u0061914

So, I am going to disagree with you. I have been away from this forum for quite a while, but if you remember I had a 2013 with a 1.6 echo boost. I struggled with the mileage from day one. What I found is that anytime the temps dropped below about 50 degrees, my mileage tanked. In the summer the summer it was considerably better. I am talking about a 10-15mpg hit! Since then I traded that one in on a 2014 Fusion with a 1.5 Eco boost. I can't say enough good things about this one. In the summer, I can get up to 38 mpg. In the winter it drops about 2-3. Mpg but nothing like the 2013 I had. My guess is that there was something with the tune not quite right in cold weather with that one. I would say though that if you learn how to drive an ecoboost for max economy you will get better results. With the 2014 1.5, I could not be happer. I think they finally got it right

I have had my 2013 Fusion with 1.6L Eco for about a year and 8 months now (aprox 40K miles). Completely satisfied with the car overall, so, I have decided to replace it with another similar car. When I initially purchased the 13, I struggled with the fuel economy for quite a while, as many of you did too. Could not break about 26-28 mpg for the 1st 10,000 miles. It did eventually improve although I rarely get the stated economy. Again, this seems to be the norm. Now in looking at the 14s, I need to choose between the 1.5L eco and the 2.5L. Any feedback on the 1.5L? Fuel economy, overall performance etc?

My highway mileage has increased dramatically. Like you I would have taken a loss to dump this car, but once the weather warmed up, the mileage improved. I can fairly consistantly get 34mpg on the freeway going 75-80mph. On a 2 lane, it seems that about 61-62mph is a sweet spot as I can get 36 fairly easily and on a few occasions a bit better. When you mix in ANY city driving, it is a different story. Myy commute to work is probably 80% highway and 20% city. My mileage tanks. 26-28 range. My 2011 fusion with the 2.5L would consistantly sit at 32 on the same commute. I'm real interested to see what happens when the fall comes and the cold weather sets in. I suspect the mileage will tank again. I was struggling to get 26 on the highway in the winter. I hope my theory on the cold weather is wrong as I actually really like this car. We will see.

Been a while since I updated this thread with my milage report. I am now at 11,000 miles. The weather has warmed up here in MN finally. With the increased temps, my MPGs has increased significantly. Now, on strictly highway driving at 62mph, I can get aprox 36 MPG. At freeway speeds ( 75mph), I run about 34mpg. On my daily commute to work 80/20 I get about 30mpg now. This is much better than I had been seeing where 24-26 was the best I could do. The change in mileage is absolutely proportional to the temps outside. It appears there is a problem with the tune and the cold temps. Sure hope they correct that as in MN it is cold half of the year. To answer the question about 2013s and the 2.5L? A friend has exactly the same car as me, but the 2.5L. She gets as good as I do on the highway and better mixed or city driving. She also did not experience nearly the cold weather hit as I did. Honestly, if I was to very buy another one, I would buy the 2.5 not the 1.6.

Dirk, Your results are almost exactly what I have seen. Assuming your results are combined highway/city - 80/20 or so?

The mileage on mine has improved significantly since I bought it last November. I tracked my mileage for a couple of months and found some distinct patterns. 1. It seems these engines to not like cold temps. The colder the temps the worse the mileage. I'm not talking about a couple of MPGs in the winter that has normally beeen present for most folks. My mixed driving ( 80%+ highway) was yielding about 24MPG this winter. 100% Highway was only in the 26 range, with an occasional 28. As soon as the temps got into the 40s, I sa significantly better results. When the temps dropped, the mileage did too. With warmer temps, I have been seeing 28mpg in the mixed driving and 34ish on the highway. 2. Any city driving or driving that requires any level of acceleration drops the mileage of these cars. If I fill up with fuel and drive somewhere on the highway with no city driving at all, I can achive decent mileage. Throw in ANY city driving and the mileage plummets horribly. I think the engine is so incredibly undersized fo this car that as soon as you accelerate, the turbo spools up and the MPGs plummet. I should add that this can be improved a very slight bit by accelerating like a little old lady, but it still takes it toll. 3. Higer octane fuel (91) yielded absolutely no benefit for me in the efficiency depatment. Perfomance, maybe? In summary, the mileage has improved dramatically from where I started. Not the car you would want for any type of city driving, but OK on the highway. I also belive this is a poor choice if you live in a cold climate. I'm in MN and given the fact that it is cold 5 months out of the year means that my mileage may suck for 5 months. Not ideal at all. Don't get me wrong, I really like the car. Even the performance of the 1.6L is not bad. Would I buy another 1.6L? Probably not. Given what I know now, I would buy the old 2.5L engine over the 1.6L. The mileage in my 2011 was overall significantly better than this one.

My mileage tanked again. Back down to 24mpg on my normal 80/20 commute. Temps in MN dropped significantly again though

While mine is a 1.6L not a 2.0L, I recently had a similar experience. I had been getting onlt 24-26mpg on mine since day one. About a week ago, I suddenly got 33+ on my normal Friday drive to my cabin in northern MN. Temps were still below freezing. No change in driving style, same roads, etc. The next two tanks of fuel have so far yielded similar results. For me this changed right about 6800 miles. So... either it suddenly "broke in" or the winter blend has now changed, although I doubt it. I'm very happy with the change, but sure would like to know why.

I had a strange turn of events. Drove up to my cabin in northern Mn this weekend. 230 miles each way, with about 70% freeway driving at 78mph and 30% two lane road at aprox 64mph. I got 33.5 on the way up and 33.1 on the way back(calculated). I have tracked my mileage for the last few months and have been running around 24 with an occasional 26 mixed in, including this exact trip. Nothing has changed. Filled up with fuel at the same places, driving style consistent, etc. The only thing different was the fact that I crossed 7000 miles on the car now. Temps were in the upper 20s to around 30, which I had a few tanks with similar temps. I have had cars improce slightly with break in before, but never this abrupt and 10mpg. I can't explain it, but I sure will not complain about it. While on the 2 lane road, I was watching the mileage guage and it was staying pretty steady at 38ish. Maybe there is hope for this engine? I should mention that I reset the mpg guage this morning and drove to work. It is sitting at about 31 right now. That is about 80% highway.

Johnobrien, I have tracking exactly what you suggested in a spreadsheet. Including calculted MPG, MPG per guage, approx outside temp, percentage highway vs city driving. My driving would be considered conservative, as I have been trying to get mine to do better in the MPG dept. I am seeing a trend toward better results with a bit warmer temps, but I have limited data points and it is still Feb in MN.

Getting back to the original intent of the thread..... Has anyone been able to break 30mpg on a 1.6L Fusion under normal driving conditions or come close to the EPA estimates for that matter? Also interested if anyone has ben able to find a way to break 30 by significantly altering thier driving style. Let's focus on the 1.6L not the 2.0 please. I think there is a 2.0 thread out there already. I have been tracking my fuel usage for the last month and will continue to get additional data points over the next month or two. I am including things like percent highway driving and average outside temp. At this point, temp does make a bit of a difference. My drive to work is 80% + highway. It seems to vary from 24mpg @ single digit temps degrees to 26mpg in 30+ degree temps. The route, driving style and the fuel is consistent. I did manage a 27.3 mpg once so far. That was 100% highway, 30 degree temps, 62mph, cruise control used most of the way. I do intend to stick it out until spring to see what warmer temps, and non-winter blend fuel does. If it improves, then great. If the dealer can show me how to drive it to achive better mileage, then great. If not, I'm dumping it and will either replace with another Fusion, but with a 2.5L or move away from Ford, although barring the mileage, I do really like the car. In my case, I cannot afford to drive a car that I can only get 24mpg on the highway. I drive too much ( 30K+ per year)

I don't think that the issue is the fact that Ford built a car that does not deliver the EPA numbers. I'm sure it does in some unique circumstance. It is the fact that Ford has NOT delivered a car that gets acceptible mileage IN THE REAL WORLD. They are marketing the 1.6L as more HP, torque and better mileage than the 2.5L, but yet in reality it is delivering 30+ percent less economy. That is the problem. As I said in previois posts and as Dirk mentioned numerous times, we have both had numerous Fusions with 2.5s that did very well. The new ones are not, plain and simple. It is not just us here, but also Consumer reports has called this out. I'm just very disappointed that it will cost me an additional $6000 in fuel due to the crappy mileage over a 4 year span. I will be taking mine back to the dealer again to address this issue. If they can get a field engineer that can prove to me the car can do better and "teach" me how to get the numbers then, so be it. Right now, I'm very unhappy with it, as are many others.

I'm looking for the "Ignore" button right about now EPA or not, Ford built a car/engine that is getting less than optimal mileage in the real world in relation to its old engine and its competitors. The previous engine 2.5L was fine. The 1.6 is not. Plain and simple. For anyone new who runs across this thread, please let us know what your real world results are.

Seems we are not the only ones that are seeing this less than optimal mileage http://news.consumerreports.org/cars/2013/02/consumer-reports-finds-small-turbo-engines-dont-deliver-on-fuel-economy-claims.html

Akirby, I have two questions for you... 1. Do you own a 2013 Fusion with a 1.6l? If so, can YOU get the EPA ratings? 2. Please tell us about your credentials. Do you work for the EPA? Engineer for Ford maybe? You seem to have alot of definitive information. Just curious.