2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid

There’s a common misperception that U.S. automakers are behind some imports in technology and fuel efficiency. That may have been true some years ago, but it could not be further from the truth today. Both Ford and GM have become quality and fuel economy leaders in the last few years, especially from the highly competitive mid-size segment up. Chrysler still trails in both but is working hard and fast to catch up. Don’t believe us? Check the numbers.


And while it is true that Japanese automakers Honda and Toyota saw the potential of gasoline-electric “hybrid” technology earlier, invested heavily in it sooner and brought it to market first, it is also true that the top two U.S. makers have assumed hybrid fuel-efficiency leadership as of 2009 with their own state-of-the art technology. While GM is offering fairly affordable mild hybrid sedans and more expensive, high-tech 2-Mode hybrid SUVs and trucks, Ford has redesigned its already excellent parallel hybrid system—and is expanding its availability to the substantially upgraded 2010 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan mid-size hybrid sedans.


The EPA estimates for these ultra-fine new Fusion and Milan Hybrids are an impressive 41 mpg city and 36 highway, which beats Toyota’s ’09 mid-size Camry Hybrid by eight and two mpg, respectively. They are, Ford says, the most fuel-efficient midsize sedans in America.

Design and Features

The conventional Fusion and Milan, nicely restyled and much improved for 2010, offer the mid-size segment’s best gasoline four-cylinder fuel economy, more powerful available V-6s, class-exclusive technologies—including blind spot detection and warning with cross traffic alert and Ford SYNC—and more total passenger and luggage capacity than the Camry. The Fusion’s new look is sportier, more upscale and aerodynamically slicker. The new front end sports large, wrap-around headlamps, a refined three-bar grille over an aggressive lower air intake, a power-dome hood, and new aerodynamic underbody shields to further boost its fuel economy. Around back, more integrated tail lamps contribute to a smoother, more appealing look.


The interior design is more technical and contemporary, with new metallic trim finishes on the instrument panel, center console, doors and steering wheel. A new instrument panel offers soft upper and lower skins—less hard plastic than typical Japanese sedans—and cool ice-blue lighting. The gauges have daytime backlighting and 3-D elements simulating the high tech, jewel-like look of a fine watch. And we love the new leather-wrapped steering wheel, with form-fitting “palm swells,” and the very comfy new seats, with improved contours, more side support, smoother side bolsters and either textural or leather inserts with contrasting stitching.

All-New Hybrid

But the most exciting news is this all-new Fusion Hybrid. Together with its Mercury Milan Hybrid counterpart, it joins the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner (compact SUV) Hybrids to double both the size and volume of Ford Motor Co.’s hybrid lineup. The Ford Hybrid team has developed a powertrain system that combines the best attributes of the gasoline engine and electric battery-driven motors,” Ford engineers assert, “to deliver optimal driving performance and fuel economy.”


Driving a Fusion Hybrid on city streets and in urban freeway traffic near Ford’s Dearborn, MI Product Development Center on a bitter cold winter afternoon, we were impressed by its efficiency “coaching” system, which Ford calls SmartGauge with EcoGuide, and by how seamlessly and transparently it transitioned from gas to electric power, and back. We achieved an average of 38.4 mpg driving normally with traffic and 48.6 mpg very slowly, feather-footing our way along while ignoring irritated drivers behind.


Among this next-generation system’s key features are an ultra-efficient new 2.5-liter four-cylinder “Atkinson cycle” engine good for 155 hp and 136 lb.-ft. of torque mated to an electronically-controlled continuously variable transmission, or “e-CVT.” Intake Variable Cam Timing (iVCT), enable seamless transitions from gas to electric and vice-versa, while both spark and cam timing are varied according to engine load to optimize efficiency and emissions. Enhanced electronic throttle control reduces airflow on shutdowns, which reduces fuel need on restarts, and a “wide-band lambda sensor” analyzes air-fuel ratios and adjusts the lean/rich mixture to keep the system in balance and minimize emissions.