One last photo before turning it in.
I have written about my 2017 Ford Fusion Platinum several times before (here and here). Now that it is has accumulated nearly 40,000 miles and is at the end of its 3-year lease, it seems fitting to check in on it one last time, especially in light of Ford’s recent decision to cancel the Fusion, along with the rest of their sedan lineup. Did Ford make the right choice?
In case you missed it, the two-year only Fusion Platinum (sold in 2017 and 2018) was a model that slotted above the top-of-the-line Fusion Titanium, adding bespoke luxury goodies like genuine wood trim and a leather-trimmed dashboard, along with luxury gadgets borrowed from the MKZ like a power tilt and telescoping steering wheel. It was truly a modern-day LTD.
Let me open by stating that I am no stranger to the Ford CD4 platform (upon which both the Fusion and MKZ are built). Indeed, I would consider myself to be somewhat a CD4 connoisseur (is that even a thing?). Long time readers of my COAL posts may recall that before I picked up my Fusion in 2017, my previous whip was the Fusion’s CD4 platform-mate 2014 Lincoln MKZ, a car that I liked so much that I essentially bought the same car again in 2017 (only in the guise of a Ford instead of a Lincoln, for reasons outlined in my previous posts).
So after driving the Ford CD4 platform for almost as long as it has been offered for sale, and I can confidently say that Ford pretty much perfected the mid-size sedan with this vehicle.
The ride/handling balance is near perfect, despite rolling on 19″ wheels and low profile rubber, and despite having no form of computerized suspension (which I still maintain is unnecessary with a properly tuned suspension). The ride is forgiving, but the handling is crisp. Part of my daily commute goes down a twisting two-lane road featuring corners with sweeping elevation changes, and the fact that I can drive this section of road without having to use the brakes brings me immense joy every day. It is the part of my commute that I look forward to the most.
Some of my taller passengers have complained about the low roofline and lack of headroom. I, however, being five foot nine, don’t mind the low roofline, and in fact like the snug feel and the benefits provided by the accompanying low center of gravity.
Working at the car wash
I would describe my experience with this car as largely positive. It never once left me stranded, and it cost me almost nothing to operate over the past three years: The only maintenance I had to perform was the requisite fluid and filter changes, along with one set of tires.
After three years, the annoyances remain minor: I could never get the auto-close function on the driver’s door window to work consistently, despite my repeated attempts to “reprogram” it by holding the switch in the up position while closing it. It would work correctly for a while, but eventually it would go back to bouncing open instead of staying shut. The Sony sound system was adequate, but will never be mistaken for a high-end Revel or Mark Levinson setup. My only other complaint was a wind leak from the passenger side door that the dealer was only able to reduce, but never completely quell.
Scuff marks on lower door panel.
One last nit: I typically prefer cars with black interiors, but the Fusion Platinum was only available with a tan diamond-quilted leather interior with snazzy looking cocoa trim and piping. It has generally held up well, and I appreciated the brief respite from the steady stream of cars with coal bin black interiors that I previously owned. However, this car has reminded me why I usually prefer black interiors. Black scuff marks are visible on the door panel from regular shoe contact, and there is a distinct black discoloration to the driver’s seat as dye from the black leather belts I frequently wear seems to have transferred to the seat. I’ll probably be back in black for my next car’s interior.
Over the course of 38,662 miles, with a mix of about 60% highway/40% city miles, my Fusion consumed exactly 1,625.13 gallons of regular unleaded gasoline, returning an average of 23.79 MPG. Not bad for an all-wheel-drive, mid-sized sedan. This (not surprisingly) closely matches the 23.13 MPG I averaged in my AWD 2014 MKZ, and is considerably better than the 21.50 I averaged over 40,000 miles in my 2011 Buick Lacrosse (which was only front-wheel drive, to boot).
Other than some minor discoloration, the interior has held up relatively well after almost 40,000 miles.
Back to the big picture: It seems unfortunate that the marketplace did not respond to the Fusion as I did. I find it to be better looking than either the Accord or the Malibu, and the Fusion can be had with features not available in many mid-sized sedans, like all-wheel drive and air-conditioned seats (OK, AWD is coming to the Camry in 2020). It is somewhat unfair to lay all the blame for the Fusion’s pending demise at Ford’s feet: The market has spoken, and the market clearly prefers F-150s and Escapes to sedans, even if I personally do not.
Speaking of my next car, I likely will not be getting another CD4 (Fusion or MKZ), even though both are (for now) still offered for sale. After driving essentially the same car for the past six years, I am ready for something different (look for an update coming soon).
As to the question I posed at the beginning of this article: By now it should be clear that I think that Ford discontinuing the Fusion is a mistake, one that will cost them at least one future sale (mine). I realize that this isn’t a QOTD post, but I’m curious to see if anyone else has put off purchasing a new Ford product as a result of their recent sedan-pocalypse.
Throughout the century of auto manufacturing, there are many cases of auto excellence failing to meet market success. While we all hope that the best vehicles are rewarded, resulting in a continuous improvement for all, that is clearly not the case in many situations.
We have too many auto manufacturers and there will be good manufacturers that will go out of business even though they make good products.
Objectively, cars today perform admirably. On the other hand, subjectively, some brands are more successful than others due to standards that cannot be measured. Brands are becoming more like a church, where everyone ends up in heaven, but some prefer to get there with this, or that group of friends based upon this, or that subjective consideration.
As a kid, many cars were bad. But today, I believe it would be more of a challenge to find a bad car, than to separate the great ones. We’re witnessing brands marketing themselves over very unimportant vehicle attributes that have little to no impact on their vehicular performance.
While this has always had an impact, today the marketing, image and social acceptance of a brand is often deemed more important than whether the car can get you to work or play.
To some, the nationality is important. To others, the styling is important. To some, the brand is a must. To many, cost and maintenance is primary. Even some folks decide based upon global warming! It is a whirlwind of priorities.
Consequently, you can have excellent cars that can’t find buyers. Why has Mazda struggled? Why has Subaru succeeded? How could someone select an Acura, or an Infiniti over a Lexus, a Volvo, or a Lincoln?
There are as many good car failures as there are good car successes.
I have a 2015 Fusion SE as a company car. It’s a loaded up SE with leather, navi, sunroof and the smaller ecoboost engine (1.5L)? I really like the car. It’s comfortable, good on gas and is fun to drive. It has the tan leather interior which I really like. I soooo dislike a black interior vehicle. And yeah, I have those same shoe scuff marks.
I have a 2013 fusion with all options but automatic transmission. Took awhile for my salesman to find and thet stopped offering stick around that time. I have about 50,000 troublefree miles and will likely keep til 100k. I wish that companies still offered stick with options. The few sedans available with stick are base models.
Amen to that. A midsize sedan with a manual transmission is a true unicorn now days, and the ones you do find typically have the small base engine, and very few options. I know it’s all about supply and demand, but how cool would this Fusion be if it had a manual!
I could have sworn Ford offered a version of the Fusion with a power tilt-telescoping steering wheel, a feature that exactly none of its competitors have had. You’d think it would’ve been the Platinum grade, but yours doesn’t have it. Maybe it was a standalone option or tied to a package.
The Platinum did indeed have the power tilt and telescoping steering column (with two position memory) from the MKZ. You can’t see the controls in the picture above, but it is right below the turn signal stalk.
My husband, until December, had a 2017 Fusion Titanium. At the time it was totaled, it had 83,000 miles on it. It was largely trouble-free, aside from attracting repeated attention from wheel thieves and chop-shop strippers (wheels were stolen twice and it was partially stripped in our driveway once). Only non-criminal troubles were one bad battery and a heated seat that stopped heating (replaced under warranty).
My thoughts echo yours on the ride and handling. It was a surprisingly dynamic car, willing to hang on through a hard curve if you pushed it. But, it rode pretty smoothly, even on Michigan’s hellscape roads. The interior was quite nice, very well-equipped, well put together, attractive to the eye. The heated and cooled seats held up well to long drives. His was just the front-drive, but it was decent in the snow and great on gas (easily could surpass 30 mpg on the freeway).
I was sad to see it go, both from our household and from Ford’s product plans. Ford had finally gotten a mid-sizer right, just in time to cancel it. I’m done with Ford for awhile now, since they’ve canceled anything I’d be interested in. My husband elected to buy a used Taurus to replace the Fusion, but he too finds no interest in anything Ford’s selling new.
Even after the announcement they were cancelling the cars, Fusion was Ford’s 4th best seller last year, beating out the Edge and others. I suspect that the buyers that bought a Fusion Titanium for $30-35K aren’t going to buy an Edge that’s much sparser in equipment with that money. Instead they’ll go buy from someone else that offers them a well-equipped package at the right price.
Might I ask what city you live? Stolen wheels twice and a chop-shop stripper in your driveway…really?
Yes, really. I didn’t say they finished the job, but they were working on it. Caused $14,000 in damage. Fusions are popular around here, and I know of at least three others besides my husband’s that had theft happen. In our case it happened the first time in our upper class suburb. Second time in the city.
photo didn’t post…
Wow, that sure is a shame having your property repeatedly vandalized.
Would an aftermarket car alarm help in this situation?
When I lived in Memphis I had to replace 2 windshields on different cars and driver’s windows on 5 or 6…at least. ALL the vehicles were oldish daily driver types that were broken into by kids looking for valuables (like I would be that stupid, tho I suppose others are). They came close to stealing an 8 year old J2000 and were too stupid to see it didn’t have automatic transmission.
Insane, and very different to “our” thieves here in Austria where the nosy nature of the locals would ensure police appearing on the scene relatively quickly. Here usually the whole car disappears, mostly to reappear with new identity somewhere in the Wild East. This kind of theft would only happen if the car stands for a very long time in an isolated neighborhood, but not otherwise.
I almost got a 2015 Fusion when looking to replace my Grand Marquis but went with a 2015 accord instead. Reason? Visability. The high beltline of the fusion made it impossible for my kids to see it of and the glassy cabin of the Grand Marquis is something I didn’t want to give up. Funny how a Ford product pushed me to getting a Honda. Also funny how Honda and Toyota meanwhile have gone and copied the swoopy styling of the 2013 Fusion with which is another reason I went with the old accord and not the 2018.
I agree Fords making a mistake by killing the fusion. It is still a fun to drive good looking reliable well equipped efficient sedan. I always thought it easily held it’s own against the rest of the midsize segment and never knew anyone who had one and didn’t like it (can’t say that about the 86-05 Taurus). But I didn’t buy one so I guess I’m partially to blame.
Sharp looking car. Always a second glance from me when I see one on the road -“That’s a Ford?!” or parked. The twirling knob transmission controls throw me off though. What is your feeling after using the system?
My husband’s Fusion had the rotary knob, which Ford knicked from Jaguar. Coincidentally, I now have a Jaguar XE with it. I’ve also driven cars with push-button auto transmissions (Lincoln Continental), the new joystick-style auto transmissions (2020 Jaguar E-Pace I had as a loaner last week), and of course more conventional lever and column-shifted autos.
Of all of the form factors, the rotary knob is actually my favorite, aside from the column shift. In both Ford’s and Jaguar’s implementations, the selections all have pretty positive stops and feel crisp. Going to Drive is just a quick flick that barely requires looking. They don’t take up significant space. It’s intuitive and easy as can be, and I cannot for the life of me figure out why reviewers don’t like them. They beat the hell out of the push-button ones and the stupid console-based levers!
Thank you for your observations. After 40 years of driving with some kind of lever to shift it seems counterintuitive. I will adapt though. More and more we seem to be losing the direct mechanical interface with our machines.
The rotary shift knob is very intuitive to use. I think I preferred the pushbutton setup on my MKZ, however, as it freed up more space in the center console.
A glowing 40K report!
Sounds like it has much to recommend for it.
However, even Kia and Hyundai make cars that stay together for 40K miles today.
Let’s hear what it’s like, 5 or 6 years from today, with 140K on one of these.
Even Consumer Reports likes the Fusion. I think Ford is making a mistake by focusing on CUVs, a spike in gas means Hyundai and Nissan get to sell their sedans to frustrated SUV owners who already tire of putting $80 into a tank once a week. Putting $100 in will be an incentive to send them shopping for something that averages 30 mpg and can carry 5 people for $40 a fill.
Ford is not in the business of making cars, it’s in the business of making money. As it makes a profit of $10,000 on every F series truck it sells, why tie up production on vehicles that make far less? The Fusion may be a wonderful car, but trucks and SU/CUV’s are where the profits are and that is what will be built.
That argument holds no water. How is every other foreign manufacturer doing it? How is Kia able to keep making the Cadenza here in the states that sells in hundreds yet Ford can’t support a sedan that sells in the 150-200k per year range? It is made in Mexico so I’m also not buying that it doesn’t generate adequate profit. And doesn’t it make more sense to build something that generates a bit less profit than to kill it off, piss off your customers and lose the sale completely to a competitor?
I agree. After Ford announced its stupid decision, I bought a 2018 Fusion Platinum Hybrid CPO. Both interior and exterior are beautiful. Also, all Platinum models came with the latest driver assist safety technology. The ride is very comfortable, not floaty. The seats are more comfortable than my Vanden Plas.
I just drove 1200 miles and used 32 gallons of regular fuel in the Fusion. Last year’s trip in the VDP used 52 gallons of premium… more than doubling the fuel cost of the Fusion, yet lacking the Fusion’s superior connectivity aids. The difference in fuel costs grows with city driving instead of highway driving. Then there is the difference in Plate and insurance costs.
Get ‘em while you can!
I can’t think of any modern sedan that can seat 3 in the back comfortably.
I went looking at new and slightly used Fusions about a year ago and was ready to buy one, they are genuinely nice cars and drive well. In the end I didn’t as I could not find a good enough used one that had the large screen instead of the tiny one that is clearly styled to remind you of what you skipped and paired with a no sunroof option as my height makes the sunroof annoying in a Fusion. Yes it could have been ordered new but not at a low enough price. So I ended up with a different car at the price I wanted to pay without a sunroof and no visible reminder of not getting some options. Maybe if Ford didn’t play dumb games with their options (or the styling thereof) they would have had another sale.
Sounds like it was as good a car for you as it seemed they were when I looked at them.
I’d say that was the fault of the dealers in your area. Lots of non sunroof cars around here even in non base models.
I was more looking for a base car with the larger screen upgrade than an upmarket car without a sunroof. They do exist but are fairly thin on the ground based on what I was seeing. Oh well.
For not quite two years, I owned a 2017 Fusion SE with the 2.0 liter four and most available options (essentially optioned to be equivalent to a Titanium). I bought it after owning a series of VW Passats and a Volvo 850, and found the Fusion to have the best combination of ride and handling – in fact, it felt more German than the current North America-only Passat, with especially precise steering. At the end of the model year, I was able to score an excellent deal, paying less than 80% of MSRP.
Though I normally keep cars for 7-10 years, I ended up trading the car for a crossover last summer, due to a job change that requires me to often haul passengers in the rear seat, and the Fusion was a bit tight back there for tall passengers. I also found the front seats becoming unbearably uncomfortable after about 2 hours, unacceptable in a car bought as a cross-country tourer. We had been very impressed with the European Mondeo wagon during a 2016 trip to the UK and if it was available here, that would have been the preferred alternative.
Very attractive Fusion, not one of the more common colors, and the beautiful Platinum level interior starts to nudge into Lincoln territory. It looks a lot like the Continental Black Label Chalet Theme. I did not realize the wood trim was real.
As the owner of a very well equipped ’16 SE 2.5 and an ’18 Titanium 2.0T AWD, I concur on all you wrote.
We bought ours used due to the steep depreciation on these, paid $19,500 for the sticker below. Approaching near half-off for 12K and 8 mo. shaved off the warranty just isn’t a bad deal.
I chased buying a Platinum for a bit, but while you can almost buy these used “made-to-order,” the Platinums are a bit scarce, and a good chunk of the price premium covers the standard driver aid package which I just did not want. As it is, we have Nav in both cars, and it’s $1,600 wasted in my opinion. I’ve long paid a monthly annuity for Siri for this service.
These cars have been a touch recall prone, but I’ve tied them into my service visits, and my preferred dealer has made it all quite easy and uneventful.
I like the ride in our SE over the Titanium. I blame the sharper feel of road irregularities in the Titanium on the 18″ wheels vs. the 17″ on the SE. I’m a bit lost on the obsession with big wheels over ride, and I think the Titanium’s very good looking wheels would look fine as 17s.
While Ford’s line of sedans was too deep for the modern market; Fiesta, Focus, Fusion and Taurus, it’s hard not to think a major player like Ford should have stuck with at least two, especially as Ford is already invested in the engineering for Europe and China. For the moment at least, part of the market still appreciates the low center of gravity you won’t find in a crossover. After years SUVs, I also find it nice to have a trunk again where you don’t have to worry about leaving even minor items in plain sight.
One odd observation between our two cars, the SE has a built in grab handle inside the trunk lid to serve as a pull down – keeps one’s glove clean in our messy winters. The newer Titanium omits this. Cost cutters get paid way too much to think about these two dollar decisions. I’m ready to hunt down this part at the local wrecking yard!
As I drove home from work tonight in my recently acquired Audi S5, in SE Michigan (off topic, but I’ll be moving the southwest soon), I couldn’t help but notice and shake my head in disbelief at the approx 80% of the vehicles surrounding me in traffic that were either a) ridiculous brodozer trucks (with requisite massive grills/front fascias, ridiculous graphic decals, over the top, whacky “hard core” styling details, that are trying way too hard, absurd headlight height positioning that nearly certainly guarantees extreme annoyance whenever one of these oversized – 95% of which are haulin’ air – monstrosities is behind one, etc), b) a nearly indistinguishable sea of jellybean or wedge or combo shaped crossovers, or c) a nearly indistinguishable sea of similarly styled (ala crossovers) SUVs, I couldn’t help but be saddened that vehicles such as the Fusion are being cancelled.
It’s an idiotic move by Ford, similar to idiotic moves by Guangzhou Motors (GM), that cedes the midsize and large sedan market, whole cloth, to Honda, Toyota, Hyundai/KIA, the Germans, et al.
The Fusion is a very good vehicle, with a proper European chassis and suspension tuning/damping, excellent road manners and refinement (with exception of excessive and unpleasant noise from the engine in the upper rpm band), good fit and finish, that is reasonably affordable (especially after aggressive haggling, that many will miss.
The automotive world is in a strange place right now with the massive takeover of the roads by pickup and crossovers/SUVs, which in most cases are inferior in terms of ride quality, way worse driving dynamics, much worse fuel economy, and massively overpriced/terrible value propositions versus cars such as the Fusion, which would better serve many SUV and crossover drivers’ needs better than their far more expensive whips, at a fraction of the running costs.
fusions were great cars. they make great used cars too. but for some reason after about 2010… the transmissions got weak. before that they were trouble free cars – including the transmissions.
Started using a trans built in conjunction with GM. Mechanics tell me to change out trans fluid at 30k mile intervals.
This comes here in various grades of Mondeo at least I think it still does Ford would be stupid to abandon cars altogether, these are the cars British TV program 5th gear complained about saying by Americanising the Mondeo they dialed all the dynamic ability out, nobody else seems to have noticed and I see lots of Mondeo about and a lot of those are diesels with the twin cam 2.0 PSA powertrain, People here were walking past the Australian Falcons and buying the world Ford long before the Aussie car went out of production for actual daily driving straight six RWD had fallen out of favour.
Tom, I’m glad that you’ve had a good experience with Ford/Lincoln products. Unfortunately I can’t say the same. All of the issues happened before reaching 100,000 miles on my ’11 MkZephyr Hybrid:
1) interior door handle broke, fixed it myself $30 (known issue since ’06)
2) throttle body needed replacement, same time A/C recharge – closer to $500
3) HCU and ABS module replacement (same as a recall but it covers only up to 2010 model year) $3,200
4) a hybrid system programmed to stop working in a hybrid mode at 8-9 y.o., so vehicle runs on ICE only. Found a solution on how to reset a battery clock. No charge, as I did it myself
5) my rear defrost it’s not working. Wiring grid has no visual damage, fuse is fine, I can hear relay clicking, button is OK, as heated mirrors are working. I’ve never had a defrost fail in my previous vehicles! WTF❓🤔
It’ll be my last Ford product. I’ll be looking at a Toyota or a Lexus hybrid next time.
Sorry about your experience. Contrary to your experience, my neighbor’s 2010 Fusion Hybrid has over 140,000 trouble-free miles. Their Fusion is more comfortable than my Vanden Plas.
Curious about issue #4, how many more miles were you able to enjoy in hybrid mode after your self-fix (internal clock reset)?
Thanks, Drew! I’m glad that someone is having a good experience.
It is operating like new and it’s able to drive in electric mode even up slight hills. I’m in Canada, so I can’t tell you how many miles, but my tank went from 700 km to 900 km. I’ve done a battery age reset last Fall, when gas stations already made a change to a Winter blend. I’m hoping to have even better fuel economy once we switch to a Summer blend and temperature rises.
I’m pissed off at Ford for not including a Lincoln nor hybrid models in a throttle body recall, even though parts are the same and even more mad that ABS recall only covers up to 2010 model year, although there are multiple failures up to 2012. Same Generation 1.5 was made 2010-2012).
I am wondering how long (time) and how well the hybrid kept working after you reset the internal clock.
I don’t know why such an internal clock exists nor the potential harm from resetting it.
D.O.E. said that a hybrid battery degradation was under 6% in 160,000 miles.
After a hybrid system stops working due to a programming issue, car has a delay between a throttle application and starting to move.
Someone had a hybrid system to stop functioning at 44,000 miles on a vehicle built in 2010 due to clock programming.
The first person did a clock reset over six month ago and doesn’t have any issues. The clock was reset to a 1 y.o.
The alternative to doing a battery clock reset is a brand new hybrid battery (unnecessary) or to sell (trade in).
YMMV.
Bimmer, do you know why the hybrid battery has a time-out clock at all?
I don’t. Maybe Ford was cautious at the time, maybe some other reason. What’s interesting is that many people who went to a dealer were disappointed that dealer couldn’t find anything wrong and some suggested a hybrid battery replacement.
What I find amusing is that a hybrid has a warranty of 8 years or 100,000 miles (some states 10/160,000). And by some coincidence a hybrid system stops working at about the same time.
From Ford: “Oct 3 2019 8922 – 2010-2012 Fusion HEV, 2010-2011 Milan HEV, 2011-2012 MKZ HEV – Reduced ElectricVehicle Operation
Some 2010-2012 Fusion hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), 2010-2011 Milan HEV and 2011-2012 MKZ HEV vehicles may experience reduced electric vehicle operation and increased gasoline engine operation. Do not attempt repairs at this time. Engineering is investigating, monitor OASIS for updates.”
Damn, I’d forgotten how nice the Platinum interior was. And I didn’t realise this trim had been discontinued.
A shame we didn’t get a Mondeo Platinum/Vignale here, although we’ll finally get a Vignale Ford with the new Escape.
I test drove a Mondeo 2.0T the other day. Well, it was supposed to be a 2.0T… instead it was the 2.0 turbo-diesel as they’d made a misprint on the ad. I only realised when they brought the car around front and I heard the clatter.
I was impressed with the interior presentation and quality but I just can’t do a turbo-diesel, I loathe the sound. I know, I know, better fuel economy, great low-end torque… Sorry, I’m just not there yet.
I started looking around for other 2.0T Mondeos but they’re just not hugely common here — the mid-size segment is virtually dead here. Camry outsells the next 3 best-sellers combined, IIRC, and outsells the #2 (Mazda6) by like 5-to-1.
I also realised there was something else I could get a better deal on and I’m getting close to pulling the trigger. Stay tuned.
Nice sendoff, Tom. This is an excellent car. I drove one on two occasions, both Titanium 2.0Ts, and the chassis is impressive. Just the right balance of response, comfort, and quiet refinement. Like you, I was immediately impressed that they could tune the suspension to avoid harshness on 45 series tires. The interior materials were quite good for the 2013-2017 timeframe. Aside from the seats and what resides under the hood, this is a far nicer car than the competing XV50 Camry that we ultimately settled on. Those two demerits were significant for me, though, and I wasn’t sure (and still am not) what durability at 100K+ miles would be like.
I own a 2019 Fusion S (the stripper) with the naturally aspirated 2.5 four. Driving 80 percent rural, but 20 percent urban stop and go I am averaging 31 mpg year around. The car handles beautifully. Ford is foolish to discontinue this car.
I had a 2017 Magnetic SE with the 2.5 and factory moonroof as a rental a few years back and was mostly impressed. My 2013 W-body Impala suffered a rear door hit and run so was in the shop for a door replacement and paint for a whole week so I got to spend a lot of quality time with the Fusion.
The ride, handling, steering and braking are all spot on and have yet to be bettered by any other mid size sedan I have rented. The seats were comfortable enough, front seat room is better than my buddy’s 2016 Taurus SEL and the back seat is fine if you are less than 6′ tall as my friends that were that height were brushing heads against the rear headliner. Without the optional moonroof it may me a bit better but I never investigated this.
One achilles heel to this car was the base 2.5. It was adequate, mileage was reasonable and reliability/long term longevity would probably be quite good. But it was rather noisy at times, passing power was average at best and literally every other mid size I have rented got better real world MPG including, Camry’s, Sonata’s, Malibu’s and Altima’s and offer better performance. If anything I would call the 2.5 outdated and underdeveloped and that was probably on purpose to make you upgrade to one of the Ecoboost options. My 2017 Impala’s 2.5 Ecotec is better in every possible way as a comparison as are the engines in the above rental cars I had.
I have no experience with the 1.5T engine but from what I can tell from other reviews it is only slightly quicker and more efficient and probably offers a better flatter torque curve. Note that for 2019/2020 model years this is now the std engine in SE and the new SEL trims with the base still using the 2.5 and the Titanium and all AWD models using the 2.0T but that mill has disappointed me in the MPG department.
Another area that was a bit disappointing was the tiny base screen that my rental had. Thankfully that too was rectified for 19/20 on all but the base S version which now also means std rear air vents from SE trims on up too.
Reliability seems pretty good too from what other owners have told me. Still my rental suffered two lapses. One was mis fitting trim on the glove box door and the passenger side front door had what sounded like a flappy piece of plastic film that came loose inside and fluttering about at highway speeds. The noise was intermittent and mysteriously went away anytime it rained.
If I was in the market for a car I would look over a 2020 Fusion SEL in that sharp Velocity blue, the new Alto blue or the Rapid red. I think they are nuts to stop selling one of their best and most competent sedans and should re-think this very carefully especially after the stink many Lincoln dealers made about Ford’s recent decision to kill off the MKZ and Continental. I would kill for a Fusion with the 3.5 Ford V6 or even better the 2.7T that isn’t a Sport.
I had a 2010Fusion Sport 3.5L V6, never had any issues with it, really miss it but I only have so much room to park stuff. One other weird issue with Ford hybrids, I had many hybrid Escapes and Fusions in a fleet I managed. One of the Escapes was parked for about 120 days straight. Totally dead, hauled into dealer turned out after a vehicle is off for so many days in a row the hybrid system shuts down to protect the battery, dealer has to reset it and you are on your way. I agree its stupid to drop this great sedan. One rational engineer explained that Ford always can import cars from Europe if need be. At least we still have the Mustang for us car nuts.
There’s a dealer in Ohio with several unsold 2017 Platinums still on the lot, advertised for as much as $12K off sticker. I suspect they’d be willing to sweeten the pot ever more to get rid of one… and even with three years of lot wear to consider, getting a “new” one for less than $25,000 out the door and with full warranty coverage is mighty tempting.