SPECIFICATIONS |
| 1. Ford Fusion Energi models can travel 21 emission free miles, and 620 miles overall.
2. The Fusion Energi is rated at 108 MPGe city, 92 MPGe highway and 100 MPGe combined. The gas engine is rated at 44 MPG in the city and 41 MPG on the highway.
3. Charge times for the Fusion Energi takes two and a half hours using a 240-volt charger, or seven hours using a 120-volt charger.
4. Prices for the Fusion Energi start at $39,495, before any government incentives.
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PREVIEW
When it comes to the mid-sized sedan segment, Ford nailed the important criteria with the latest Fusion. It’s gorgeous, high-tech, spacious and affordable.
The Fusion Energi has one primary rival: the Honda Accord PHEV. With the limited availability of the Accord PHEV, you could also consider the widely available Toyota Prius Plug-In which is about $10,000 cheaper than the Ford and Honda, but it is a smaller vehicle and features less premium goodies.
Green Means GoThe Fusion Energi is slower to charge than the Honda product. A full charge can come as quick as two and a half hours when done with a 240-volt charger, but those using a conventional 120-volt outlet will find it takes seven hours to charge the vehicle. The upside with this technology is that for many buyers, that means that no matter what kind of home charger you use, you can top up the battery over-night.
INTERIOR
The car doesn’t lack much from a content perspective. Leather, dual-zone climate control and items like fog lights are all part of standard equipment. Our model featured extras like navigation and several driver assists. Titanium models are available with even more features including heated seats, push-button ignition, adaptive cruise control and active park assist. Select all the options and the price balloons to $46,810.
The biggest disappointment comes with the Fusions trunk space, which is seriously disfigured in order to accommodate the plug-in hybrid drivetrain. Conventional Fusions have 16 cubic feet of luggage space and Hybrids have 12, but the Energi only offers 8.2.
UNDER THE HOOD
Customers of the Fusion are offered a buffet of choices as the car can be had with one of six engine choices. There is the base 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine, the miniscule but turbocharged 1.5-liter and 1.6-liter engines. A hybrid model is rated for 47 mpg in combined driving situations but underperformed in previous AutoGuide.com test drives. Finally there’s the Fusion Energi which expands on the Hybrid’s technology to be more attractive to energy-conscious buyers.
The Fusion Energi uses the same drivetrain as the Hybrid, but with a bigger battery for longer emissions free drives. The Fusion Energi can travel up to 21 miles without using gasoline and once that battery runs dry, the car acts like a normal Fusion Hybrid.
Despite its capability to charge overnight, the numbers don’t look favorable for the Fusion. Fortunately, the car isn’t tapped out of tricks. The total system is rated with188 hp and feels plentiful and helps the car get up to speed easily. Once at speed, the electric drivetrain helps keep the car going with little assistance from the gasoline engine. The Fusion glides along on pure electric power up to speeds of 85 mph and while I didn’t reach speeds that high, it was always up to the task of staying green and clean on the highway.
Using a button on the center console, the driver can choose to save or use the electric power. Drivers with shorter commutes can take advantage of the cars hefty electric battery and savvy drivers can even inch out a mile or two depending on the terrain and traffic. In my experience during a 51 mile round-trip commute, the car returned about 78 MPG overall spread over driving both with and without electric power.
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