LEAKED: 2017 Ford Fusion Refresh - Can You Tell The Difference?

Mark Stevenson
by Mark Stevenson

Is this the refreshed 2017 Fusion? A Ford slideshow presentation used at the J.P. Morgan Auto Conference sure points to the affirmative, according to AutoBlog. Yet, it doesn’t look like much in the way of change is afoot with the Blue Oval’s midsize sedan. You’d be hard pressed to find much of a difference at all.

The slideshow doesn’t offer up any details on the refreshed-looking model pictured, but we can take a few educated guesses.

For one, the Fusion is likely to retain all its powertrain options — minus the base 2.5-liter fleet flavorite. There is a change Ford could ditch it all together in favor of the 1.5-liter EcoBoost that currently sits one rung higher on the current ladder.

With the Taurus looking more and more likely to leave the American market, could the Fusion will that role with V6 power? That’s unlikely, as it would go against the grain of the current market — other sedans are downsizing and adding turbos, not upsizing and adding cylinders.

We are likely in for a fairly mild refresh that doesn’t rock the boat, but we will see later this year or early next year what comes to pass.

Mark Stevenson
Mark Stevenson

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  • Segfault Segfault on Aug 16, 2015

    Which trim level and engine do you have to buy to get the wheel blockers for the small overlap crash test?

    • Art Vandelay Art Vandelay on Aug 16, 2015

      It's the one with the radios that Russian hackers can't use to take over your car.

  • David C. Holzman David C. Holzman on Aug 16, 2015

    It still has that ugly fish face

  • Anomaly149 Anomaly149 on Aug 16, 2015

    I can't wait until Part 581 gets nerfed in favor of improved Pedestrian Protection regulations - the current necessity of shoving the hood cut line waaaaay up on top leads to about 4' of unnecessary front panel gap. I really like the Fusion, but I just wish the hood came down to the top of the grille. I'm sure the feds will find a new flaw to force into cars with Pedestrian Protection, but maybe front panel gaps won't be all 2015 Impala from now on.

  • Oldsnwbrdr Oldsnwbrdr on Aug 17, 2015

    The Fusion is already a very good car (I have a 2014, an SE with the 1.5L ecoboost engine). The acceleration is OK, I don't really have a complaint with it. I've had four Acuras and a MB C class, and I don't feel like the Fusion was a step down at all, particularly with the way the car feels and drives. My minor gripes are the lack of xenon headlights and poor modulation of the automatic climate control, especially when the a/c had been running. Let's say I leave the car for a few hours and the temps have really cooled off. The Fusion "remembers" the a/c was on and spits cold air out until it finally catches up to the proper temperature. My major gripe is the fact that there is no eco in ecoboost, and this is a very common observation on reviews and forums (surprised it hasn't been mentioned above yet). With the majority of my driving being on the highway, I'm still only getting in the mid 20's since I bought the car. My best tank ever still couldn't achieve 30mpg. The car consistently achieves 2mpg less than the dashboard indicator says it is. I had thought I read that Ford was developing a 9-speed transmission for the car. That would help, as my car turns just over 2,000 rpm in 6th gear at 70mph. I complained about the mileage to my service department and he said the EPA rated the mileage at 55mph. I buy that, as I think I DO get better mileage at slower speeds. But who drives only 55mph on a 65mph (or higher) freeway? No one.

    • RideHeight RideHeight on Aug 17, 2015

      "But who drives only 55mph on a 65mph (or higher) freeway?" Depends... anyone behind me? Any cool birds flying over? We got eagles!

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