Auto Show Coverage 2013 Ford Fusion Debuts With Hybrid, Plug-In And Turbo Models

Published on January 9th, 2012 | by Christopher DeMorro

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2013 Ford Fusion Debuts With Hybrid, Plug-In And Turbo Models

Your intrepid blogger here reporting from Cobo Hall in the Motor City for what promises to be an action-packed show. We are starting the day off right with the debut of the 2013 Ford Fusion, a sexy, sleek-looking new sedan with looks borrowed from the Evos concept that debuted last fall. With two turbocharged engines, a hybrid, and plug-in hybrid model offering up to 100 MPGe, and Fusion is trying to be all things to all people, and it looks to have the tools to succeed.

I’m going to skip right to the nitty-gritty here. The non-hybrid 2013 Ford Fusion models will offer three gasoline engines to start with; a naturally-aspirated 2.5 liter 4-cylinder, and two turbocharged EcoBoost engines, the 1.6 and 2.0. The base 2.5 liter engine will offer 170 horsepower and 170 ft-lbs of torque, and will be offered only with a six-speed automatic transmission.

Upgrading to the 1.6 liter EcoBoost engine will offer a slight power improvement, to 179 horsepower and 172 ft-lbs of torque, as well as an optional six-speed manual transmission. meanwhile, the top-of-the-line 2.0 liter EcoBoost engine will offer 237 horsepower and 250 ft-lbs of torque through a six-speed automatic, and will be available with all-wheel drive as well.

Let’s talk fuel economy. While the official numbers for the entire lineup haven’t been released, the 1.6 liter EcoBoost is expected to deliver 26 mpg city and 37 mpg highway, with the 2.0 liter EcoBoost delivering a 23/33 rating. The Fusion’s weight has come down too, to around 3,000 pounds (though with options like AWD weight could be as high as 3,600 pounds.) The 1.6 liter EcoBoost engine allows this mid-size sedan to get comparable gas mileage to many new compact and subcompact cars. That’s pretty impressive, and it only gets better.

That’s because the 2013 Ford Fusion will also offer not one, but two hybrid models. The “standard” 2013 Fusion Hybrid will offer 47 mpg city and 44 mpg highway; not quite the Prius-killer we were expecting, but impressive none-the-less. The Fusion Hybrid will get a 2.0 liter Atkinson-cycle engine that will produce a combined 185 horsepower and 130 ft-lbs of torque That is more horsepower than the Prius (134 horsepower) but less torque (153 ft-lbs.) It will also come with a smaller lithium-ion battery pack. But you’ve got to ask yoursef; which looks better?

But if that’s not enough fuel economy for you, then take a gander at the 2013 Ford Fusion Energi, which Ford claims will get up to 100 MPGe. There are fewer details available for the Energi model, such as all-electric range, charging time, and MPG after battery depletion. Hopefully Ford will shed some light on these questions as the day goes on.

The 2013 Ford Fusion will also come with a lot of new technology, including 2nd-generation SYNC, lane assist control, cruise control, blind spot monitoring, etc. etc. But all I really care about is a 1.6 liter EcoBoost Fusion with a six-speed manual tooling down the highway, getting almost 40 mpg. I can totally dig that.

Ford is setting the bar high with the 2013 Fusion. The competition better take notes. Anyway I am off to Ford’s press conference, so I will bring you updates as they come.

Source: Ford

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About the Author

A writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to HEMIs, can be found wrenching or writing- or esle, he's running, because he's one of those crazy people who gets enjoyment from running insane distances.


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  • mental_patient

    I’m so surprised after so many years that no one can either surpass or even meet the mpg of the prius.

    Where is the in ovation and the engineering at?? Is the Prius that hard to reverse engineer ?

    • http://www.sublimeburnout.com Christopher DeMorro

      @ mental_patient

      Getting 50 MPG is not difficult if you are willing to sacrifice power and looks, as the Prius does (though some people may like the looks, I do not.) If the Prius looked more like a “normal” car and had about 25% more power, it’d almost certainly enjoy better sales. But there is a large segment of the car-buying populance that doesn’t need to scream “I DRIVE A HYBRID!” Some people want good fuel economy in a car that doesn’t come across as pretentious.

  • Robert

    Does anyone want to talk about how closely the new fusion resembles an Aston Martin saloon?

  • Ziv

    Holy c***! That hwy mpg is a surprise. We are talking about a FFH that will get a 46 combined mpg, which is nearly even with the Prius at 50. So if a 20 mpg car uses 600 gallons a year when you drive an average 12,000 miles, a Prius uses 240 gallons and a FFH uses 260.8 gallons. So by paying for less than 2 more gallons a month, you can drive a semi-sporty Ford Fusion instead of a gravid piglet of a car like the admittedly extremely efficient Prius! And the Ford Fusion Hybrid is apparently going to be the hatchback model with decent space to carry stuff instead of the sedan with the trunk. Probably not as roomy as the Prius, or quite as efficient, but funner to drive and better looking, all the while eschewing the Prius Smug appeal. Not a bad package for Ford! Now I am starting to really wonder how the C-Max Energi will stack up.

  • Torrance

    Not interested until they put in an oil burner like in the Mondeo I fell in love with in Europe.
    Getting 45 MPG in combined city and 100 MPH + Autobahn during break in period, (which I never exceeded because the rental company kept making me trade it in :)
    Americans have been brainwashed with this stupid electric auto BS. Diesel is the way to go.

  • Larry

    I have a 2010 Golf diesel and my kid has Prius. When I drive my Golf aggressively I get a solid 42 MPG. Now my son left his prius with me for a while so I took it on a trip and drove it aggressively like I do my Golf and it got 37 MPG. My point is that anyone can hypermile a car and get the big mpg but I am talking real world here!
    Golf diesel is the s_it!

    • http://importantmedia.org/members/joborras/ Jo Borras

      The difference is that the Golf is marketed as a “sporty” diesel (there’s even a VW TDi race series built around this fact), so what you’ve really proven here is that sporty cars are better at driving sporty. It’s great that you’re having fun, though!

  • Pingback: 2013 Ford Fusion Rated At 25/37 MPG, Hybrid Lands 47 MPG Rating - Gas 2()

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