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2013 Fusion Hybrid

111 messages,  Last post on May 07, 2013 at 11:47 AM

You are in the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan Hybrid Forum.

What is this discussion about? Ford Fusion, Hybrid Cars, Sedan

Messages Page 10 of 12

#84 of 111 Re: Fusion Hybrid delays? [bbooze] by acdii

Mar 07, 2013 (12:21 pm)

Replying to: bbooze (Mar 07, 2013 11:57 am)
Not the first time. They had held back something like 20,000 cars between October and December for quality issues. They shipped a bunch to other locations for further quality issues. Which would you rather have, a car delivered with defects, or one that Ford went over 100% before delivering?
 
Me I wish they had done more QC checking on mine, since it cant get anywhere near the EPA ratings, nor what my 2010 can get without a LOT of hypermiling.

#85 of 111 Gas mileage by socalfusion

Mar 15, 2013 (7:51 pm)

Achieved a personal best today of 44.5 mpg (195.8 miles, 4.404 gallons). These were commuting miles with about 60% freeway. Total miles on the car is now 3,600. So far I've gotten 40+ mpg on five tanks. Worst was 36.6. This is certainly the best Ford I've ever owned, if not the best car overall.

#86 of 111 2013 Fusion Hybrid vs 2013 Lexus 300 h by husky6

Mar 22, 2013 (10:18 am)

I am deciding between the 2013 Fusion Hybid Titanium and the 2013 Lexus 300 Hybrid. I drove them both for an hour+ each this week, and I personally like the suspension and style of car of the Fusion over the Lexus. However, I am very concerned about MPG, interior color, quality, and trade-in value.
 
Regarding MPG, my test driving was roughly 50% highway and 50% city. The Fusion trip mileage was 23 miles per gallon, whereas the Lexus was 35 miles per gallon. Both were brand new cars from the dealer. I am concerned from what I'm seeing in this Forum that the Fusion rated 47 MPG is incorrect, and may actually be worse than the Lexus, which is rated at 40/39 MPG.
 
Regarding interior color, the Fusion Hybrid Titanium is only available in charcoal (black). I assume this material would be very hot when parked outside during the summer. Can anyone in a warm climate confirm this?
 
Regarding quality, Lexus/Toyota is known for quality, and has the most experience producing Hybrids, whereas Ford is not. The interior of the Fusion appears to be generally made of cheaper materials than the Lexus, such as leather trim seats, but I guess that's what you expect from a less expensive car. I wonder if it will wear faster?
 
Trade-in value is directly related to quality. I would expect the Lexus to retain its value longer.
 
Having said all this, I prefer the design, suspension, and style of the Fusion over the Lexus. I would probably buy the Fusion over the Lexus if I was confident that the gas mileage would be 40+ MPG, and/or simply higher than the Lexus, with my driving style.
 
Comments??

#87 of 111 Re: 2013 Fusion Hybrid vs 2013 Lexus 300 h [husky6] by acdii

Mar 22, 2013 (10:34 am)

Replying to: husky6 (Mar 22, 2013 10:18 am)
Where did you find a Fusion Hybrid Titanium? Are you 100% certain it was a Hybrid? Reason I ask is they just started producing them and no dealers that I can find have one on the lot that has not already been snapped up. If you only got 23 MPG I suspect it was not a Hybrid. A lot depends on driving temp and traffic on the Fusions, they are really sensitive to cold where the HSD is not. However when you can get the Fusion to work right, the MPG is outstanding. There are many owners starting to see mid to upper 40's now with warmer weather.
 
The quality of the Fords has been much better than Toyota with the Fusions if you compare to a Camry, to a Lexus though, you need to compare apples, the Lincoln MKZ is the closer comparison to the Lexus.
 
The new Fusion is a really nice car, but has some growing pains to over come with the new generation Hybrid drive, the Lexus is still old school HSD so it will be dependable and will return its EPA numbers more than the Fords will, for now. Ford eventually will get its collective head out of their asses and get the software working right so the cars do return their rated MPG.
 
If you can afford a Lexus, I would suggest checking out the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, they are some really nice looking cars and share the Fusions chassis, so they should drive the same.

#88 of 111 Re: 2013 Fusion Hybrid vs 2013 Lexus 300 h [husky6] by lucien4

Mar 22, 2013 (11:41 am)

Replying to: husky6 (Mar 22, 2013 10:18 am)
I'd suggest take another test drive with Fusion and check mpg including instant mpg. That's what I did (I definitely got lot more than 40+ mpg).
Note though for short trips you can't really compare well unless you know battery charge level was same.
 
Looking at fuelly.com there isn't huge difference between Fusion hybrid and ES300h averages and CR found these numbers:
 
ES300h: 28/44/36 mpg
Fusion hybrid: 35/41/39 mpg
 
So the Lexus will do better than Fusion on highway and worse in city (no surprise since it's larger and heavier I believe). But still ymmv of course.
 
Even if Lexus was slightly more fuel efficient the price difference is huge. Lexus ES 300h typically starts around $45K and that's not fully loaded.
And depreciation might be less in % but still more in absolute numbers.
 
I haven't seen any Titanium hybrid models either yet. I skipped the Titanium since it wasn't available in dune interior and I'm fine with the 17" wheels which should give little bit better mpg.

#89 of 111 Re: 2013 Fusion Hybrid vs 2013 Lexus 300 h [lucien4] by b25nut

Mar 22, 2013 (4:22 pm)

Replying to: lucien4 (Mar 22, 2013 11:41 am)
I agree with everything Lucien4 has said. I passed a brand new ES300 on my way home last night and, although I know I'm prejudice, it is a very bland vehicle. You would give up the push button start and Sony stero by not selecting the Titanium trim, but the SE will give you the Dune interior (which I wouldn't live without) and much better looking Luxury wheels. So far, the reliability of the FFH has been excellent. You won't regret choosing the Ford. The money you save is an extra bonus.

#90 of 111 Re: 2013 Fusion Hybrid vs 2013 Lexus 300 h [husky6] by b25nut

Mar 22, 2013 (4:48 pm)

Replying to: husky6 (Mar 22, 2013 10:18 am)
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130322/CARREVIEWS/130329976
 
This review of the 300H from Autoweek might help. There is no doubt it is an excellent car, but it's 45K and they report MPG closer to 30.

#91 of 111 Re: 2013 Fusion Hybrid vs 2013 Lexus 300 h [husky6] by moose95

Mar 23, 2013 (10:49 am)

Replying to: husky6 (Mar 22, 2013 10:18 am)
I second the comments from acdii - I am pretty sure you were not driving a Titanium Hybrid. I have yet to find any on a dealer lot, and I just finished several weeks of research, finally purchasing a Hybrid SE one week ago. Dealers have ordered them, but actual sightings are extremely rare. Not one of the 6 dealers I checked with could tell me when one would come in. Did the car you drove have the "EV" gauge on the left and the "leaves" on the right side of the speedometer? 23 MPG in the hybrid would indicate a fundamental problem with the car, or you were flooring the pedal at every opportunity. So far in the first 500 miles of commuting in the last 8 days, I have averaged over 42 MPG, and temps have been in the upper 20's to low 30's on my morning commute, and 40's - low 50's on the way home. I expect this to get better as the car breaks in and temps rise - the one 35 mile trip I took with temps near 60 averaged 49.2 MPG. I am thrilled with the car so far - the quality on mine is excellent, and with the 505a luxury package, My Ford Touch, sunroof, and a few other options I have everything I would want in the Titanium, but with the "dune" interior instead of black.

#92 of 111 Fuel Milage - driving technique by samadams1

Mar 30, 2013 (6:49 am)

I am very happy with my 2013 Fusion Hybrid SE. This is not my first hybrid and I think the reason this car is getting mixed comments about MPG is that it is SOOOO sensitive to how you drive it. Trying to get the MPG up by driving it more and more gently will not work. Around the city, if I am in a position where I can accelerate from a stop mostly with EV I get upper 40's. This doesn't happen often because there has to be nobody behind me. If I accelerate fairly rapidly to speed then back off and let the EV take over I get about 40MPG. This is typical. If I accelerate to speed slowly on the gas engine so the gas engine is almost always on I get low 30's. This is a big difference. I suspect that people who are not getting very good gas mileage is because they are trying to accelerate slowly keeping the gas engine on. As an example, to get out of my sub division I have to drive 1 mi with 5 turns. If I try to accelerate slowly the gas engine will never go off because I am not up to speed before the next turn. Look at your instaneous MPG while accelerating. MPG will be very bad. If I get up to 30MPH in the length of 2 or 3 houses then let the EV take over I am on EV most of the time and MPG is very good. There are 2 schools of thought on this. My wife drives it without paying attention to anything. This is OK it is what she wants and is happy. I view the advantages of slightly altering my driving for more MPG as using an available "tool" that is not available in non-hybrids.

#93 of 111 Re: Fuel Milage - driving technique [samadams1] by lucien4

Mar 30, 2013 (7:55 am)

Replying to: samadams1 (Mar 30, 2013 6:49 am)
See this excellent review from Car & Driver Csaba Csere:
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SikJ3lC-lY
 
At 20:55 notice this graph which matches C&R 60 mph mpg:
 
40 mph: 56.9 mpg
50 mph: 41.2 mpg? 49?
60 mph: 41.2 mpg
70 mph: 36.3 mpg
80 mph: 30.1 mpg
 
I assume the number at 50 mph is a typo and should be 49 mpg but otherwise matches what I got with my test drive.
 
Fusion hybrid is further away from EPA at highway speeds than other hybrids and one comment I've seen is that at highway speeds the Fusion keeps going in and out of EV charge mode. That hurts highway mpg. So that's something Ford might be able to fix with software update.
 
Still as in the video mentioned it's still good mpg just not EPA ratings.
I have Fusion SE hybrid on order and hope to get it in 1-2 months. Still could opt not to buy it but so far seems best for my needs.

Messages Page 10 of 12

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