First Drive - 2010 Ford Fusion: Hybrid option is a winner

This road test of the 2010 Ford Fusion, featuring the exciting new 45-mpg Hybrid, is the world's first. But before we get to the car, we'd like to challenge something.

Television and newspaper pundits keep saying that the dire straits of Big Three are because they've been greedy, shortsighted or oblivious (or all three), by building gas guzzlers that nobody wants now. Commercial punditry: turning a grain of truth into an imaginary bountiful harvest. Their indictment is an oversimplification made useless by the misguided conclusions that fly off the words. There's so much more to the story. First of all, there are three separate stories. Let's take Ford's story with the Fusion.

Ford started designing the 2010 Fusion Hybrid in the fall of 2004. From day one, the Hybrid design team was obsessed with fuel mileage - for the sake of sales, tied to the sake of carbuyers' personal economies and the environment. Says Gil Portalatin, the Hybrid Applications Manager, "Not only did I want to beat Toyota and the Camry hybrid on fuel mileage, I wanted to smoke them." And he has.

In fact, the Fusion smokes the Camry in just about every respect. There's nothing wrong with American engineering talent. But we're getting ahead of ourselves.

The 2010 Fusion is Ford's second generation hybrid, after the award-winning 2005 Escape SUV. It's the same general system, using a 2.5-liter Atkinson cycle internal combustion engine, but everything has been revamped to employ the last four years' worth of development. There’s more overall efficiency and 20 percent more power from a lighter nickel-metal hydride battery, now cooled without fans; and the electric motor produces 106 hp and 400 volts, increased from 94 hp and 330 volts. Combined gas-electric horsepower is 191. The base price excluding freight is $27,270.

Portalatin rode shotgun with us for most of an afternoon. It was the debut of his creation, the first time the car had ever been driven for public consumption, and he was amped. "We were uncompromising in our pursuit of high mileage," he said, describing four years of obsession. "We looked at every possible element, beyond the hybrid components, down to the aerodynamic drag of the foglights."

With Portalatin guiding us in the driving techniques to get the most out of the EV (Electric Vehicle) mode (and answering our many questions), we achieved 45.2 miles per gallon over 44 miles in Los Angeles, mostly stop-and-go in 25-, 35- and 45-mph zones, with five freeway miles at 55 mph. We moved with the flow of traffic, neither slower nor faster. There's no EPA rating yet, because the Fusion won't be in showrooms until spring, but Ford is forecasting 39 city and 37 highway.

On a shorter route, 43 mpg was the highest among a group of about two dozen automotive journalists. The lowest was 30 mpg. We can't explain that low number, because there was very little opportunity to leadfoot. Some still manage.

The Fusion Hybrid will run 47 mph in EV mode using no gas at all, with some momentum behind it (either gas-powered or downhill, to get there), and as long as there's enough juice in the battery, which rises and falls as you drive, taking a regenerative charge from the brakes. That's one of the tricks: use the brakes whenever possible without scrubbing off needed speed, for example drag them long and slow to a stop. You can watch the level of battery charge on an LCD gauge. But the moment you hit 48 mph, the Fusion Hybrid goes to gasoline power, even coasting downhill - an excellent inducement not to exceed the speed limit in 45 zones. The transition between electric and gas power is nearly seamless, with the second-generation CVT transmission. You stop noticing.

The basic technique is to accelerate normally up to speed, no more than 50 mph, then back off the throttle and watch another LCD gauge that indicates when you're in EV mode, and maintain throttle within EV mode. If most or all of your driving is on the freeway, the main benefit of the Hybrid is very low emissions (Partial Zero, in EPA lingo), rather than fuel mileage. Although the Hybrid's 156-horsepower 2.5-liter Atkinson cycle engine does get slightly better stand-alone mileage than the all-new 175-hp 2.5-liter four-cylinder that's in the regular Fusion. The main difference between the two engines is that the Atkinson cycle has a higher compression ratio and unique intake valve timing.

The body has been revamped too, and shows off a sweeping roofline that gives away nothing in style. The Fusion is slightly wider, with a more aggressive stance and strong front shoulders. Look at the Fusion head-on, and enjoy the smooth and shapely nose and front fascia, if you can see past the fattened chrome grille that will blind you in the sun. Its three chrome bars are a Ford family event, but their volume is unfortunate. Wish the scale matched the subtle twin chrome pipes coming out the right rear.

The interior has been redesigned as well. Gauges that greet you. The leather bucket seats are just right, ideal firmness and supportive bolstering. We don't see anyone finding anything to complain about, in corners or on long trips, although it's always dangerous to speak for someone else's butt. The Fusion Sport has colored leather perforated panels, with matching trim on the dash that's plastic but looks like anodized metal, in red or blue; we liked it but another fellow didn't, so it's a matter of taste as these things always are.

Besides the Hybrid, there are three engines available in other models as we reported in October : the all-new 2.5-liter inline four (base price $19,270); a 3.0-liter V6 that runs on E85 flex fuel ($20,545); and for the first time in Fusion, the Duratec 3.5-liter V6 that's been used in other, bigger Fords ($25,828). All Fusions are assembled in Mexico.

On mountain roads, we drove a base 2.5 with the new 6-speed gearbox, and a 3.5-liter Fusion Sport that only comes with a 6-speed automatic having manual mode. Each Fusion impressed, especially the I4, which Ford expects to comprise the lion's share of Fusion sales - up to 80 percent. It took a thrashing, handled high-speed bumps without getting upset, and seemed to love being pitched every which way in the corners. On the freeway on the way to the mountains, the cabin silence was conspicuous. Ford carefully chased a luxury car level.

The new engine is quiet and powerful for a four, with a wide torque curve making it feel bigger than 2.5 liters. The 6-speed gearbox is standard, with a 6-speed manual automatic optional. Charts from a chassis dyno showed its shifts to be significantly smoother than the Camry's 5-speed. Stability control, side airbags, airbag curtains, and a tire pressure monitor are standard for that price under $20,000, with a projected combined fuel mileage of nearly 30 mpg.

The composure of the I4 on mountain roads didn't surprise us, after the autocross experience. Ford set up a pylon course and brought out a segment-leading Camry to compare. They proved their point - hammered it home, in fact. The Camry was hopeless, compared to how well the I4 Fusion stuck to the course and handled downright abusive turning, braking and stomping the throttle between the winding and weaving pylons. We took advantage of its tighter turning circle thanks to electric power steering. We turned off the traction control and smoked the tires; meanwhile the stability control did its thing without shutting the car down. Between the mountain roads and autocross course, it's clear that the chassis and suspension raise the bar.

However we found limits to the V6 Fusion Sport on the mountain roads. It gripped the road, but the dips in switchback curves under stress brought the suspension to the edge. The brakes got soft fairly early - ours was all-wheel drive, adding 212 pounds. And the 6-speed SelectShift transmission isn't programmed for aggressive driving. The 263-hp Fusion Sport probably won't be able to run with a 268-hp V6 Honda Accord 6-speed manual.

But the Fusion isn't about being the highest-performing V6 sports sedan. It's more about the Hybrid, and the new 2.5-liter four-cylinder. Fuel mileage, with comfort, convenience and safety. The future.

Speaking of the future, next up for Ford is the EcoBoost family of engines, promising still more power, more economy and less size. We'll be there for that launch too, and bring you the story first.