Last Friday while the update on my 2018 Chevrolet Impala company car was nice and fresh, I was taking a new Ford Fusion out for a drive. Since I had mentioned the Fusion in that article I figured something needed to be said about it also.
There’s a lot to say about this version of Fusion. Whether what I’m going to say is good or bad is something in which you can be the judge.
This is another company owned car, a unit assigned to the motor pool. With it turning over 2,500 miles on the odometer while operating it, everything is still new and shiny. It even still smells factory fresh on the inside.
Before getting in the car I had been warned about its lane departure warning system. While I haven’t researched specifics on its operation the explanation I was given was spot on. The sensors, which appear to be in the exterior rearview mirrors, detect the striping on the road and the car will provide resistance if changing lanes without using the turn signal. The turn signal will override the system.
That was good to know. It made itself obvious more than once and not just due to my testing its capabilities.
From a seat of the pants observation, it appears the lane departure warning system really isn’t activated below 35 miles per hour or so as revealed by the picture of the car on the instrument panel. The system also turns itself off at highway speed when going around sharper curves. I suspect it gauges tangential velocity as I was taking some curves at 55 mph in which the warning signs provided a advisory speed of 40 mph or so.
Incidentally, that advisory speed is not a speed limit. The methodology used to determine these advisory speeds is based off 1930s era tire and suspension technology and a tool called a ball-bank indicator is used. From having operated a ball-bank indicator, part of the process is measuring tangential velocity similar to how the Fusion appears to regulate the lane departure system.
I likely spent a wee bit too much time monitoring the lane departure feature but this was my maiden voyage with such a device. I noticed older, faded stripes on the highway didn’t always register and low volume roads without edge lines did not throw the system out of whack. Conversely, one location in which a driveway had had gravel wash onto the road, covering half the lane, threw the system a real curveball. Despite being in the middle of my lane (this was a rural two-lane road at this point), the system showed some uncertainty – I was a good distance from the centerline but drove on gravel on the right. The steering tensed up just as it would for drifting into the other lane.
This happened a second time in which the exit ramp had 12 inch to 18 inch dots in the lane, striping I have heard called chicken tracks. This is vastly different than the ten foot long skips of a passing zone or centerline of a divided highway, so it appears the system periodically has challenges distinguishing what is there.
On three occasions the steering tensed up while on a moderate curve at or below the posted speed limit and I was in the middle of the lane.
This feature may have been more inconspicuous had I not known of it, which I can envision being the case for most drivers. But the interference of a nanny got old in short order. Traffic was just heavy enough I didn’t care to experiment with what might happen in an evasive maneuver but the question was at the front of my mind.
For the first hour the Fusion was quite comfortable. The seat is remarkable squishy, in a good way, and you do feel like you are sitting in the seat instead of on it.
Yet after a while my arms started to get tired. A large part of that can be attributed to the seat being too low for my tastes thus making the steering wheel higher than I preferred. Being a base model there was no adjusting the seat height – or at least no way that was readily apparent.
A little while later my butt started to grow numb. Given the entire trip was a hair over 200 miles, my need to stop cropped up more frequently than what I am accustomed to experiencing. No doubt a higher trimmed model with seats that adjusted vertically would have reduced part of the seemingly premature fatigue.
Another fatiguing element is that damned console. Yes, I’ve growled about them before but I’ve also been complimentary of them. The intrusion of the console made me liken the experience to what it might be like wearing underwear that is too small. Yes, it functions. Yes, you still have movement. But your range of movement is hindered considerably and something will undoubtedly get rubbed the wrong way.
I’ve heard speculation modern consoles are so gargantuan because of their housing ventilation ducts and wiring. This makes me want to wave my flag. Here’s why…
First, this Fusion had no a/c ducts servicing the rear seat. Even if the fancier ones do, just how big is the duct to require such a console height? If there were a duct of that size beneath this console, it would be close to the size of the ones in my house that service a three ton unit. It would be much larger than the ducts in the dashboard and oversized for the capability of the air conditioning compressor.
Speaking of houses, that leads me to the second reason I’m wanting to wave the flag. Why? Wiring isn’t that large. When I ran a 220 volt wire from a new outlet and into my breaker box when relocating my clothes dryer, the wire was approximately the size of my thumb. Cars run a 12 volt system. Please convince me why the wire would need to be so profoundly larger.
Thirdly, I’m going to inject a parallel. There is abundant online bitching about the size of current pickups. Okay, fine, then I’m going to bitch about the asininity of consoles being the size of a baby hippopotamus. Unlike the pickups which have gained substantial capability in the last two decades, consoles haven’t.
Unless you consider cupholders.
One thing I won’t harpoon is the 2.5 liter four cylinder that powers this Fusion. Frankly I had some apprehension given my experiences with other 2.5 liter engines in a few Escapes I’ve driven as those act and sound terminally overwhelmed. That’s really not the case here. The 2.5 in the Fusion has an identical nasal sound but is comparatively muted likely due to better sound insulation. While this Fusion will never win any drag races, it repeatedly impressed me in how easily it would keep climbing to hyper-legal speeds. On the highway I found myself having to often back off the throttle.
This 2.5 isn’t as smooth as some of the Ecoboost fours I’ve driven in various Escapes nor is it as smooth as a number of other four cylinder engines I’ve driven. However, that’s okay and not a real surprise given its displacement. There is something oddly compelling about its relative simplicity given its lack of turbocharging and direct injection. This engine is meant to be a workhorse, not a racehorse. It does its job quite well and that is why it was purchased.
While listening to the 2.5 do its work, a weird thought occurred to me. The pecking order of engines in North American Fusions is completely inverted from the historic order of things. Once upon a time the largest displacement engine was an option and it made the most power. In the Fusion, the largest displacement four-cylinder engine is the least powerful (of the non-hybrid power plants) four-cylinder and the standard offering with the options all having smaller displacements.
Also, just for giggles, I researched the (nearly?) identical Ford Mondeo on the Ford UK website. The regular gasoline engine is the 1.5 liter Ecoboost although there is a 2.0 liter diesel on offer. I did not find anything about the 2.5 liter engine. Chalk this and steering wheel location up to differences in the intended markets.
Interior room for the driver was, apart from that console, much more generous than I had anticipated upon first entering the car. At first blush I had prepared myself to get claustrophobic but that didn’t happen. Perhaps my expectations were low and it took little to overcome them?
Sitting behind my 5’11” self, legroom was good but not generous. The only rub with obtaining this picture was banging my head on the roof as I entered the car. Lacking a low, head-banging roofline is one distinct advantage of most CUVs, SUVs, and crew cab pickups.
At the end of my trip I was remarkably tired. Was it a function of my staying up a bit later the night before to finish a novel or was the Fusion simply tiring to drive? What I can say is the trip I made was not an unusual one for me and it seemed remarkably longer than normal. I’m still trying to determine the cause.
For its intended purpose of being driven by umpteen people this Fusion was a solid choice. It isn’t fast, it isn’t exciting, and it will likely go 200,000 miles without any drama. It also reinforces the choice I made nearly two years ago when obtaining a new car at work. When offered a Fusion or an Impala, I chose the Impala.
Your mileage and experience may vary.
Are wires in cars that large? That’s not my impression. Typically they take up room because there are so many of them run together.
But I will say this, proper wire size takes into account current as well as voltage, so you may have a high-current 12V appliance needing a bigger wire than a lower-current 220V appliance. A dryer with a power consumption of 2,500 watts will draw 11 ampere at 220V while it will draw 208 ampere at 12V. That’s why in car the cable needed for that would be a 0ga which is a thick bastard.
This helps. Anytime I’ve dealt with electricity I have to think of it as water flowing through a pipe. In turn, that still leads me to wondering wire size as a given quantity of water will have more head loss in a larger pipe due to more of the surface being touched. Perhaps the amperage is the velocity of this given amount of water???
Electricity isn’t among my talents.
However, given the depths of the two storage compartments of the car, it indicates to me any bundle of wires still isn’t phenomenally large or it wouldn’t fit under the floor of the compartments.
Actually, for a given voltage or water pressure, the smaller wire will have more resistance, and the smaller pipe will have MORE resistance to water flow. Think of voltage (potential) like pressure, and amperage (current) like flow rate (gallons per minute). Thin wires and thin pipes reduce current and flow. In the case of electricity, that resistance not only causes voltage drop, which may make the device (lamp, motor, electronics) work poorly, but also heats up the wire which can cause insulation to melt or burn, with risk of fire and short circuit. Higher voltage, lower current, as Mads explains … a reason that modern cars really should use more 48V circuits, with better efficiency and opportunity for thinner/lighter and more flexible wiring, and smaller consoles.
“a reason that modern cars really should use more 48V circuits, with better efficiency and opportunity for thinner/lighter and more flexible wiring, and smaller consoles.”
Which was the reason manufacturers moved from 6v to 12v in the 1950s. Frankly, I have been amazed that it has taken so long for manufacturers to increase voltage again, particularly when cars have been awash in power equipment (and subject to CAFE mandates) for decades now. I would have thought that 24v systems would have been in vogue since the 80s, but no.
I don’t remember what company but 24v systems are coming in the immediate future for some car or other. I think it’s too much of a leap for a universal US switch from 6v to 12v in 1956. It will come up first with just hybrids or with complete model changes probably.
I was surprised to learn that some cars (Volvos?) didn’t go 12v for some years after 1956.
My ’66 Bug was a 6 volt. It was tough finding batteries and they mostly lasted a little over a year
Excellent review Jason. I enjoyed reading it.
I just checked the 2019 Fusion owner’s manual and it appears the manual seats do in fact have a height adjustment, but the lever is in a strange position and is oddly shaped, so I can understand why you missed it. The height adjustment in my Focus, which is also manual, also suffers from those maladies. Since I’m 5′ 6″ the height is set to its highest setting, so there’s no way I’d be comfortable without adjusting the height. This is probably why the Fusion tired you out so quickly.
Personally I’ve always found the Fusion to be a great car that has a truly fantastic ride and handling balance. Like the C-Max, these represent a great value on the used car market, and they might be the reason why I stick with the brand despite Ford’s Powershift transmission debacle.
I have no objections with the 2.5 Duratec and would own a Fusion equipped with the engine, although like you said, the EcoBoosts are more refined. The Escape S performed fine for me, but I haven’t driven the refreshed model, so it’s possible they tuned it differently or something.
I also have experience with Ford Lane Departure Warning system and found it to behave pretty much exactly like you describe, although I was able to push it a step further and get it to intervene. Basically, the system will first vibrate the steering wheel if it thinks you’re not paying attention, an experience that feels similar to the vibration of a video game controller. If it thinks you really aren’t going to adjust your position, it will nudge you back in the right direction. It behaves almost as if a passenger decided to reach over and lightly adjust the wheel, but it won’t fight you. If it detects push back it backs off. And of course it can be turned off if desired.
How did you like the Sync system? A lot of people dislike basic Sync for a myriad of reasons, but I’ve had it for six years now and have never had a problem with it.
I’d also be curious as to how the Fords have held up in your fleet.
The steering wheel did vibrate for me as a time or two I let the car wander in the lane with my hands off the wheel. The system would toss me back into the lane, so I could ping-pong back and forth. It also gave me a chime and a reminder on the dash telling me to keep my hands on the wheel.
Overall, the Fusion isn’t a bad car. Had I been able to find the seat adjustment that would have made things much better.
Sync? Never tried it. I stuck with regular broadcast radio.
Well, there’s the original SYNC (circa 2007), and then there’s SYNC with MyFordTouch (circa 2010), the improved SYNC with MFT (circa 2012), and there’s SYNC3 (circa 2016 to present).
Discounting the critics who hate all such technology, I’m of the opinion that those with disdain for Sync often have limited or no experience with the last two versions. SYNC3 in particular gets very good reviews, and supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Ford Sync was completely redone in 2016.
On my Subaru, the lane departure doesn’t vibrate but just resists a little. If you take your hands off the wheel it keeps in the lane but it isn’t smart enough to figure out where the center is and stay there. Also it reprimands you to put your hands on the wheel with a message in the instrument cluster and some kind of beeping.
I’m not even sure we still get the Mondeo here the last Ford showroom I looked at was full of CUVs but Mondeos used to be popular both with the Ford petrol engine and the 1997cc Peugeot twin cam diesel, there are plenty on the steets if not at the dealer, I quite like the earlier model to drive and ride in, mt BIL had several as company cars though his last few years with Ford had him in diesel Rangers as the tried to promote the new ute.
> When I ran a 220 volt wire from a new outlet and into my breaker box when relocating my clothes dryer, the wire was approximately the size of my thumb. Cars run a 12 volt system. Please convince me why the wire would need to be so profoundly larger.
It’s amperage, not voltage, that determines how thick a wire must be. Your clothes dryer is probably rated at 30 amps, which requires 10 gauge wiring. If it were rated at only 240V/15A (as many smaller, 24 inch/60cm wide dryers are), it could use thinner 14 gauge wiring – the same as in 120V/15A circuits despite allowing for double the wattage. All things being equal, lower voltage means thicker wires are needed to provide power of a given wattage. That’s one reason why automakers are moving from 12V to 42V systems – so they can use thinner wiring.
I now consider myself a member of the Anti-Console Brigade. Having experienced life in a console-less Honda Odyssey, I can say not only that consoles are overrated, but the lack of a console is actually a somewhat of an indulgence once you’ve experienced it.
The lane departure system seems like more of a hassle than it’s worth… probably a good idea but not fully matured. I’m curious whether turning off the lane departure system turns it off for good, or whether it turns on again every time you start up the car?
Finally, regarding advisory speed signs for curves, I’ve noticed that states seem to approach this differently. My experience is that Missouri’s advisory speeds are fairly accurate (at least on rural roads, where they’re most helpful). When I see a 45 mph curve on a two-lane Missouri road — and many rural routes in MO take random 90° bends, even in the middle of flat country — I slow down to 45-50 mph and am thankful for the sign. However, here in Virginia, those advisory signs are overly cautious… to the point of being useless.
The advisory speeds in Indiana are much like you describe those in Virginia. I have described them as applying only to ’58 Chevrolets with bad tires. Even my minivan can comfortably exceed those recommendations, and not by a little.
I had heard (I think in a comment here on CC long ago) that the purpose of the giant consoles is for safety. Namely, all the airbags can’t do their job if you’re not sitting in the proper position, so the console is there to basically force you to sit a certain way. However the lack of a console in your Odyssey would appear to refute that claim (although you didn’t mention how old it is so perhaps it predates those safety features). Also the fact that there’s no console for rear seat passengers, who also have airbags now, would argue against that idea.
I hadn’t heard that before, but it wouldn’t totally surprise me.
My Odyssey is a 2010 — I took the picture below from the rear seat. There’s no console, but there’s a flip-up tray. This set-up is wonderful… I can slide over and exit the car from the passenger side… I can walk into the rear seat area… I usually stow my jacket/hat/etc. in the space between the seats… and I’m not squished by a hippopotamus-sized console.
As far as I know, Odyssey’s retained this basic setup through 2017, though the 2018+ models have a console. I think the 2019 Toyota Sienna still has a walkthrough like this.
Another thing that would potentially conflict with the theory that seat safety is the reason for consoles is that big pickup trucks are still available with bench seats. I’m somewhat skeptical of that rationale, but like I said, I wouldn’t be shocked if it were true.
And it’s not like the passenger-side airbag expands to meet the center position on bench seat-equipped pickups either. There’s no federal requirement for it to do so, and neither the IIHS nor the NHTSA, as far as I know, has ever tested a car or truck with a dummy in the center seat.
Ford was the first to offer a front bench with a shoulder belt and headrest on the middle seat, and Ram does too, at least on the new 1500s. The Silverado/Sierra, Tundra, and Titan all have shoulder belts for their newest models, but no headrest.
2nd gen Siennas’ (2004-2010) console can be removed completely, installed between the front seats, or installed between the middle seats. I too like moving from the back to front w/o opening a door. It’s good for camping.
Only the Kia has a sedan type console that really splits the front seat area and would keep you from sliding over to the passenger side.
There’s also compartmentalization, which the basic idea is that if you get thrown around less in an accident, you’re less likely to get hurt. Hence the giant console that’ll help keep you in your seat.
Part of the reason the Odyssey may not have one, is that being a “light truck”, it doesn’t have to follow the same safety rules.
A real Man-Bites-Dog headline: Jason Shafer Drives A Ford – And Yawns.
I have not driven one of these and appreciate your first-hand report. There is nothing worse than an awkward driving position. That would seem like the most elemental thing a car manufacturer can handle. To muff that up, well there is a problem. And if it can be rectified by a seat height adjuster that not even a hard-core car nut as yourself can figure out, then strike two.
It is hard to know what to make of this car. I have loved the looks of these since the start. But if the riding/driving/ergonomic characteristics are merely so-so, Ford is never going to see great success with it.
It strikes me that the one thing a sedan ought to be able to do better than anything else is provide a comfortable, quiet, smooth ride in a cabin that fits like a good glove. Ford seems to have failed here, so no wonder the CUV is taking over the world.
Thanks for reinforcing my decision to buy another Toyota Camry this year.
Wow, they really uglied up the front end for 2019. These used to be good-looking cars.
I drove one of these earlier this year (actually the hybrid) and was more impressed that I thought I would be. The deal killer for me was the sunroof vs content situation – with a sunroof or panoramic roof there was not enough headroom for me (6-1 with a 32″ inseam and I hate the feel of my hair brushing the headliner). Then almost invariably on Fusions with a solid roof the car came equipped with the tiny screen that Ford somehow makes look like you decided not to spring for the larger one instead of designing the area so the small screen looks natural there. Just get rid of the screen entirely if that’s the solution but a $20k+ car shouldn’t have a screen smaller than that of my phone. Yes it’s stupid but it bothered me enough not to part with my money so that absolutely makes it Ford’s problem. Could one have been ordered to satisfy? Likely but not worth the bother or cost increase to me.
Driving-wise though it was quite nice and I find the car attractive physically. A shame that Ford can’t make enough money on them to justify continuing it much longer.
One of my current vehicles has lane-keep-assist. I like it enough to leave it on, it definitely tries to move the wheel slightly (and is successful if left to do as it wishes) but is easily overrideable and when viewed completely dispassionately DOES provide an advantage over a random driver that is often faced with myriad distractions. Does it do so without fail? No, as Jason points out road markings have a lot to do with its success but if one is generally attentive it doesn’t intrude negatively and may just save you if you drift over into the bike lane or across the center divider due to whatever random reason, no driver is perfect. ABS isn’t infallible either in certain conditions but all things considered I’d much rather have it than not have it, I’m starting to feel that way about this as well. Mind you, not as a replacement for an attentive and competent driver but as a supplement (for me at least). Driving with it for a while helps, a short drive or experience may just show it up as “different” and thus potentially negative.
“I hate the feel of my hair brushing the headliner”
There’s an app for that. 🙂
Did the car you tried with the hole in the roof have the manual seat height adjustment? As mentioned elsewhere it is not intuitive but it has a large range of adjustment. Our old C-Max had the manual height adjustment and the wife used it all the way up while I used it all the way down.
Yeah I was all the way down, I made sure of that. I’m not sporting Napoleon Dynamite hair either. Many of the newer cars bother me in that way for some reason, my Chrysler 300 with the Panoramic did as well. I thought it’d be fine but never got used to it in the end. Just leave the sunroofs off, I never use them anyway.
Regarding consoles, I was reminiscing the other day about the Buick Park Ave I had as a company car in the early 2000s with the bench seat, column shifter and stellar 3800. A great daily driver, smooth and comfy!
Can’t think of any remaining bench seated sedans as I finally approach the demo.
The last bench seat-equipped sedan was the W-body Impala. And the middle seat on that was about 8″ wide.
I now have a Le Sabre from 2004 with 45,000 miles now. Gorgeous car. My father’s last car. Have used it now and then mainly for trips of 80-100 miles one way. Also used it for a trip to Las Vegas over New Years. I really like that car for the purpose I assigned it to. It would never be my daily driver though which I will get to. Gotta find time, gotta buy some time, gotta get to the Hornet now.
Can the lane departure be turned off permanently? Unlike most drivers, I’m not mesmerized by my cell phone nor do I have a problem keeping my car between the lines. I think lane departure is a solution in search of a problem that wouldn’t exist if people would pay attention.
Now get off my lawn while I figure out this vacuum hose diagram!
Don’t know if the newest versions can be easily turned off but it can on the older (2015) models and you can adjust how it works, whether you just have it warn you, correct you or do both.
Though since this is a fleet vehcile it is possible that they paid the $40 to make it no switchable. I know that is an option for the DRLs, retail cars are switchable but fleets can order them to be on permanently. Someone changes a 1 to a 0 before configuring that module and the option to turn them off disappears in the display.
@ Scoutdude
Get an OBD to USB reader with Hi/Lo switch and ForScan to reconfigure it. You can also enable individual tire pressure readout, instead of just a warning of low tire pressure.
I just come across the information on how to reprogram a high voltage battery in a ’10-’12 generation Fusion Hybrid to avoid battery clock running to zero and have to purchase a new battery. Some people with ’10 Ford Fusion already done it. My Lincoln Hybrid is ’11, so I might have to do it soon, unless Ford programmed it differently.
Just say no to the switch, OBDLinkMX all the way for all my Ford reprogramming needs.
I’m not sure what you are talking about regarding the hybrid battery. Yes you can look at the age and reset it if you replace it, like the 12v battery, but the car won’t quit working because the battery counter has gone to zero.
I should add that I’ve reprogrammed one or more things on my MKZ, C-Max, E-150 and F-250 with ForScan. Unfortunately I can’t program the individual tire pressures on my 2015 MKZ.
I know on the newer Toyota Tacoma’s the whole Safety Sense system can be turned off, but turns on again each time the vehicle is started. There’s discussion on the Tacoma forum whether the dealer can set it to default off, but no clear answer.
Don’t you usually talk on the phone, shave, make breakfast and watch Maury while driving? I do all that with 4 or 5 of those blue earpieces all over my head because all my stock micro-trades have to be put in right now! Winning!
I purchased a new 2019 Fusion S from a nearby small town Ford dealer for under $19000. No trade. I drive 70 percent rural (although with many stop signs, not steady 55mph) and 30 percent urban, with some stop and go. In six months, the base 2.5 has never dipped below 31 miles per gallon. I reset the mpg at every fill up and most tankfuls average 33mpg. I admit to driving with one eye on the mpg display. If I can get 31-33mpg with the base, naturally aspirated engine, why would I want a more expensive, smaller, turbocharged engine?
I have found the lane keeping assist in my 2015 MKZ pretty surprising in how well it reads minimal markings. I usually keep it off but the other day I was driving on a road I use to get to work. It was recently given the “tar and feather” resurface treatment. However it was unusual, at least for this area in that they did a tar-feather-tar procedure. The temporary stick on rubber reflector flaps had be placed after the gravel and before the last tar application. Then they did the typical string line and spray paint to do ~6″ stripes every 10′ or so. It detected that with only a couple of spots that it turned itself off. Despite the fact there was no fog line it held its own against what was passing as a center line.
It is 40mph where it turns on and off. Interestingly I’ve not had mine get confused on brisk corners. Yeah I could live w/o and usually keep it off, but it is nice to have.
This discussion tickled my memories … about six years ago I was asked for directions in a poor cell-reception area by a Fusion driver. The car had manufacturer plates, so I asked him about it, and he told me he was a contract test driver for Ford testing some new safety features. I wonder if it was the lane departure etc technology.
I looked at the 2018 Fusion a year ago after my wife’s car was stolen. I specifically looked at the base version because all the other versions did not have the 2.5L Duratec. That engine has been around a long time and has proven itself very reliable which is #1 in my book. Smaller engines with turbos remind me of little hamsters with high heart rates. Suckers are quick but they don’t hang around long.
As for power I have spent many years, and still do, in a Mazda 2.2L engine with 95 hp so a 2.5L Duratec with 171 hp is not a slouch in my book. Nonetheless, in the end I didn’t buy the Ford but went with another manufacturer. Partly dealer related and partly car value for the dollar. I actually never drove the car I bought only looked over the car from the mechanical POV. My wife, being on a month long vacation, gave me the chance to drive the car on two 150 mile trips for the first time.
I’ll have to write a story on my driving impressions. Those impressions are clearly influenced by my current 15 year old daily driver which also influences my impressions with my father’s last car that is now mine. That is three impressions and the daily driver should be first as it set my standards which I didn’t expect when buying it. It was more of “let’s take a chance.”
“Smaller engines with turbos remind me of little hamsters with high heart rates. Suckers are quick but they don’t hang around long.”
You’re singing my song. I keep waiting to see a particular turbo model in junkyards with dirt cheap turbo engines that are never missing because nobody ever needs to replace one. I think it will be awhile yet.
The turbo 4 and the CVT powertrain of the Honda was why I chose the Camry over the Accord.
With the turbo’d fours nowadays, I wonder if so few of them being in the junkyard is actually due to three reasons: excellent durability, the high cost of buying those engines even at a wrecker, and also people buying either those wrecked cars to swap into another performance based car project. The only cars that I see at the junkyards around here, are base 4 and 6 cylinder cars, and the newest ones might be from the 2005-2008 ish range. There’s the odd time (by this, I mean a couple of times a year) I’ll see a turbo’d or supercharged car, but those parts are usually pilfered already.
Truthfully, I’ve never seen an Ecoboost engine’d car in the junkyard around here. In most cases, I’d say that the car is bought outright, even with a scrap title, and then the engine/ trans is sold from there. From that deduction, I might wager that since the engines are still very powerful and still quite valuable and saleable, that complete cars aren’t hitting the local pick-a-parts the way that they used to.
My last car without driver’s seat height adjustment also put the steering wheel too high and my butt too low. The solution was stacks of flat washers, Grade 8 bolts, the same as the manufacturer put there at the factory, and Loctite.
When I first sat in a Fusion, I thought the console looked like the deck of an aircraft carrier. My current no-console cars do feel spacious in comparison; the amount of instrument panel and center stack real estate taken up by controls and ever-larger display screens probably precludes going back to those “old days.”
I had a 1986 Ranger I bought new that had an excellent driving position. But after I got married, we thought about getting an SUV and test drove a 2nd gen 4Runner. I found the driving position uncomfortably low … and we ended up with a VW Vanagon which definitely didn’t have that problem. Fast forward 25 years and when I bought my 2016 Tacoma, it felt about the same as that 1990 4Runner. A stack of washers and longer bolts solved that problem. There’s actually a small cottage industry of vendors selling Toyota truck seat spacers. I think in the last year or two Toyota finally added (optional) height adjustment. Another little feature that our base model Golf has standard.
Dang, sitting on all those washers must hurt! 🤕
I had a loaded AWD Fusion as a rental in 2015. I took it from Toronto to Montreal and back.
My impression was the car was very stoutly built but the seat was too close to the floor. I also couldn’t tuck my right leg under the seat, a weird habit I have. No matter how much I played around I never got a good driving position.
The 2.0 litre Ecoboost made good power but the car was so heavy it really stunted the engine.
Between the clean-lined minimalist first generation and this third generation, Ford took some styling chances on the Fusion and it began and ended as a nicer looking car than most of its competitors. I don’t know what per unit margins were like (apparently not great if 200K units per year isn’t worth pursuing), but the car sold well for Ford.
I like this car, the ride and handling balance is very well done on these, responsive without harshness. They are also quiet and feel solid, with ritzy-for-2013 interior materials but not so competitive in 2019. A good VW alternative. I found the seats a bit unsupportive, but the drivetrains are the real weakness. Doesn’t matter which you get, they’re all objectively uncompetitive. The 2.0T is nice…until you try a 3.5 V6. The 2.5 NA is OK…until you drive similar from H/K, Toyota, Honda. 1.5T? Well, don’t drive a 1.4T VW Jetta beforehand. An engine/transmission combination fitting of this chassis didn’t come along until the 2.7T, and then that might have been going too far in the other direction.
Its not that the Fusion didn’t generate profits now, it is that Ford didn’t think it would generate enough profit 2021 on to make it worthwhile to design and tool up a new one.
Interesting that the new model is ok to drive 5th gear program took a British mondeo around a track and were disappointed, the new Mondeo is a rebdge of the US Fusion and the complained that all the dynamic abilities had been dialled out in the pusuit of comfort they showed the cornering lines of the earlier car against the new model and the newer one cornered using a lot more track of course most people dont have the abilities or the need to explore the absolute limits of their cars and are perfectly happy with their car.
There should be a way to adjust height, I know base Fiestas have manual height adjusters, you kind of pump it.