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Originally Posted by MrKLUKE
O.K. FUSION owners...WHAT DO YOU THINK?
I'm probably going to buy one this spring. I've owned economy cars all my life
and I'm ready for a slight upgrade. I'm sticking with Ford because my 1996
Escort has been a FLAWLESS MACHINE (believe it or not) for a solid 11 years.
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Jeff (MrKLUKE)
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Jeff:
Sounds like you are a kindred spirit. Our 98 manual Escort wagon has been flawless for 100K miles and we like the 35 mpg on trips.
We would go with another manual Escort wagon with side air bags but they are "going away" according to Ford reports.
So the next choice was the Fusion 4 cyl, manual. Good reliability reports from Consumer Reports and "slightly more car" as you say.
We have had it 3 weeks and 1000+ miles. No problems. It is quite a bit more powerful than the Escorts even though it weighs more. Seems to me the larger engine is not needed unless it is planned to race and tow. However, the Ford Fusion manual simply states "do not use for towing". No one at UHaul, where we put the hitch on, had any idea why. He said he had put 10 or 12 hitches on Fusions with no problems. My guess is they are worried about the automatic transmission durability when towing.
We took it on a trip to Arizona with the first tank of gas. It did 32 mpg and 31 mpg. (Topped off measured, not just where the shutoff triggers)
It is noticeably quieter than the Escort, easier to listen to quiet passages on the MP3/CD player and carry on conversations. We measured the sound level before buying it as 66 dBA at 70mph on concrete. This compares favorably with the measurement we took on Father-In-Law's Mercedes 240 as 64 dBA at 65 mph on concrete and my notes have a Car and Driver test result of a 2002 Lexus at 66 dBA at 70 mph, surface unknown. (Asphalt is quieter)
Hope that helps.....
Wally
Now if someone can just tell me something about that Ignition Kill Alarm setup, Theft Avert anti theft system. So far no manual, I'll keep bugging the dealer.