What does the 2010 Fusion Hybrid mean for Europe?
Click above for high-res gallery of the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid
Now that we've finally gotten the chance to sit behind the wheel of Ford's new Fusion Hybrid in LA traffic, achieving 43.1 mpg in the process, we can fully understand why Europeans may be interested in the new sedan as well. Many Americans have spent the last few years wishing that the Blue Oval would offer its best European products here (something that is just now starting to take place), but the tables may have turned a bit with the new hybrid sedan. In Europe, the Fusion doesn't actually exist, but Ford has the Mondeo holding down the midsize sedan fort there.
By all accounts, the Mondeo is a great car and is consistently a top seller. It's also equipped with a range of diesel engines, all of which handily outperform their petrol-powered siblings in fuel mileage testing. That may not be the case if the new hybrid system made its way across the pond though, as the 191-horsepower combination of a revised 2.5L four cylinder engine with an electric motor and NiMH battery pack results in excellent fuel mileage statistics.
Hybrids such as the new 2010 Ford Fusion may in fact become increasingly important to Europeans as regulators there clamp down harder on particulates and NoX emissions, much like they do in states like California. It's possible that the price difference between diesels and hybrids will come ever closer, both in America and abroad.
Gallery: First Drive: 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid
[Source: Autocar]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
gearhead18 2:35AM (12/13/2008)
The front end of that car is beautiful but I'm no so sure about the rear yet, have to wait and see
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Rick 10:28AM (12/13/2008)
I have yet to see a rearend I didn't like ...sorry, couldn't resist. I like it. Of course not knowing what the rest of the front suspension set up looks like, did anyone notice how far forward the engine is mounted from the shock towers?
gearhead18 4:08PM (12/13/2008)
Yeah, I noticed the motor seemed a little close to the nose but if the car is well sorted then it should be alright. My Omega has the motor set pretty far forward too, gives you a lot of legroom without having to make the greenhouse look weird on the outside to match.
Supercujo 11:55PM (12/13/2008)
I really like the look of this on the outside. Front and rear.
The inside, however, is a different story. The layout and design is pretty much standard fare, but why do they have to use a combination of colours that would have been more at home on a late 90s PC case? And the faux metal accents do look cheap and nasty.
I wouldn't mind if this car arrived in Australia with the same mechanical and body, but let the Europeans do the interior.
paulwesterberg 5:13PM (12/13/2008)
Europeans already have access to the Toyota Prius and the Peugeot 308 hybrid, and other non-hybrid diesels which get better gas mileage.
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Dave 5:28PM (12/13/2008)
"Hybrids such as the new 2010 Ford Fusion may in fact become increasingly important to Europeans as regulators there clamp down harder on particulates and NoX emissions..."
daeil 7:04PM (12/13/2008)
Really don't think it will be that important to europeans... We already have a lot of fuel efficient cars, diesel and gas. Hybrids mean always a premium price for a little more gas savings, that return will only happen years from the purchase. In city driving they will do fine, but again, if i only wanted to drive in the city i would get myself a smart4two ;)
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andrichrose 7:31PM (12/13/2008)
I think that ford would have to use a smaller engine in
a euro variant of this car , 2.5 motors just dont sell
well anymore , and lose their residual value quickly
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Phil 11:21PM (12/13/2008)
The Fusion hybrid has too big gas engine for Europe. 2.0 gas engines with manual transmission already achieve similar mpg, and are readily accepted in Europe.
A large engine and relatively high horsepower makes it a high end product, which Ford doesn't have the brand for.
I also doubt the car would meet European taste for interior quality and handling (this is why Ford doesn't already sell US market vehicles in Europe).
I don't think Ford will be desperate to import this. The best we can hope for is to see the drivetrain in a European engineered Ford, but it will be a few years.
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perry 1:03AM (12/14/2008)
PHIL
Where is your proof that a car the size of the fusion with a 2.0 would get "similar" gas mileage in europe. I have a 2005 civic with a 1.7 and a stick and i dont get anywhere near 43 mpg IN THE CITY! I think europeans would love to get their hands on this awesome feat of engineering.
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Mattias 4:28AM (12/14/2008)
It won't mean much for European usage scenarios. Larger sedans are mainly used on open roads, averaginge between 75 and 95mph on the autobahn. At this speeds hybrids have absolutely no advantage over diesels. For the city nearly every family has a small second car. Something like a Toyota Aygo, a VW Lupo, a Renault Twingo, a Smart or anything of similar price.
Hybrid really makes sense in the city, but large hybrid sedans won't be European drivers favourites. However, small hybrids will do, even simple "mild hybrids" with start-stop-systems start to catch on because they offer an obvious reduction in consumption without adding to much to the sticker price.
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robert 10:55AM (12/14/2008)
see HUMMER ad below....
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Kitko 7:22PM (12/14/2008)
My brother's Mazda 6 Estate, the latest Euro model, that has the same 2.5 liter engine (the 2.5 liter engine in Fusion is Mazda MZR engine rebadged as Duratec) averages 7.2 l/100 km that's 33 mpg US gallon.
And that's in the area with almost no highaways, twisting always congested roads in the hilly area and he doesn't really drive to get the best average mpg. When he's trying it's 6.5 l/100 km 36.2 mpg. The difference is marginal and would hardly justify the cost. Not to say that electricity isn't really cheap.
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Gordon 8:17AM (12/15/2008)
The reasons the Fusion hybid hasn't a hope of selling in europe are simple..
1) It looks like a brick
2) It's interior is far too cheap to cut it in the euro market whereas the mondeo puts up a good fight with mercedes, audi and bmw on the quality front.
3) A basic diesel mondeo already does 39+mpg (US) without the cost and unrecyclibility of a hybrid driveline.
4)Europe isn't sold on hybrids, only japanese brands offer then seriously (although PSA have followed) prefering instead more efficient regular drivelines.
Sad but true.
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sean collins 1:46PM (12/15/2008)
Seconded.
My lead footed brother regularly manages 48 proper mpg (~40 per yankee gallon) on country roads in his diesel A6. OK, the soundtrack isn't all that but it can hoof it when it needs to. The official figure for the 'Econetic' variant of the Mondeo is 53.3mpg (44.4 US).
The fusion is a big car in european terms, and although everyone's in freefall at the moment, in Europe this sector has been increasingly dominated by the premium brands and the Fusion's dynamics and quality simply don't cut it in relation to the Mondeo, never mind anything else.
NOx and particulates are an issue but they are being addressed, and hopefully future legislation will start looking at lifecycle energy footprint - which will make the hybrid drivers a little less smug.
Why is this sad? Europe misses out on a slightly more efficient version of a boring bread and butter model. Big deal. If Ford started doing a hybrid Mustang and we didn't get it, THAT would be sad.
mike 3:28AM (12/16/2008)
A hybrid Mustang? Really? Hells no. Mustangs are bought to be driven in anger (V6 excluded), and I don't want to deal with the torque curves of two power sources while teetering on the edge of self-inflicted oblivion. A diesel would be fine, and a pure electric or series hybrid would work, but a parallel hybrid is just wrong for this application.
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sean collins 6:11PM (12/17/2008)
Don't disagree with you Mike but I was using the Mustang as an example of a desirable product - as opposed to the Fusion which is a mundane one - and not necessarily whether it was a suitable candidate for hybrid technology.
I don't know if this story has any basis in fact/rumour or is purely speculative. If someone at Ford really thinks this might fly I would suggest that they doublecheck their business case and assumptions. As a series hybrid, the Volt might work on the assumption that the IC engine isn't called on much, but given it's relatively high price (and that by the time US products reach British shores the price tends to be the same integer, just expressed in sterling) I'm not sure this enough to compete well against the cheaper Prius and even cheaper Insight.
The Tesla's the closest thing yet to desirable car that just happens to be eco friendly, and as Sunday's Top Gear demonstrated, it's not without it's problems...