LOS ANGELES- The Ford Fusion appears aptly named, an inspired blend of ingredients that's greater than the sum of its parts.
Priced at a remarkably low $22,995 (Canadian), the Fusion goes on sale later this month, says Jim Padilla, Ford's president and chief operating officer.
In creating the car, Ford leveraged its global resources, drawing on the architecture of the Mazda6 and the assembly and stamping facility in Hermosillo, Mexico, Padilla said.
Fusion is slightly larger than Mazda6 with body improvements that have significantly increased torsional and bending rigidity.
Styling is one of the car's strongest points. The front end, with spade-shaped headlights and a three-horizontal-chrome-bar grille, draws heavily on Ford's dramatic 427 concept car of a couple of years ago. Next time you see a Cadillac CTS, you may have a Fusion flashback.
The bigger Fusion translates into a more spacious interior space, especially in the rear seat, compared to Mazda6. On a less generous note, a driver's right knee might be squeezed by the central console. Again, shades of the Mazda6.
My test car's handsome all-black interior is one of three choices offered. It also had "oatmeal-coloured" stitching on the optional leather seats, which looks particularly sophisticated.
In the back end, the Fusion is a particularly practical car. It has a 15.8-cubic-foot trunk with compact hinges mounted in the rain drip channel to avoid crushing trunk contents plus a low lift-over and standard split-fold rear seat back.
Two engines are offered.
The Duratec 23 (2.3 litre) twin-cam 16-valve four cylinder - essentially the same Mazda-engineered unit used in Focus, Mazda3 and Mazda6 - generates 160 horsepower at 6250 r.p.m. and 156 lb.-ft. of torque at 4250 r.p.m.
It is offered with a five-speed manual transmission. Later in the model year, a five-speed automatic will be available.
The second engine is Ford's corporate Duratec 30 (3.0 litre) V6, with variable intake valve timing, which pumps out 221 horsepower at 6250 r.p.m., and 205 lb.-ft. of torque at 4800 r.p.m.
A six-speed automatic - rare in any class - is the only transmission available with the V6.
Also, what's Ford's excuse for making frontal side air bags and side curtains optional and not offering active head-restraints, when the compact 2006 Honda Civic (previewed elsewhere in Wheels today) makes all three features standard equipment - in a car priced several thousand dollars cheaper than Fusion? At least in Canada the four-wheel disc brakes get standard ABS control although it is only a three-channel system. The suspension is sophisticated, with double wishbones up front, multi-link independent at the rear and stabilizer bars at both ends and power rack and pinion steering.
Only range-topping SEL trim level Fusions with the V6 engine and a six-speed automatic were available for us to try in L.A.'s automotive yin and yang - the fabled canyons of Mulholland Drive and Topanga Canyon Road, in stark contrast to the late-afternoon urban congestion.
The Duratec V6 has the good stuff in the technology toys division, and its output numbers are very good.
Performance was consistently strong - our tester clearly didn't have the optional traction control because we could easily light up the front tires pulling away from a stop.
Still, compared to Japanese contenders, the engine lacks refinement.
The Aisin six-speed autobox shifts smoothly and only light throttle-foot pressure is needed to encourage a downshift when extra torque is called for.
While Fusion's suspension bits are similar to Mazda6, the tuning of springs, shocks and bars is aimed more at the softer expectations of Ford customers.
Steering is power rack and pinion, of course. Ford makes strong claims about Fusion's nimble handling, but I can't wax lyrically over it, even on L.A.'s twisty roads or expressways.
Steve Lyons, Ford's group vice-president of North American marketing, sales and service, said the Fusion is the most important Ford product launch since the 1985 Taurus.
The car returns the company to the mid-size sedan market, currently the second-largest in the U.S. (next to full-size pickups), but less critical, in relative terms, in Canada.
Phil Martens, group vice-president, product creation, was in charge of product development at the same time Ford's Japanese arm was developing the Mazda6, so he had a head start on Fusion.
Fusion is Ford's first car designed on computer rather than a drawing board, he said.
Digital virtual prototypes were "built" in a virtual factory to make sure everything fit before they started bending steel, and to improve assembly procedures prior to Job 1.
The development processes he learned at Mazda have also been adapted to Fusion, with the intention of completely revamping Ford's basic way of doing business over the next few years.
"More cars, faster," is Martens's succinct sum-up.
Ford says it's realistic about the chances of convincing owners of Accord, Altima, Camry and Mazda6 to dump their cars and buy a new Ford Fusion mid-size sedan.
"We know those customers love their cars," said Lyons, "and it'll be hard to lever them out of them. But we also know that something like 20,000 Mustang owners buy a mid-size sedan every year. And 20 per cent of F-Series pickup and Explorer SUV owners have a mid-size sedan too.
"And very few of them are Fords right now," Lyons said. Taurus is maybe a bit bigger than they want, and not right there for ride and handling." So the focus (you should pardon the expression) of Fusion's marketing will be on existing members of the Ford family.
In Canada, two trim levels will be offered - SE ($22,995 with the four; $25,995 with the six) and more luxurious SEL ($25,295 four, $28,295 six.) These prices should put the cat among the pigeons in this segment. Toyota Camry and Honda Accord have dominated in recent years, but are a couple of years old and their styling doesn't even excite many of their owners, so there might be some vulnerability there.
Mazda6 and Nissan Altima have slightly flashier profiles, while Hyundai's new Sonata can no longer be ignored. Chevrolet Malibu is a drab but worthy contender. Even Chevy's bigger Impala was recently heavily refreshed, and priced at an almost predatory level.
It's a tough and talented field, but Fusion certainly has the style, space, performance, features and price to take it on.And if it doesn't prowl the canyon roads like a Formula One car, well, who can blame it for that? Jim Kenzie, a freelance writer (jim @ jimkenzie.com), prepared this report based on travel provided by the auto maker.
|