Ford Fusion Hybrid certified at 41 mpg in city

[Onkel Neal]

The all-new Ford Fusion Hybrid is now officially America's most fuel efficient mid-size car with a certified 41 mpg rating in the city and 36 mpg on the highway, topping the Toyota Camry hybrid by 8 mpg in the city and 2 mpg on the highway. "The new Ford Fusion Hybrid not only significantly exceeds the competition but also embodies Ford's 100 percent commitment to fuel efficiency leadership, quality, innovation and advanced technology," said Derrick Kuzak, group vice president, Global Product Development. "The Ford team set the bar high -- to develop America's most fuel efficient mid-size sedan -- and that's what they delivered."
The 2010 Ford Fusion's final fuel economy certification was completed this week at Ford's testing laboratories in Allen Park, Mich., and the vehicle will carry an EPA label of 41 mpg for city driving and 36 mpg on the highway when it goes on sale this spring. The Fusion Hybrid, which beats even the much smaller Honda Civic hybrid by 1 mpg in city driving, can travel more than 700 miles on a single tank of gas.

http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20081223-901698.html?mod=wsjcrmain

Sounds good, I know Zachstar will be among the first to buy one.

Neal

[Frame57]

Chock one up for Ford...My Idea of the perfect economical fuel efficient car would naturally be the Flintstone mobile...

[SteamWake]

Key words here are "in the city".

Its been my observation that most hybrids are suited for 'city' driving and aint worth a damn on the open highway.

[Torplexed]

My Civic Hybrid is consistently giving me 45 miles per gallon on the freeway even in the colder weather. I also like it because other than a small plate mounted on the back which says hybrid, it doesn't look any different then the standard gasoline Civic, unlike the Toyota 'Pius' which screams "look at me...I'm sssoooo green".

[JALU3]

Have a Camry Hybrid, assembled here in the US. Only difference is smaller trunk/boot space. Been getting an average 31.8 MPG since purchasing, with per tank being as high as 35, as low as 30.8. However, better than the truck that I use to drive on a regular basis, which is only used now for what little hauling I need to do, which got about 16.1 MPG (Ford Ranger).

I was originally looking at the Ford Escape, but I didn't get it because of three reasons. Lower Gas Mileage, only 1st Gen Hybrid Transmission, and I couldn't lay out in the back with the rear seat folded down (and I am not that tall). I hope that Ford has began to make their own Hybrid Tranis' rather than purchasing them from Japan, as the dealer indicated.

Next vehicle, I'll take a good look at Ford again. And hopefully they will get my nod, unless Toyota shows that they can produce better again.

[LobsterBoy]

I probably won't think about a hybrid until they eclipse 50 or 60 mpg. My 10+ year old Chevy Cavalier gets 32 (and still has a hair less than 100k miles). I'll keep driving it until I can't anymore.

[I-25]

im driving a 83 Turbo diesel Jetta and am getting 50+ MPG fulls up with about 30 bucks last me all week and i put about 60 miles a day on it and as pretty darn fast for a diesel

[AVGWarhawk]

All the hoo-ha that the big three do not attempt to make more fuel efficient vehicles is mostly just that hoo-ha. They have attempted to make more fuel efficient vehicles with the base engines they use. Better induction and exhaust. Light weight materials. Two weeks ago I opened the hood of my wifes truck. I took a look at the intake. Traditionally, intakes were cast iron. Nice and heavy. Then they moved on to aluminum intakes. Very durable and half the weight of cast iron. My wifes truck has an intake that is plastic! I thought WTH! Plastic on a hot motor? No wait, plastic can take the heat not to mention cold air flowing through it that keeps it cool. Also, probably the 1/4 of the weight of aluminum. So hey, why not? OK, they dumped quite a bit of weight here with the intake. Items like this were engineered and tested to work well and produce a lighter vehicle thus giving better gas mileage. However, these base motors are at the end of the line for improvements for mileage/gallon gain. So, it is on to hybrids. I'm glad to see Ford is leading the way for the big three!

I-25 has a point with diesels, these engines can be very efficient. It is just very hard to get people to swing over and make a change. This includes hybrids. One day there will be no choice. It is a hybrid car or you are walking.

[XabbaRus]

38 MPG on the highway...Mine does 45 MPG on a long run but that is imperial gallons.

Surprised that city MPG is higher.

[Takeda Shingen]

Originally Posted by XabbaRus

Surprised that city MPG is higher.

I found that odd as well.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by XabbaRus

38 MPG on the highway...Mine does 45 MPG on a long run but that is imperial gallons.

Surprised that city MPG is higher.

Definitely.....but I wouldn't be too concerned if petrol was just under $3 gallon here in the UK.

[Task Force]

Originally Posted by jimbuna

Definitely.....but I wouldn't be too concerned if petrol was just under $3 gallon here in the UK.

$3, its only $1.39-$1.41 here since the gas prices went down.

Hybrids are nice, but myself, id prefer a larger car, with a V8. (muscle car, from the 60s-80s.) But 41 mpg city is realy good.

[SteamWake]

Originally Posted by Takeda Shingen

I found that odd as well.

Most hybrids drop out the 'electric' part of the drive train above some speed switching to the combustion engine.

While driving on the highway you are constantly above that speed therefore running on the combustion engine only hence the increased fuel consumption.

[Onkel Neal]

Originally Posted by SteamWake

Key words here are "in the city".

Its been my observation that most hybrids are suited for 'city' driving and aint worth a damn on the open highway.

Have you driven a hybrid?

[SteamWake]

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

Have you driven a hybrid?

Sort of I know people whom have one and driven theirs.

Probably the weirdest thing is that most everything cuts off when at a stop sign. Leaving you feeling like you turned the car off. Its dead quiet except for the radio. A curious sensation.

Another cool thing is the regerative braking. They sort of work like dynamic brakes on a diesel electric loco. The electric motors are set as generators and place load on the braking wheels putting current back into the batterys.

There actually pretty peppy from 0-30 mph after that their performance falls off. Over 45 it feels like your dragging a parachute can make it tough to merge onto the interstate.