Ford Fusion - Power Packed

Today we bring to you one of the most respected vehicles coming from the blue oval – the Ford Fusion. This is one of the cars we were finding tough to get out from – the test drive seemed very short and we wanted to keep on driving! Ford Fusion is unique; it’s intelligent and is the first one of its kind in India. This car has been conceived to take the us urban drivers quite a few steps forward. Read On

About the Fusion:

Ford calls the Fusion an Urban Activity Vehicle (UAV) but true to its name, it's actually a mixture between a hatchback, MPV and SUV - all mended into one very distinctive shape.

Design and Interiors:

The Fusion's design is what sets it apart from the regular hatchbacks and saloons. Basically, the Fusion is a jacked-up version of a hatchback but the styling is distinctly SUV. The high bonnet-line, prominent grille, beefy bumpers and large block-like headlamps give it the look of an off-roader, as do the pronounced wheelarches and a thick rubbing-strip across the lower body.

The rear quarter-glass and raked front windscreen are very MPV, however. The D-pillar, housing vertically-stacked tail-lights, is upright to liberate great headroom for the rear passengers. The tailgate drops down to bumper level, making the boot very accessible, as it has no load lip to haul heavy items over. From the rear, the beefy bumpers and flat tailgate make the Fusion appear a cross between an SUV and a hatchback. The Fusion has the same wheelbase as the Ikon, but the similarities end there. Where the Ikon looks sharp and sleek, the Fusion is blunt and square. The Ikon is a conventional sedan, while the Fusion is a hatchback.

Side by side the Fusion looks far larger than the Ikon, and it's this height, partly thanks to the large 15-inch rims, which makes it so practical for the cut-and-thrust of urban traffic. Standing taller than most cars, the Fusion has loads of road presence, perfect for the 'might is right' driving. It comes with 195/60 R-15 tubeless tyres, and while we feel the tyre profile maybe too low to cushion the occupants from our roads, the Fusion's ground clearance of 195mm (15mm better than the Ikon) will tame even the largest speed breakers.

The instant we slipped into the Fusion we very well knew that we were not sitting in an ordinary car. We didn’t had to climb in the fusion as we do in the SUVs, nor did had to crouch down to get into a sedan, In a fusion, you can simply slide in and slide out. The glass area is huge and we could not find any blind spots – oppose to our experience in many Hatchbacks and Sedans. Like in an SUV, sitting high up gave Shef a feeling of better control, making maneuvering and parking a lot easier for her.

Once we settled down inside we discovered all the bits and pieces packed into the interior. The dashboard is pretty clear and logically laid out. The military-style circular air-vents and ribbed storage box on top of the sharply chiseled dashboard are a reflection of the Fusion's rugged image. There is a typically Ford, like the rotary control for the electric power mirrors (only available on the high-end version) The power-window switches at the rear come from the Ikon. Creating a taller car creates more legroom, It's easy to get comfortable in the driver's seat thanks to generous seat travel and a steering wheel, which is adjustable for height. The rear seat benefits from the tall roof as well. Passengers can sit higher up and more comfortably and not in the 'knees-up' position that most saloons with a low-roof line force you into. \The smart-looking, 'shingle-style' headrests are easy to adjust, and the rear passengers get treated to individual roof lights too.

But it's the versatility of the rear seat that is the real talking point of the Fusion. It comes with what Ford has dubbed a 40:20:40 split seat. There's a provision for a centre console (the '20' part of the split), a useful accessory that can be easily fitted by removing the centre squab. It's cleverly designed with a generous storage box and a couple of cup-holders, and it also doubles up as an armrest. The way the base of the rear seats folds upwards like a movie-theatre chair is another clever touch and allows you to pack tall items in the cabin which wouldn't otherwise fit in the boot. It's something we first saw in the Honda City in Thailand, but sadly the Indian-made City only comes with fixed rear seat.

Engine and Transmission

Fusion comes with the very same 1.6-litre, 16-valve, twin-cam Duratec engine that comes in the European Fusion. This made in Belgium, all-aluminium engine develops 100bhp and has a 'drive-by-wire' throttle control. This does away with the traditional cables required to operate the throttle and improves response and driveability. The IB5 gearbox is similar to the Ikon's but in the Fusion the shift is cable-operated to improve feel and isolate the gear lever from engine vibrations.

Ford Fusion car is available in two variants - Ford Fusion and Ford Fusion+. Both the variants come with hydraulically operated and power assisted steering system. A high ground clearance, optimized suspension and small turning radius make Ford Fusion agile and fun to drive. Special attention has been given to Ford Fusion’s chassis to ensure high level of stability.

Air Conditioning

What's unique to the Indian-spec Fusion is the air-conditioning system, specially developed for our hot and humid climate. The Fusion comes with a 'variable swash plate' or scroll-type air-con compressor. Ford claims this design optimises AC performance and vehicle driveability. A larger evaporator and a more efficient condenser have also been used to improve cooling. In our brief drive around ‘Bhagat Ford’ in the hot and sultry June posed no problem for the air-con, despite the considerable glass area.

Suspension

The fusion suspension is more elaborate than the Ikon's, and is tuned for heavy loads and Indian conditions. Up in front are conventional MacPherson struts, mounted on a sub-frame for better support. The long-travel suspension uses dual-path top mounts for better isolation. The springs are offset to reduce friction and optimise damping. The rear gets a twist-beam axle with decoupled dampers and springs. The springs sit under the floor and the dampers are pushed to the extremes, a space-saving design that doesn't intrude into the loading area. The twin-tube rear dampers are significant, more reliable and capable of ironing out a wide range of road inconsistencies. Ford has marginally softened the ride on the Indian Fusion, at the expense of high-speed handling.

Our Verdict:

Ford claims to have put the Fusion through a grueling 240,000km durability simulation and subjected it to scorching temperatures of Rajasthan to validate the engine cooling and air-conditioner performance; we just drove lot for about 20 kilometers on all sort of tracks – mind blowing in deed. This car is a must buy for a people seeking loads of adventure and are ready to shell out those extra bucks for the low mileage the car delivers – rest all’s perfect. Hope you found this review interesting.

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Shef and Manks