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10 Ford Fusion
Resale: $20,342
Value: Below Average
MPG: 22 city/31 hwy

2010 Ford Fusion

2010 Ford Fusion Review

5 Star Rating  (5 Stars) The 2010 Motor Trend Car of the Year

Reviewed by Automobile on 12/22/2010

Overview
The 2010 Ford Fusion has just received a major redesign and these changes have been very well accepted. The Fusion received the 2010 car of the year award from Motor Trend and this speaks volumes about this new sedan and its performance and likeability. The new interior design adds many smart features that will make your time spent inside the car much more enjoyable. This car offers a huge variety of power train and engine options allowing consumers to really build the car that they want very easily. For example the sports model offers a powerful 263 horsepower V-6 engine to make this small sedan really get up and move and then there are smaller engines available that can offer up to 41MPG on the highway.

With such diversity in its offerings this car may be one of the most versatile in all of Fords offerings. The interior design really makes long trips a viable option, but may lack some high end options and upgrades that consumer's want. However, for a midsized 5 seat sedan economically priced under $20,000 the Fusion offers more than enough for most to see the real value it offers.

Check Dealer Pricing On a New Ford Fusion

The Range

Bodystyles: Sedan
Engines: 2.5L I-4, 3.0L V-6, 3.5L V-6, 2.5L I-4 with electric motor
Transmissions: 6-speed manual, 6-speed automatic, continuously variable transmission (CVT0
Models: S, SE, SEL FWD, SEL AWD, Sport FWD, Sport AWD, Hybrid

What's New

Just about everything on the 2010 Fusion is new or heavily updated, including the powertrains, exterior and interior design, plus high-tech features like Ford's blind spot Information system.

Exterior

New sheetmetal retains the old model's three-bar grille, but incorporates it into a more organic design that carries hints of the stylish European Mondeo. The result is a sedan that's more attractive than much of the competition.

Interior

The Fusion's cabin is accented by plentiful ambient lighting. Optional 12-speaker, 390-watt Sony audio system provides a great soundtrack. Hybrid models get a unique LCD gauge cluster that provides fuel economy and power-flow information.

Performance & Handling

The Fusion's I-4 makes 175 horsepower and 172 pound-feet of torque, while the optional V-6 makes 240 horsepower and 223 pound-feet of torque and is capable of running on E85. Sport's 3.5L V-6 is good for 263 horsepower and 249 pound-feet of torque. The Hybrid's Atkinson-cycle I-4 makes 156 horsepower and 136 pound-feet, plus there's 106 horsepower from the electric motor.

Safety

Six airbags are standard along with seatbelt pretensioners. Optional safety features include a rear-view camera, reverse sensors, and a Blind Spot Information system that detects vehicles that may be in the driver's blind spots.

EPA Fuel Economy

S manual: 22 mpg city/31 mpg highway
S automatic: 23 mpg city/34 mpg highway
SE manual: 22 mpg city/29 mpg highway
SE, SEL I-4 automatic: 22 mpg city/31 mpg highway
SE, SEL V-6 FWD: 18 mpg city/27 mpg highway
SEL V-6 AWD: 17 mpg city/24 mpg highway
Sport FWD: 18 mpg city/27 mpg highway
Sport AWD: 17 mpg city/24 mpg highway
Hybrid: 41 mpg city/36 mph highway

You'll Like

  • Good fuel economy
  • Plentiful high-tech features
  • Wide powertrain range
  • Available AWD

You Won't Like

  • 3.0L V-6 lacks oomph
  • Lack of option flexibility

Sum Up

5 Star Rating The 2010 Motor Trend Car of the Year
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2010 Sport ModelsBase EngineMSRPDealer Price Quote
2010 Fusion

Likes:

EV mode is very useful and it comes on often.

The Sony stereo is pretty incredible and the controls are very easy to reach, even the tuning knob - which isn't the case for a lot of other cars these days.

Ford did a very good job with the smart gauge cluster. It makes the rest of the interior seem much higher quality and the display is crystal clear.

The cabin is incredibly quiet. Holding a conversation with a friend at highway speeds is very easy.

Dislikes:

The brakes feel very squishy at first, but after a few miles you are used to the feeling.Steering feel is very artificial, but that's the price you pay for electric steering and increased mpg. I doubt it matters much in this class.

Generally speaking, the suspension is well tuned, but there are some motions that creep in on smooth roads. Perhaps this is a result of the extra weight of batteries.

Maybe the wheels are good for aero, but why do they have to look like hubcaps?

Overall I'd say this is the best mid-size hybrid you can buy.

Phil Floraday, Senior Online Editor

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