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Sedans Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan New Owner Reports
189 messages, Last post on Dec 04, 2009 at 6:57 PM
You are in the Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Replying to: akirby (Sep 06, 2007 7:06 am) You mean it's not true?! 
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Replying to: bizarroronj (Sep 06, 2007 12:23 pm) 
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Now will be available on SEL and V6 and will include 18 inch wheel. Still only in 4 colors. ORDER MINE NOW. Mark. |
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I took delivery of a Black on Black, cloth seats 2007 Milan with auto trans on August 8, 2007. In the under two months that I have owned this vehicle I have both positive and negative attributes to report. As a benchmark I am using a 2007 Honda Accord SE which a relative owns. I am not certain it is fair to compare the vehicles, however they are in a similar class, even though the Accord costs $1,000 to $2,000 more, depending on the deal you get. I was in the market myself for an 07 Accord SE and would have purchased one, even though the car costs more, but I could not find a dealer that would give me zero percent financing over three years as I got with the Mercury. More Importantly I wanted to buy American, more on that later. The Milan's engine, the 4 cylinder, 160 hp, 2.3 liter Duratec version is underpowered. I should have gone with a six but wanted to save on the high cost of fuel. I am reading that the six has comparable mileage and much more power to boot so the decision to go with the four might have been a mistake, however it was more economical from an initial purchase point of view. Don't get me wrong, the engine is a proven design and is used in the Mazda as well, and is ok, but is noisy when pushed hard. The Accord has a 2.4 liter VTEC (both engines are 16 valve) with 166 hp and is quieter, smoother, and has more low end power. Once over 35-40 mph with the Mercury there is plenty of power and smooth sailing at a comfortable 80 mph. Ford should be able to make a 4 banger that is as smooth and refined as the Accord and does not have the low end power issues and noise as exhibited in the Milan. I have somewhat of a lead foot and with the AC on I am experiencing terrible mileage. The vehicle came with a full tank of gas, but since then I have filled up three times at a cost of $117 ($3.00-$3.50 per gallon in the NYC area) There are approximately 875 miles on the odometer. Mileage is improving as mileage increases and hopefully as things get cooler in NYC, no AC will be needed and mileage will improve further. The vehicle I took delivery of was the last one of its kind that the dealer had and black is a nice color, however it shows every speck of dirt/dust. Gray/Charcoal is better at disguising dust. Unfortunately there are some minor scratches on the vehicle already, due to careless, lackluster parking lot attendants, who suggest that the vehicle was not scratched by them and get angry at you for implying that the scratches were caused by them. I guess the scratches can be buffed out. What can you do, I guess. The LED tail lamps are cool. However, the segments of the tail lights that are on the trunk lid that meet up with the segments that are part of the body of the car do not line up properly and are off by 1/5 of an inch. Fit and Finish issue there. The overall design is very nice and striking. Rear view vision is hampered by a high aerodynamic tail end and the rear stop lamp that would have been better incorporated into the trunk lid as in the Accord. Leg room in front is great, a few more inches over the Accord. The Accord is wider and it would be prudent for Ford to widen the vehicle by four inches or so in future iterations to improve on hip room and have wider bucket seats as well. No fog lamps in the base model, but can be added. Dash design is elegant,and has a digital information center, however outdated nineties era styling is apparent with and the headlamp switch is mounted to low. The factory CD radio sounds great however the only rear speakers are in the doors and there are three empty spaces below the rear deck for speakers that would be part of the premium audio which is found in higher trim levels. On occasion there is some static that crops up through the speakers. The included mats are of low quality and I could see that they will not protect the carpet below as time passes, so I suggest replacing them with a weathertech branded set. Weathertech mats are expensive, but they will protect your vehicle and keep the underlying carpet in good shape for years to come and this will help you when it comes time to sell/trade in the vehicle. The dealer tried to sell me on a security system for $500.00, or $600.00 with a remote start feature. I asked for a better price, but they would not budge. I went after market. I see though that the system was already installed and then removed due to excess black electrical tape that is wrapped around wires in the trunk, under dash and behind the grill area. The vehicle handles very well at all speeds and the anti-lock brakes really work. I found that out due to a couple of near take-outs of reckless bicyclists. Potholes and poor roads in NYC cause this vehicle to shake and thump all over. Highway travel is smooth sailing as long as the road is smooth. I am currently looking for ways to better improve the performance of the vehicle. Perhaps with a different exhaust system. The car has twin tailpipes, but they are plain dark metal, bland looking, and not chrome tipped as in the six cylinder models. Now as far as the Mercury being an American car and the Honda being a foreign/Japanese vehicle; Only six percent of the Honda dollars land up going back to Japan. The Honda is made in Marysville, Ohio, by American workers, unfortunately non-union but still American. Fifty-nine percent of the Accord parts are made in the U.S.A. Kudos to Honda. The Milan although considered an American/Domestic vehicle as is the Ford Fusion sister car, is made in Hermosillo, Mexico, by Mexican workers with parts also made there. And those vehicles also have to be shipped from Mexico into the U.S. We all know about the troubles Ford has and the Mercury division is rumored to shutter within the next few years due to poor sales, just as GM discontinued the Oldsmobile brand. It seems that Ford is supporting the Mexican economy rather than the U.S. economy in which it markets and sells vehicles too. Despite cheap labor and vehicles that cost less to produce vs the Japanese brands, Ford is still deep in the red, in part due to pension and health care costs for their current and prior employees. I will report back on the Milan periodically. Would I buy a Milan again? Yes, but only a six cylinder and if they widen the vehicle and modernize the dash to bring it up to the year 2000+. That and start producing more vehicles on American soil.
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Replying to: batbear (Sep 26, 2007 9:29 am) Batbear, I read your report on your Milan with great interest. We purchased a loaded ($27,105 MSRP) 2007 3.0-liter V6 AWD SEL Fusion on Dec. 4, 2006 and now have 4,700 miles on it after nearly 10 months. We get horrific in-city gas mileage, a constant 14.8 but it does deliver 24-26 mpg on highway travel. I wish we had ordered an I4 instead of taking the V6 model that was on the lot. For about the first 1,500 miles the car was stuck at 13 mpg. The 14.8 we are getting now is an improvement. The revised EPA estimate for this power train is 17 mpg city and 24 mpg highway. The fit and finish on our Fusion is perfect and we have zero complaints about the car except for the crummy mileage. I could put up with a little engine noise for 20 mpg in-city mileage. Some people deride the Duratec 3.0 as an "old" engine, one that does not deliver much in the way of performance. It is totally adequate for us and is quite peppy in my book. I think the AWD feature is the fly in the ointment when it comes to mileage. We don't really need AWD in our climate. Again, the car came equipped this way. It's not a feature I would order nor one I would recommend, except to someone who lived in the snow belt and who didn't care about mileage. People on the four forums that I visit generally report decent mileage for the V6 without AWD. The reason that we wanted a V6 was because of a bad experience with a four cylinder Mustang in the 1980s. It was a nice enough car but terribly underpowered. I should have known that today's I4s are much better. The difference is horsepower is not all that great, 160 versus 221.
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My partner mainly drives our 2006 Fusion SE. We purchased in Aug of 06 and now have 15k. Things I like: Problem free. Seating Comfort. Roominess. quality of fit-n-finish for the price. Camel seats stayed clean, Surprise!. Design is striking to me from just about every angle. Standard Equipment was impressive for price. t disc CD has good sound but the bass can rattle the door panels even after the TSB was done. Controls are easy to operate. Love the audio controls on the wheel. Things I don't like: Auto trans could be smoother. I really hate autos so I might be overly critical. I do feel that the 6F in the EDGE/Taurus shifts much smoother. I dislike the noise of the engine under acceleration. Car is quiet at speed and road/tire noise is very subduded. Noise is no greater than the Nissan Altima which I also sell at my dealership. Main complaint is that the stock tires on the SE are very easy to push and make squeal. The car corners flat and you are squeling the tires before you feel any body roll. Mark
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Replying to: mschmal (Sep 26, 2007 6:27 pm) You didn't mention if your 2006 SE Fusion was an I4 2.3 or a V6 3.0. The reference to the transmission leads me to believe it might be the five-speed automatic, meaning the car has the four-banger engine. We have a 2007 AWD SEL with the 3.0-liter V6 and a six-speed automatic, which is very smooth-shifting. |
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I purchased a black I4 5 speed manual about three weeks ago. I have been getting 25 MPG city driving since I purchased the car. In addition, last weekend we went out of town to a football game. The MPG for the trip was 32 (95% highway). So far I have been very pleased. |
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For 2008 manual trans Milans will not be available as "stock" orders. If you want the manual trans, you will have to order one from the factory. Mark. |
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urnews; thanks, I am glad you enjoyed reading my review as I have enjoyed reading yours. Let me clarify that I am not complaining about the Milan's fit and finish;everything is ok except for the tail light issue which you have to concentrate on to notice. When I push down on the trunk lid a bit the lights line up properly, however momentarily. I believe that the pistons/mini-shocks that hold the trunk open are overcharged and that contributes to the upwards pressure on the trunk lid that causes the alignment issue as well as requiring a firm downwards motion to close the trunk on the first try. Is any one else experiencing this? I Forgot to add a few things. The Accord has a locking fuel door (locks from the inside) as well as the ability to lock the trunk from the inside in addition to a locking glove box and rear fold down seats that lock. The sections of the Milan's rear bench seat fold down nicely, however do not lock and the trunk opens with just a push of a button on the dash, none of the above are locking on the Milan, and the fuel filler door just pulls open. No auxiliary locks means no need for a valet key. There are Job 1 and Job 2 revisions on the Fusion/Milan, correct me if I am wrong mschmal, and Job 2 has the 6 speed Japanese made Aisin-Warner Transmission, over the 5 speed in Job 1. Job 2 revisions add a MP3 jack to the stereo enabling the "line-in" function to play music from an IPOD or other MP3 player for example. Job 2 (manufactured after Jan 2007) adds beefed up interior components and improves crash protection as well. See the following Consumer Reports crash test link and select both years to hear information and to see the crash tests. http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/safety-recalls/carcrashtest/crashtestvid- eo.htm Are you guys getting the mileage from the info display on the dash or calculating the mileage on your own? I read in these forums to reset the MPG counter at each fill up.
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