Her + His Car Reviews
2018 Ford Fusion Platinum Energi
Our car reviews are innovative and interesting as we provide insightful and expert reviews from both Her + His perspectives.
Her: Anne Fleming, Car Buying Advocate, women-drivers.com
His: Don Hammonds, Writer, AutomobileJournal.com
| HER | HIS |
|---|---|
| Price | |
| $41,220 | $41,220 |
| Performance | |
| This years' plug-in hybrid 2018 Ford Fusion gets just pretty good pick up - just under 200 horsepower from a 2.0 liter four-cylinder engine combined with a lithium battery pack and electric motor. The driving range is limiting to just 21 miles for an all-electric trips, which is disappointing. The car has adequate acceleration range and handling was more responsive. | The Fusion Energi is equipped with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine paired to an electric motor and a lithium-ion battery pack. Altogether, you have about 188 horsepower at your beck and call. Can travel up to 21 miles on electric power alone, at speeds up to 85 mph. Ford says that charging an empty battery using a Level 2 charger should take about 2.5 hours. Using a 110-volt, household-style outlet increases this time to seven hours. What is interesting is that it is a supremely responsive sedan on the road. When most people think about any hybrid car is that they are slow on acceleration and stolid on handling. Not so here! Response was instantaneous, and handling, is more than adequate for the kinds of tasks that are asked of it. |
| Fuel Economy | |
| 42 miles to the gallon or 2.4 gallons per 100 miles. With combination of gas and electricity, the rating is 97 mpg. With all electric range of 21 miles - total. | Stupendous! We were able to do even better than the government rating given the Energi. We got almost 50 miles per gallon in combined city/highway driving! With Gas and electric, the rating is 97 MPG, and with gasoline only the rating is 42 miles per gallon combined. It only requires 2.4 gallons of gas to drive 100 miles! |
| The Car | |
| Ford didn't make a lot of updates for this calendar year on this 5 passenger model. delivers a comfortable ride and good acceleration in the city. Still, the vehicle has a lot of great standard features for this plug-in hybrid. Know that the 2018 Fusion Energi does not get an overall high grade in the midsized car rankings. Its design is above average, the infotainment system is very good and has an easy user-interface. We really like the interior vehicle space for travelers, though the trunk space is rather small due to the positioning of the battery pack there. The materials used are of good quality and we like that on the dash there are knobs making user-interface very tactile and precise. Leather, heated seats are very comfortable, and on those cold days, so is the heated steering wheel. The acceleration is in the "fair to middling" range. What is most peculiar is the vehicle has low electric range of just 21 miles. Further, the charging cords are not very long, making it problematic for the vehicle to be charged easily. The value and ease for the buyer simply isn't there. Power moonroof is a nice touch. The car is riding on 18' aluminum wheels. |
There's the car, and there's the technology. The Fusion as a model will disappear in a year or so, thus taking the brand out of the sedan business. The Fusion has always been one of the better mid-sized cars on the market, with a substantial feel on the road, roomy cabins, nice styling and altogether a desirable product.
It's a shame that it is going out of production. I have a feeling that Ford and other American car makers who are dropping their sedans are going to regret it with the next, almost inevitable gasoline price escalation. Now, a word about the technology. Plug-in technology is great, and it offers the ability to drive on gasoline only, and switch to all-electric driving as they wish. Depending on the range of the model you are considering, you may be able to drive for long distances and not have to bother to buy gasoline for quite a while. But unfortunately, the all-electric driving range on this car is only 21 miles. But the biggest problem is that the cords used to charge these cars are usually not long enough to reaching electrical outlets on the porches of urban homes, and extension cords are not recommended for these cars. Too, despite an increase in charging stations for plug-in hybrids, there simply are not enough around to make charging as convenient as it should be. At least in Pittsburgh, you are mostly required to go to a parking lot that has a charging station or a hospital. Other challenges are that the trunk space is miniscule. It is taken up by the battery pack, and a very high shelf that goes along with that means you cannot put many things inside the trunk. Another is the price. You can buy a wonderful Ford Fusion Hybrid for a lot less. |
| Safety | |
| LED Headlamps, and Auto High Beam Headlamps, Turn Signals integrated into exterior Side Mirrors, Rain-Sensing Wipers, Mega Airbags throughout, LATCH Child Safety System, Perimeter Alarm, Anti-lock theft system, Tire Pressure Monitoring System, Rear-Inflatable Safety Belts. | Features include a rearview camera, rear parking sensors and Ford's Co-Pilot360 Protect package, which brings automatic high-beam control, lane departure warning and mitigation, a blind-spot monitor, and a pre-collision warning system with automatic braking and pedestrian detection. |
| Technology | |
| Rearview camera, Rear park assist, Standard AppLink, two USB ports and smart phone integration with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. A very cool standard feature is MyKey, which allows speeds and volumes limits to be set, by a parent, for example. Satellite radio, voice-controlled, SYNC 3 infotainment system, with an 8" touchscreen, a kick 11-speaker sound system, Remote start, as well as Push-button start. As stated above, the SYNC 3 infotainment system is very user friendly as it has the template "like" a smart phone where you can swipe and pinch to navigate. Driver technology also includes Blind-spot Monitoring, Parallel/Perpendicular Park Assist (way cool), Adaptive Cruise Control, Pre-Collision Assist, Pedestrian Detection and Lane Keep Assist. |
What do you get for your money as standard equipment with the Fusion Energi? Quite a bit. Remember that it comes in only one version, the Platinum, and that's the top of the line Fusion for Ford. You get 17-inch alloy wheels, LED exterior lighting (headlights, taillights and foglights), heated mirrors with an auto-dimming driver mirror, automatic wipers, a rear spoiler, remote engine start, exterior keypad entry, keyless entry and ignition, dual-zone automatic climate control, rear air vents, twin 4.2-inch configurable screens in the instrument cluster, adaptive cruise control, ambient interior lighting, a leather-wrapped steering wheel with heating, heated and ventilated front seats with eight-way adjustment (including two-way power lumbar), a 60/40-split fold-down rear seat with inflatable seat belts, memory settings and leather upholstery. For entertainment, there's an 8-inch touchscreen with the Sync 3 interface, a navigation system, and a 12-speaker Sony audio system with a CD player, HD and satellite radio, two USB ports, and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility. |
| Aesthetics & Styling | |
| Overall the look is universally appealing, though it looks very much like the 2016 edition. At $41K, it seems that Ford is riding the storm out on this model, and we get it. Why take a big leap into something more forward when it has a shelf life of of built-in obsolescence? | Actually, for me, the big selling point for the Fusion Energi was the luscious interior! Absolutely beautiful with high quality materials and plenty of room inside for everyone. It's plenty quiet too inside. Altogether, this car gives you a luxury car experience all the way around.
The exterior? Classy looking, though the fastback "coupe sedan" idea is getting a bit dated. |
| Warranty | |
| 3 Years/36,000 Miles Bumper to Bumper. 5 Years/60,000 Miles Powertrain. 5 Years/60,000 Roadside Assistance. 9 Years/100,000 Hybrid Components. | The basic warranty is 36 months/36,000 miles. The hybrid electrical components warranty is for 96 months or 100,000 miles, the powertrain warranty is 60 months or 60,000 miles. |
