Fusion Hybrid Falls Short of MPG Rating in Winter Driving Review

[SlowHands]

Pope only achieved a combined 33 mpg.

by Eric Loveday - AllCarsElectric - March 19, 2009

Winter can be tough on fuel economy...but I think we could beat Mr. Pope's numbers easily. -- Ed.

According to a recent test drive and review of the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid by Wards Auto, "If Ford can keep churning out vehicles such as the 2010 Fusion Hybrid sedan, it will go a long way toward silencing critics of the Detroit auto makers."

The Fusion Hybrid offers outstanding numbers for its class. At 41 mpg in city driving, and 36 mpg in highway driving, Ford has rasied the bar for midsize hybrid sedan. The combined rating put the Fusion at 38.5 mpg overall. Numbers that Ford is happy with and soon to be buyers will be too.

But what about the driving experience? Most reviews have been extremely positive overall with the Fusion hybrid and Wards Auto tends to agree with other reviewers. During a recent test drive in the cold of winter, Wards reviewer Byron Pope had only one major dissapoint with the Fusion Hybrid. He was unable to acheive the mpg numbers listed by the EPA. How far off was he? Pope only achieved a combined 33 mpg throughout the course of his test drive, far short of the listed combined rating of 38.5 mpg.

Pope goes on to state that it was the dead of winter and perhaps cold temperatures and constant use of the heater provided him with lower mpg than expected stating that, "Running the heater on full blast most of the time siphons popwer from the battery, causing the car to rely more often on its gasoline engine." The statement is true, but in real world driving, the heater is oftened used...[Read More]

[xcel]

Hi Ken:

___I have had some problems with the guys from Ward's the past few months including the Insight Long lead Preview and now this...

Mercury Milan Hybrid Review Blog -- March 9 - 11

___Temps in the high 30's and low 40's do not make for a mid-winter drive but rain for a third or more of its distance in those temps certainly does.

___The second item is who in the hell would run their heat on HIGH in any vehicle other than a diesel as you would cook yourself in a matter of 10-minutes Let alone who would turn their fan on HIGH on a cold engine to begin with? Does someone not know how an ICE and the coolant temp interact from cold?

___Good Luck

___Wayne

[Right Lane Cruiser]

I haven't driven the car but I can almost guarantee that it could be kept over EPA rating even at below zero if the driver knows what (s)he is doing.

[300kmileprius]

Low 30's??? Hell, I can pull that from my 2005 FEH 4x4 even in cold weather. This guy must have been driving like an idiot...

[ILAveo]

I'd guess that the guy was running heated defrost the whole time which would run the AC plus the heat and that he doesn't drive very well.

[cuchulain]

Sounds as if it is similar to gen0 Prius which had two separate AC on settings, a Full AC and an ECON AC. With the FULL AC switch in the on position, the engine will not stop period.

Good Luck