Yankee Econo-Car Comparo: 2nd Place: Ford Fusion S

William C Montgomery
by William C Montgomery

I believe that the 2009 Ford Fusion S is the most unremarkable car I have driven. Ever. When I sat down to record notes immediately after concluding my test of this blessed blandmobile, I had a hard time recalling anything about it. I got in. Transportation happened. I got out. That’s it. The Ford Fusion’s striking anonymity served to prevent it from winning this comparison—not even close to defeating the Chevrolet Malibu LS. At the same time, I suppose flying under the radar preserved it from a potential loss. Actually, the Chrysler Sebring LX is so dreadful that defeating it isn’t much of a victory. So the Fusion S ingloriously falls into second place. Read on as I attempt to fill 800 words . . . about nothing.

Evidence of the Ford’s penny pinching bedevils the Fusion’s otherwise clean, if milquetoast shapes. Steel rims peek through unconvincing alloy wheel styled hubcaps while anemic “anything but Firestone” branded all season tires fail to fill the wheel wells. Blanks occupy the faux brake vent openings normally occupied by fog lights. Dowdy unpainted black plastic mirror housings rather than body color matched units cling to the sides of the car. And, of course, the front end retains the corporate grill that must have been conceived by a displaced Gillette Atra II designer. Every expense was spared. Clearly. Obviously.

Do not confuse the interior of the Ford Fusion S with the relatively attractive interior that up-optioned Fusion’s get. This is a forgettable, blasé, monochromatic, molded plastic affair suited only for rental fleets. Its aesthetic appeal is about as yummy as eating cardboard. But with five-and-a-half more cubic feet of interior volume than the Chevy, the Fusion feels the roomiest of this trio.

Only the Malibu gets standard a power adjustable driver’s seat in the base trim level. In the Fusion you pump a handle on the side of the seat to raise it, pull it up to lower; the seatback adjusts with the pull of a lever. But the attitude of the seat bottom is not adjustable and I found it too far tilted for my comfort.

The performance of these family sedans can be summed up as dull, duller, and dullest. The Fusion is dull. So for what it is worth, it wins this caption. With 160 hp on tap, its 2.3-liter 16-valve four banger puts out the weakest peak horsepower. However, it also weighs less, making a barely discernible advantage in day-to-day driving.

Likewise, the Fusion wins handling bragging rights by default because the Sebring is atrocious and the Malibu is clearly tuned for comfort. That doesn’t make the Fusion S anything to write home about, though. I took the Fusion out on one of my favorite meandering country roads and . . . . “Crazy Henry” Ford once said “Money is like an arm or leg – use it or lose it.” Huh.

Anyway, apparently the drive wasn’t appallingly bad or I would have some unforgettable harrowing tale of near-death woe to tell. Yet it also lacked any impressionably good characteristics. It just happened. Period. The automotive equivalent of listening to a dial tone.

What does stand out is the lack of economy at the pump. Despite being powered by the smallest displacement ICE mated to the only five-speed transmission of the group and weighing the least, the piggy little Fusion devours the most fuel. According to the oracles at the EPA, the mighty S gulps down a gallon of gasoline every 20 miles it schleps through city traffic and 28 mpg on the open road. Call that seven to nine percent worse than the competition-leading Malibu.

The most compelling thing about the Fusion: price. She stickers at $20,635. The bright red tag hanging from the rear view mirror showed $16,150 after nearly $4500 of rebates and dealer spiffs. That edges out Sebring’s sticker by $845 and beats the Bu’s discounted price by $1464. In fact, that’s nearly $1500 less than I paid for my manual transmission Honda Accord LX—eight years ago.

A little extra coin buys a Fusion SE with the optional Sports Appearance Package; the interior improvements add a splash of pizzazz to the dreary interior and a sport-tuned suspension (bigger rear anti-sway bar, and stiffer springs, struts, and shocks) for corner carving fun.

The 2009 Ford Fusion S is the perfect car for people on a budget that hate cars. It is for buyers that have given up on life; whose eyes no longer see in color and whose noses are unable to enjoy the sweet smell of a rose. Incidentally, it might also be the perfect car to buy a college-bound child. Otherwise, the Fusion S is a car bested by an abundance of alternatives that do just about everything better.

Three words shy. Damn.

William C Montgomery
William C Montgomery

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  • RogerB34 RogerB34 on Mar 08, 2009

    CR's mileage Fusion 4 14/29 city/highway mpg. Camry 4 16/36 mpg same basis. Camry weighs 140 lbs less. Fusion CD is .33; Camry .28. Fusion is a good family choice as reliability is much better than average. Camry average.

  • Ponchoman49 Ponchoman49 on Mar 11, 2009

    The Fusion is a pretty good car overall with it's biggest demerit being the low fuel economy and sluggish engine performance from the 2.3 liter/5 speed automatic combo. Still in everyday driving it should be more than fine for the majority of folks out there. My local dealer has brand new 2009 Fusion SE's with automatic, alloys, power seat, 6 disk CD, Sirius radio, cruise, fog lights and plenty of other equipment for $15995 and 16399 for the same car with SYNC. The same car with a rear spoiler are 16499 and moonroof versions are 16599. V6 SE models start at 17199 without roof, 6 disk or SYNC. For 17299 you get the V6, roof, SYNC, Sport appearance pkg for 17299. For 18999 you get an SE with everything including roof, sport appearance, SYNC, backup sensors, Sirius, 6 disk, spoiler and V6. Meanwhile the new 2009 Sonota GLS 4 cylinder automatic with optional floormats and mud guards stickers for $20,900 and is on sale for 16995 with no where near the features of the Fusion. If you can except the slightly lower mileage and performance, this car in SE guise is a raving deal at least in my kneck of the woods in Upstate, NY. The Fusion also has a fold flat passenger seat, rear seat armrest and overhead assist grips which are not offered on any Malibu and it also boasts great interior room and a slightly bigger trunk. It's well worth a look in SE guise and it is doubtful you will see very many S base models floating around.

  • Syke Kinda liked the '57, hated the '58. Then again, I hated the entire '58 GM line except for the Chevrolet. Which I liked better than the '57's. Still remember dad's '58 Impala hardtop, in the silver blue that was used as the main advertising color.
  • Dartdude The bottom line is that in the new America coming the elites don't want you and me to own cars. They are going to make building cars so expensive that the will only be for the very rich and connected. You will eat bugs and ride the bus and live in a 500sq-ft. apartment and like it. HUD wants to quit giving federal for any development for single family homes and don't be surprised that FHA aren't going to give loans for single family homes in the very near future.
  • Ravenuer The rear view of the Eldo coupe makes it look fat!
  • FreedMike This is before Cadillac styling went full scale nutty...and not particularly attractive, in my opinion.
  • JTiberius1701 Middle of April here in NE Ohio. And that can still be shaky. Also on my Fiesta ST, I use Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires for the winter and Bridgestone Potenza for my summer tires. No issues at all.
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