The Fusion merges distinctive styling and affordability.
Fusion is up for the fight
Stylish Ford is formidable competitor to Accord, Camry
By Anita Lienert and Paul Lienert / Special to The Detroit News
Ford Motor Co.
The Fusion
Ford Motor Co.
The Fusion's uncluttered cabin offers an analog clock and a choice of low-gloss "piano black" plastic surface, carbon-fiber or wood.
LIVONIA -- Eric R. Reed trailed the 2006 Ford Fusion sedan we were testing for a couple miles up I-275 and then seemed overjoyed to catch up to us. He rolled down the window of his Oldsmobile Intrigue at a stoplight to pepper us with questions about the car that replaces the Ford Taurus.
"That front end is smokin'!" hollered Reed, a 47-year-old Detroit police officer. "Is that the new Ford? Can you pull it over?"
In the parking lot of the Laurel Park Place shopping center, Reed and his companion, Brenda L. Franklin, 52, a retired General Motors Corp. clerk who lives in Southfield, hopped into the Fusion, chattering away about its merits.
"The front end caught my eye," said Reed, positioning himself in the back seat.
"This is superb. The only thing it needs is chrome wheels."
Franklin, from her perch in the front passenger's seat, was just as effusive.
"I'm lovin' it, too," she said. "I've got to get on the phone. My mother just bought a 2005 Taurus, and I've got bad news for her. She should have waited."
We live for that kind of scene because it confirms what we already thought: The 2006 Ford Fusion, and its sister vehicle, the 2006 Mercury Milan, are such satisfying and stylish vehicles that they may signal the turning point for the battered Dearborn automaker.
We test-drove the front-wheel-drive Fusion and the Milan, which go on sale this month, back-to-back during a week in late August.
All-wheel-drive versions of the sedans will be available next year, with hybrid gas/electric variants scheduled for model year 2007. A third model, the all-new Lincoln Zephyr, goes on sale later this year.
The Ford and Mercury four-doors are poised to go up against some tough competition, namely the face-lifted 2006 Honda Accord and the Toyota Camry, the two vehicles that dominate the midsize family-sedan category in the United States.
But with the Mexico-built Fusion, which is based on the same platform as the impressive Mazda6 sedan, we believe a domestic automaker may finally have come up with a truly competitive product to pit against the Japanese-brand best sellers.
The Fusion looks striking inside and out, handles like a sport sedan, gets respectable fuel economy -- thanks to a six-speed automatic transmission with the V-6 models -- and has an affordable sticker price.
Our test Fusion was a top-of-the-line SEL model with a 3.0-liter V-6 engine and a base price of $22,360, including a $650 destination charge.
Our test vehicle had seven options, including $595 side air bags and side air curtains, $895 leather seats and a $420 audiophile stereo. Bottom line: $25,650.
The base price of the four-cylinder Fusion with manual transmission is $17,995, including destination charge. The 2005 Accord starts at $16,845, while the 2006 Camry -- essentially a carryover car until the redesigned '07 model arrives in the spring -- starts at $18,985. A top-of-the-line '06 Camry XLE lists for $26,345, while a top-of-the-line '05 Accord EX lists for $27,400.
With the profusion of family sedans on the market, Ford had to come up with the type of exterior styling that turns other drivers into stalkers. Happily, the company did not take a page from the dowdy Ford Five Hundred sedan's design book, but looked instead to the Ford 427 concept car.
Peter Horbury, Ford's North American director of design, said they were aiming to create an American vehicle characterized by simple, strong lines.
"It has a real confident look -- and great teeth," Horbury said.
The "teeth" are the three chrome bars that cut across the front end of the Fusion. Designers also lopped off the car's corners, giving the Fusion a trim and fit appearance. The body of the Fusion wraps around the wheels and triangular-shaped taillights help create a distinctive appearance even from the rear.
The cabin is clean and uncluttered. Our test Fusion SEL had an instrument panel that was trimmed in soft-touch, low-gloss plastics and "piano black," a lacquered-looking surface that looks like it was taken from a Steinway baby grand.
Other interior trim treatments are black-and-gray carbon-fiber or traditional wood. It's nice to see Ford made such items as a tilt/telescoping steering wheel standard across the Fusion's lineup.
The upscale SEL model has such luxury touches as a chrome-trimmed analog clock in the center of the instrument panel, an accessory that has come to be associated with more expensive brands like Cadillac and Infiniti.
The one area where the Fusion falls short against some of its Japanese competition is safety. For 2006, the Accord will offer standard side air bags and side air curtains across the lineup. Many safety features on the Fusion cost extra.
Antilock brakes add $595 to the bottom line, while traction control costs extra on the SEL model we drove and is not available on the other two trim levels. Side air bags and side air curtains are another $595 on the new Ford sedan. You cannot get stability control on the Fusion.
The Fusion is fairly spartan, too, when it comes to cabin amenities. You can't get a navigation system, which you can on the Camry and the Accord. A power moonroof costs extra on the Fusion SEL; it's standard on the Accord EX and Camry XLE. Nor can you order such desirable features on the Fusion as a rear-seat DVD entertainment, clutchless shifting, adjustable pedals or even a jack for your iPod.
And while the rear seat is spacious, with ample head- and legroom, it lacks vents and individual reading lights.
We were impressed with the Fusion's roomy trunk, but wished it had a standard cargo net or some kind of cargo organizer.
While putting several hundred miles on the Fusion, we noted rain dripping in the open driver's window after a shower, too much tire noise and rear visibility issues due to the high parcel shelf.
But in terms of driving characteristics, the Fusion is a winner. It is extremely agile for a midsize family sedan -- more so than the Accord and Camry -- and a snap to swing into parking spaces because of its rack-and-pinion power steering.
The ride comfort is decent, on par with Honda and Toyota, but the stiff four-wheel independent suspension makes it slightly bumpy on dirt and gravel roads and over rutted pavement.
Our test car was fitted with a 3.0-liter Duratec V-6 engine that makes 221 horsepower and 205 pounds-feet of torque. It is mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission, an excellent feature that helps optimize engine performance and conserve fuel.
Our test Fusion got 21 miles per gallon in city driving and 29 miles per gallon on the highway, according to the EPA. There is no manual transmission offered with the V-6 engine.
We found the V-6 to be lively and responsive on the highway, much more so than the same-size power plant in the much larger and heavier Ford Five Hundred sedan.
The base Fusion comes with a 2.3-liter I-4 that makes 160 horsepower and 150 pounds-feet of torque.
It is mated to a five-speed manual transmission; the launch of the I-4's five-speed automatic transmission has been delayed until Oct. 1, Ford said.
The smaller engine and manual transmission get slightly better fuel economy than the V-6, at 23 miles per gallon in city driving and 31 miles per gallon on the highway.
While consumers may find the Fusion's edgy exterior design a bit polarizing, they won't find much to fault with the basic package, from comfort to performance to value. Although it lags on amenities and safety, in most other respects, the '06 Fusion is a formidable competitor to the class-leading Accord and Camry.
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