First driving impression and small review of my Ti Fusion

[Poirot1959]

I finaly got my Fusion yesterday Titanium model with moonroof and navigation.

 

After doing about 150m on it here are my first impressions.

 

The car drive superbly well. Very confortable, I am 6.0' and about 280 and I feel just right in the seat. The moonroof is ok, but 1 inches more of headroom would have been aprreciated. On the other hand the driver seat is not as confortable. Since you cannot adjust the height, just forward and backward, you are kinda bend too forward, unless you tilt the back more, but then you have a weird view outside. After an hour my wife complaint about back pain, and she never did on my 2009.

 

The ride itself is a lot more smooth then in previous version of the fusion and I am ok with that. If you are looking for a more sporty feel, you will be disapointed. I am not saying that it feel like driving an impala, but it's more smooth. Then again I already have my winter tires on it and they were downsize to an 16". Of course this will influence the ride itself.

 

The car really feels at ease on the road and tackcle it with confidence. Cornering, even at higher speed, and it just stick to it. It give you a really good sense of security as you put the miles on it.

 

The steerting wheel need a bit of getting use too, as you don't feel as much the road with it. It has more the feeling of a family car then a sport one. But then again this is a family car. The resistance increase with speed in just the right amount, for me anyway. The button are well place and easy to reach. But the shifting paddles are maybe a bit to short. You can easily hit the flasher or the wiper stick when you try to reach them. Once your finger are on it there ok.

 

The transmission shift very smoothly, but sometimes, more when you are moving from a stop then slowing a bit, seem to not know what gear to stay on. But I have to admit that the gas pedal need some getting use to since it doesn't have the same resistance as my older fusion. Accelerating also is different. there is not that much difference half throttle or full. There is one but not as great as a V6. But regardless it has very good acceleration as you really feel the power in that 2.0 ecoboost.

 

And my ford touch. After reading all the bad and less bad reviews, I can tell you that it's working OK. The touch panel is not very sensitive but when you know where to push you are OK. The menu are well place and easy to get to if you are not driving. My wife played with it and beside the fact that she has long nails, which made a bit more hard to press the panel, she didn't have any problems going where she wanted. But my ford touch was and is made for voice activation. When you master all the vocal commands this baby will be your slave and it works great.

 

The 2 led panels in the driver side are a bit distractive but once you get use to where all the info is, and at the beginning could be dangerous if you are driving while learning it, then you will be ok.

 

Finaly, the navigation system is, well to put it simply, not working at all. When you start it will give you where you are but after a while it gets lost. It will show the car being in the middle of nowhere, or telling you, you are on 1 street well in fact you are on the other next to it. I was on 1 highway and it was showing the car being in the field about 1/2 mile further. I am sure there will be a patch as this seem to be strictly software related. Anyway I know this problem will be solve eventually. I will post a video of it shortly.

 

So for now beside the navigation system and the passenger seat, I don't regret getting it

 

Also regarding all the build small problem that I was reading on the forum here, i did not see them so it will be safe to assume that they were fixed

 

Overall it is a very good car and the competition should be affraid as it will certainly make a big dent in their sales.

 

I will come back with more till then I am going out.

[LittleJaeger75]

Congratulations on your car, I just told my dealer that I wanted to dealer trade my order SE 1.6 that seems like it will never get here for a 2.0 Titanium. On the other hand, my wife wants to cancel our order altogether.

[ryancnavy]

The car drive superbly well. Very confortable, I am 6.0' and about 280 and I feel just right in the seat. The moonroof is ok, but 1 inches more of headroom would have been aprreciated. On the other hand the driver seat is not as confortable. Since you cannot adjust the height, just forward and backward, you are kinda bend too forward, unless you tilt the back more, but then you have a weird view outside. After an hour my wife complaint about back pain, and she never did on my 2009.

 

You can definitely adjust the height on the seat.

[Pers69]

Perhaps not with a SE?

[fusionTX]

Congrats on your purchase and thanks for the review.

I sat in a Fusion yesterday for the first time (cloth trim w/red stiching).

The one thing that stuck with me was how comfortable the seats were. I am about 5' 9", 180lbs.

[Waldo]

Sounds like your nav is not picking up a GPS signal. It will try to guess which street you're on, but will eventually get confused. Have the dealer check that the GPS is properly connected.

[ctrcbob]

Congrats on your purchase and thanks for the review.

I sat in a Fusion yesterday for the first time (cloth trim w/red stiching).

The one thing that stuck with me was how comfortable the seats were. I am about 5' 9", 180lbs.

 

Judging the comfort of the seats when you sit in a car for just a short while, really does not tell you much. You have to own, or rent or lease a car for a while to judge just how comfortable the seats are.

 

In my case, the most comfortable seats I've ever had in a car, was in my 1994 T-bird. No car, before or after has been as comfortable at that car. (How many people remember the T-Birds of that era, which were RWD but with IRS?) Never had an iota of problems (wait, see below) with that car, but I just needed a 4door, so I had to trade the 2door T-Bird.

 

Now thinking about it, I did have one problem. One day, my wife drove the car and said that it feels like I am driving over rumble strips. Funny that I never felt anything. Went for a drive with her, and she pointed it out. Happened just before shifting into top gear. Took it to my dealer, and found out that it was the torque converter giving the rumble problem. The car was just 200 miles short of the warrenty running out. (had 35800 miles on it at the time). This tells me to "always listen to my wife" <grin>.

[barjon]

(How many people remember the T-Birds of that era, which were RWD but with IRS?)

 

I remember! Friends of mine had one, while I had a 1988, the last year of the previous generation Thunderbird. That was my first Ford, and I've owned nothing but Fords ever since.

[Poirot1959]

You can definitely adjust the height on the seat.

 

I made a mistake I should have wrote the "passenger seat"

[Jo7hs2]

"In my case, the most comfortable seats I've ever had in a car, was in my 1994 T-bird. No car, before or after has been as comfortable at that car. (How many people remember the T-Birds of that era, which were RWD but with IRS?) Never had an iota of problems (wait, see below) with that car, but I just needed a 4door, so I had to trade the 2door T-Bird."

 

Oh gosh YES! Even though I suffered through a blown head gasket, that underpowered Essex, rusting rocker panels, and almost constant window regulator replacements, I still miss my '93 T-bird (V6 LX). It was the single most comfortable car to drive or ride in (in the front seats) I have ever encountered. The driver's seat was almost perfect, aside from the vinyl, and I'd pay good money for that kind of comfort today. And, the car was very comfortable to drive, as mine was pre-airbags and had a narrow steering wheel that didn't cramp my hands like modern ones do. Wonderful cars, despite their flaws. One reason I bought my 2012 Fusion was because it was the first car I felt anywhere near as happy with the ergonomics. Aside from the heating controls being too low, and that stupid handle on the driver's side, almost everything is exactly where I want it.

Edited December 8, 2012 by Jo7hs2

[Fusion Muse]

Hi Poirot1959

 

Any further update now that you have been driving the Fusion for a while. Greatly appreciate your previous feedback.

 

Regards

[fastrace01]

The most comfortable seats I have ever sat in were the early and mid 80's Chrysler cars. The bigger high end cars like the Fifth Avenue.

 

The torque converter chatter that your talking about on the AODE, or 4R70W is a common issue. About the only cure is to switch to a DACCO rebuilt and improved converter, or add

2-ounces of Friction modifier to the transmission.

 

Those T-Birds and Cougars of the late 80's- early to mid 90's were great cars in the V-8 form. Of course certain years had the intake manifolds that cracked.

[Poirot1959]

Update on my fusion 2013

Now that I have been driving the car roughly 6 months and put about 8000k (5k US). Here are my latest review.

The good;

The car drives very well, handles really good. Acceleration is good and will satisfy most users and is perfectly balanced for day to day driving. Braking is superior to the older models, as I had a close encounter with a huge bird on the highway (don’t ask). The brake pedal need some getting use as it start braking hard with a slight push. But after a while you adjust.

The onboard display works very good, unless you are a woman with long nails, then you never seem to be pushing at the right place lol. The screen is big enough and the basic information is displayed on the main menu.

The sound system has very good sound, and the speaker are well balanced and well placed. The steering wheel button is also well placed and easy to use, not like other cars that needed to put some behind.

As for the interior finish and looks well, personally I think that the finishing materiel are very good and well done. Giving the car a classy look without too much fuzz and buzz. But this is my personal taste.

I also like all the little feature, like seat adjustment with the remote for different driver. Opening and closing all the windows with a simple push. All these little feature makes the car more enjoyable.

The Bad;

There is some annoying things about that car, some are design flaws and some build flaws.

I am 6.0’ and 280lbs, so even know the front seats are OK and comfortable even on a long ride, the roof should have been 1 inch higher if you have the moonroof. Otherwise you have enough head room. The back seats are not comfortable if you are tall. More if the person sitting in the front is tall. I use the feature to push the seat back when I stop the car so when I get in my son has to wait for me to start the car so the seat move forward in order to get in otherwise there is no room for his legs. So the cabin is Ok for a family of four with 2 kids in the back, but with two tall adults, you won’t find it that comfortable. On the same note. The controls for the windows should have been a bit more behind where they are. It would have been better for taller person that pushes the seat more back. Same for the steering column it should go just a bit further.

I have the Sony sound system and even if the sound is great there is 2 small things I find annoying. Adjustment at low volume is not good. The level between them should have been more spread out. It’s like one level is too low and the other one too high. Also the surround settings never stays. I always have to reselect it. I wonder if this will be solved in the update for sync.

There is also a few glitches, like the flashers. On some rare occasion, the flasher will work only in the three flash mode even if I push it all the way to signal a turn. It happened to me on 2 different days over 6 months and restarting the car solve the problem. I just hope it won’t become more problematic.

The trunk even if it has a lot of space in it accessing it is poorly design. The trunk lid is too small and it’s really hard to get to the rear of it. I really have to get in to get to the rear. Also the opening is way too small. Some item that I could fit in my 2009 don’t fit in this one. I have to get them in from the back seat.

The navigation system is good but I cannot hear the voice giving me direction. Even know the volume for it is a max and trust me when she speaks it will blow your hears off, when it come to the navigation it drop drastically.

The fuel tank is not right, but for this one I am waiting as it will go in on the 6th and should get fixed (read all other posts on that subject). And this could also falsify the reading on the fuel consumption. For a 4 cyl. It’s pretty high. I average 11.7l/100l which is way off the advertise consumption.

Acceleration is good but the response time is way too high, almost 2 seconds after I floor it before it goes. This is way too long.

And last bust least. I live in Canada and we have a lot of snow, the front clearance, or bumper is way too low, as I found myself using the front of the car as a shovel. As a result some plastic were broken. The design is great but it has is downfall and this is the one.

In conclusion;

This is a good car but not a great one. It has some great feature but also some great flaws. Would I recommend it? Yes without a doubt but with some comments.

Its good car and most people will find it very satisfying and very comfortable to drive it. The looks are great and the ride is very comfortable. Comparing it to similar car with the same equipment and much more expensive will make you choice very easy. Go for the fusion.