billwat

Don't listen to everything you read on the internet. The poster above you is the only person I have heard complain about the car's ride. Prior to the FFH, My wife and I have had several sortied trucks, a 1997 Chrysler Sebring Coupe, 2003 Dodge Neon and a 2007 Toyota Matrix. The FFH rides better than any of that lot. The ride does have a sportier feel to it, especially compared to some other 'family' rides out there (my other comparisons being a late 90's Buick Park Avenue and a late model Toyota Avalon). The steering is fairly tight and I think you get a good feel for the road, but certainly nothing that I would describe as harsh. As far as spacing goes: the back seat leg room is a little shorter in the hybrid (darn batteries!), but we have a 1 year old and I don't have a problem when I need to put his fairly large car seat in the back. There isn't any space between the back of my seat and his seat, but I am not sacrificing leg room. The trunk is significantly smaller than the standard Fusion though. However, with a little forethought most average needs can be met. My in-laws came for the holiday and all of their luggage for a two week stay, short of a computer bag, was able to fit in the trunk. There certainly is enough space for a large-ish suitcase, a mid-size bag and a small bag. Certainly not the kind of car you would want to take camping though!

We bought our FFH off the lot, so I can't be of much help with your questions about finding your specific model or ordering. However, regarding the navigation system I wanted to chime in. Prior to this we had a Garmin. I knew the next car we bought was going to have integrated NAV. I like the Ford system quite a bit and would say that I prefer it to the Garmin in almost every area. I don't know much about the traffic alert part of Travel Link, as we live in a more rural area and traffic isn't usually problem. I do know from previous experience that in addition to alerts it will propose alternate routes, but I don't know about info on surface streets. The $6 fee is for all of the Travel Link services, not just traffic alerts. The Sirius materials that came with the car indicated that it could be purchased without the rest of the Sirius radio package, but I haven't tried to get it. I didn't think you could unbundle traffic alerts alone from the weather/gas prices/sports info/etc, but I've been wrong before. Occasionally I drive a pretty significant trip for work and I have found both the gas station locator and the weather info to be useful. The gas station locator may not list every single gas station, but it is pretty comprehensive. Plus it's nice that you can sort from cheapest or closest. I live in the central US where weather can move pretty quickly so I frequently find the radar weather map useful to know if I am heading into or away from bad weather, even on my commute home. Also used occassionally when I am traveling to know the (5-day) weather forcast for where I am going. The other bits (Sports Scores and Movie Listings) I might have used once each in the last six months. The NAV touch screen is pretty much on lock down while moving, though I think you can set pre-set POI's as destinations even while moving. However, you have full use of the system (including inputing specific addresses) using the SYNC voice system, even while in motion. The SYNC system usually works pretty well... until I am trying to show someone else how easy it is of course. But overall I almost never have to repeat myself or get the wrong menu.

A completely different and non-technical explaination: Could it be possible that you had accidentally shifted the transmission into L rather than D? Just last night I experienced something very similar to your initial description. I was leaving a restuarant, had accelerated onto the road (up to about 50-55 MPH) and was coasting down to my turn. As the car slowed I had a distinct feeling of engine braking (both feel and sound of engine at high RPM's) and noticed as I dropped below 40 MPH that the EV mode had not engaged (battery was well over 50% also).. At nearly the same time I noticed that the transmission was in the L position. Shifting into D, the engine immediately droped to idle and the green bar came up on the power gauge. This would explain why you didn't have any indicator lights and were able to immediately rectify the problem. I have noticed that it is somewhat easy to miss D and go to L, especially if shifting from R when backing out of parking spaces etc. Have done this a couple of times, but last night was the first time I got on the road and up to speed having done it. Anyway, just a thought from my own (non-techincal) experience Bill

I've had mine for about a week now. My daily commute is: 3 mi rural road (45 mph), 7.5 mi rural highway (65 mph), 5 mi. interstate highway (70-75 mph) and 1.5 mi city streets (25-40 mph). Without A/C on my commute I've been getting about 40-41 mpg (according to the trip readout). With A/C makes a noticable difference, brings it down to 35-36 mpg. I live in SW Oklahoma, so A/C is pretty much a necessity. I just filled up at 1/4 tank remaining and came out that in the first week of ownership I've averaged about 34.45 mpg.

Bought ours off the lot from Dealer in Norman OK last week. 502A in black, paid $700 under MSRP. But we had to shop around to get that deal. First went to look at it three weeks ago. Called and emailed around to other dealers (Dallas was about as far as I was willing to go). All were asking for MSRP or better. Most wouldn't even counter offer back at MSRP when I asked if they had a better price. One dealer even said 'we're declining your offer to purchase.' So we went back to the Norman dealer and said I was ready to cut a check now if we could agree on a price under MSRP. In retrospect, I think I could have gotten below 31k if I had really pushed it, but they threw in some dealer extras. Overall, I am very happy with the purchase.