Overall Impressions
Even with its minor foibles, after having 5 days to get to know it I left southern California loving this car. The 2010 Fusion Hybrid has great looks, is fun to drive, sports a bunch of features that add value in unexpected ways, is comfortable and, above all else, proves that Ford cares about what it’s selling again.
Certainly at a base price of $23,150 you can buy a bare bones 2010 Prius with virtually no options for much less, but Ford has made the calculation that they aren’t willing to sell the Fusion Hybrid as a bare bones model. If you really want to start comparing apples to apples, the Fusion Hybrid and the Toyota Prius are very competitively priced with one another when equipped similarly.
The Prius does score higher EPA fuel economy numbers, but it has less versatility and ability to drive it like you want to. Based on my experience, you can get much higher fuel economy in the Fusion Hybrid than the EPA suggests. Plus the Ford SmartGauge beats the Prius’ interface’s pants off—there is no comparison in that department. Toyota has a lot to learn about human-machine interface, and now that they actually have some competition in the hybrid realm I hope it spurs them to figure it out.
And, let’s face it, the Fusion is a much better looking car.
When I was leaving the concert grounds after the first night of Festival 8, I was in a dense crowd of fellow Phish fans and I found myself eavesdropping on a conversation behind me. It was a rather fitting and prophetic conversation because in it, a man was half-joking with a woman about how he lost all his money in the stock market. The woman replied that she was doing okay because the market was coming back, and then she said this: “I’ve invested my money in Ford because they’re the only American company worth anything anymore.”
If that’s the conventional wisdom at a rock concert from a random conversation overheard in a gigantic crowd, then Ford is set for a major comeback. Certainly the recent news that Ford posted an unexpected nearly $1 billion profit and that their sales are up dramatically is pointing in that direction.
And if they keep pumping out cars like the Fusion Hybrid, the sky’s the limit.
Related Posts:
- Driving to Phish Festival 8 in a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid
- Phish Reduces Water Bottle Consumption at Festival 8 With Innovative Program
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Sweet article, thanks.
Sweet article, thanks.
Cool car, one of my financial institutes is a partial sponsor of the Seattle Auto Show, you can actually enter to win a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid…
Cool car, one of my financial institutes is a partial sponsor of the Seattle Auto Show, you can actually enter to win a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid…
Honda Civic hybrid has been around for a long time and it is a beautiful looking car. What does the fusion have that the Civic does not?
Honda Civic hybrid has been around for a long time and it is a beautiful looking car. What does the fusion have that the Civic does not?
Russ,
The Fusion offers more interior room, the SmartGauge, as well as the ability to drive in all-EV mode at speeds below 47 mph.
After experiencing the usefulness of the SmartGauge, I can tell you that it is a feature in and of itself that makes owning the Fusion Hybrid over the Civic Hybrid worth it.
I also refused to own an American made car in the past because of quality but would very much like to today. (great article by the way)
I would love to buy a Fusion but it is out of my price range. I’m hoping that Ford will join other car companies in making a smaller hybrid in the near future. My current Toyota Rav4 is almost 10 years old. I’d like to replace it soon but I’m not worried. I drove my ’86 Toyota pickup for 14 years before I replaced it.
I’m hoping for a Yaris or Fit sized Hybrid both for size and price range. Most of my driving now is my commute to work with the occasional need to fit the family of 4 in for something.
I also refused to own an American made car in the past because of quality but would very much like to today. (great article by the way)
I would love to buy a Fusion but it is out of my price range. I’m hoping that Ford will join other car companies in making a smaller hybrid in the near future. My current Toyota Rav4 is almost 10 years old. I’d like to replace it soon but I’m not worried. I drove my ’86 Toyota pickup for 14 years before I replaced it.
I’m hoping for a Yaris or Fit sized Hybrid both for size and price range. Most of my driving now is my commute to work with the occasional need to fit the family of 4 in for something.
Great article! Great to hear such positive news on Ford’s vision and specifically the Fusion Hybrid.
Great article! Great to hear such positive news on Ford’s vision and specifically the Fusion Hybrid.