here are some minor improvements I would love to see in next release: - Less button clutter on center stack. I visited the 2010 Toyota Camry prior to the Fusion, and it’s much cleaner. Also the Fusion buttons are too small. They got to be bigger (Cannot understand why you claim it's a design nightmare. Just look at the reviews of the Highlander -- or see it in person) - Glove box is smaller than the Camry’s and most other Japanese mid-sized sedans. Also the competitors have illumination in glove box, Ford does not. - Illuminated ignition key ring is handy and found in all import sedans. - Interior door handles should be bigger. (I love giant ones, like the Chrysler 300). I would also like them illuminated, like on the Chevy Malibu. - Sun visor has no extender or secondary visor. And has very small visor mirror, which is not too useful. - Signal stalk is placed at a too high position, and controlling it is not as slick and precise as the Toyotas or Hondas. And the signal sound is kind of weird. Gotta get used to it. - I did not find a light in the trunk. It was probably only on my test car – I can’t believe there isn’t a light in the trunk. - Controls for the message canter has to be on the center stack, not on the left at the headlamps controls. - I read in many reviews (also here on Edmunds) that Ford changed the steering (to electric assist) from the previous (hydraulic steering) Fusion, for the worse. It does not have that crisp feel, but it’s numb and light. Except for the Sport model, which remains with the older system. Wrong way to go, Ford. While I understand that the industry is moving towards this direction which is better for the environment and helps fuel economy, (and I also believe that most people will not notice it much), I still think it should not come at the expense of loosing the excellent steering. At least offer a “handling package” which gives you the option of the better steering and better handling. As per Consumer Reports, the current Ford Focus also lost the crisp steering from it’s predecessor. Please, Ford. It’s critical for you to design everything top notch. (The Toyota Corolla got extremely bad reviews since the '09 redesign when they changed to electric steering, although their steering is worse than Ford's). But I admit, that the overall Fusion/Milan package is beautiful and it is very competitive with todays best. |
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Replying to: tim156 (Apr 30, 2009 6:14 pm) Where does this odd theory come from? I can not see how the diameter of the wheel as anything to do with either of those issues.
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Replying to: jeffyscott (May 01, 2009 10:20 am) |
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Replying to: jeffyscott (May 01, 2009 10:20 am)
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Replying to: akirby (May 01, 2009 1:54 pm)
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Replying to: jeffyscott (May 01, 2009 6:11 pm)
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Replying to: thegraduate (May 01, 2009 6:19 pm)  You could also say that "all else being equal" the larger wheel would require less effort. But can not really assume all else will be equal. Some companies tend to have more boost in the PS than others. The reality is that no one puts in power steering that requires much effort these days. Although our VW gets pretty heavy at higher speeds,now that I am used to the light steering on my Mazda6 (I had a Contour before the 6 and that had a heavier steering feel to it). |
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Yeah! an American company is back in #2 spot! Much of this reason is because of the Fusion sales along with the Focus sales is what the article said. Granted overall sales are still down compared to last year. Fusion/Milan are getting noticed. The article also said some of these sales increases could be from those who don't want to buy from GM/Chrysler because of the bankruptcy issue. Fusion/Milan Hybrid along with getting good 4cyl MPG numbers is putting Ford on the radar again. I remember reading posts in this same forum saying Ford will never survive, never best a Toyota, never do anything right. Lets give credit where credit is due now folks. 
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Replying to: cannon3 (May 02, 2009 8:00 am) I must have missed those. 
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Replying to: thegraduate (May 02, 2009 8:59 pm) Does this jog your memory, grad? |
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