We’ll miss it when its gone. The Ford Fusion Sport debuted as a pleasant throwback to an era of attainable muscle, just as the passenger car death plunge got underway in earnest. By taking a sensible family sedan, stuffing it with the largest mill its engine bay could handle, sending a propshaft to the rear wheels, and upgrading the sedan’s wheels and suspension, Ford crafted a blistering bargain that easily handles the daily duties of modestly-sized families. It’s an unlikely blast.
But soon it’ll be dead and you can have an Edge ST instead.
As all Fusions prepare for the afterlife, Ford’s new trim and content strategy (less of the former, more of the latter) means prices are on the upswing for 2019. The greatest hike in the Fusion lineup is reserved for the Sport.
According to an order guide obtained by CarsDirect, the base Fusion’s upgraded kit means it leaves the dealer for $23,735 after delivery — a $645 climb from the 2018 S trim. As we told you earlier this year, that price includes greater standard safety content in the form of Ford’s Co-Pilot 360 suite of driver assist features. Nothing’s free in this world.
Moving up the trim ladder, not surprisingly, brings fatter window stickers. The volume SE trim grows by $650, coming in at $25,015 after delivery. Besides the new tech, SE buyers receive a standard 1.5-liter turbo four instead of the former 2.5-liter, so it’s hardly a slap in the face. Plush Titanium models rings in at $35,235, or $3,870 more than the current model.
For 2019, which could easily be the Fusion Sport’s final model year (the lineup’s execution date remains hazy), the burliest of Ford’s midsizers retails for $6,190 extra. It’s now a member of the over 40(k) club.
There’s changes afoot for the Hybrid and Energi plug-in models, too, though the extra two grand you’ll spend getting into the lesser of the green sedans comes from the fact Ford axed the base hybrid trim. There’s similar price climb for the Energi, which now ekes out a bit more range from its battery.
It’s hard to say whether we’ll see bidding wars erupt in the wake of the 325 hp Fusion Sport’s death. At its core, it remains a Fusion sedan with a dated interior. But there’s no denying the appeal of a domestic performance sedan that flies under the radar while putting on zero airs.
[Images: Ford Motor Company]
Retailing for $6,190 sounds like a steal to me.
I get some errors and typos getting through, but this is an error in the price and likely an entire sentence stating what the increase was, missing. That one line was the entire point of the story. And it’s not right/half there.
I’m pretty sure that is the increase, since the price is currently ~$34k and I don’t see Ford jumping it all the way to $46k. So the price is completely missing.
It’s $40,910 and this is being fixed.
The “Editors” refuse to get a proofreader.
You’d think they’d have each other at least give a quick read to their work.
Yep, for $6190 I’m headin’ down to my local Ford dealer right now to pick one up.
Fusion Sports have been sitting at dealer lots ever since it was released. I expect even the final ones will have a crapload of money on the hood to sell.
Agreed. Good deals can be had on the Sport right now. The SE is another story.
Ha, just wait for the fire sale on these things. Its a comin’.
And one would be a screamin’ deal at around $28k.
28 is good, but I want the loaded one for the price of base.
Better still.
Dealer near me had two. One was $28K. It’s sold. They still have a pretty red one, with $7300 of additional options, for $30k.
Tempting.
It’s like Ford saw what the Regal GS would be selling for and said: “Dang I guess our prices are too cheap!”
Freaking idiots – you are having trouble selling the Fusion now, so let’s jack up the price.
FYI in my area that $6,000 increase in price is roughly equal to the discount I was seeing on Fusion Sports that are in stock.
I don’t think this will matter much – there are tons of ’18 Fusion Sports out there that dealers will be only too happy to unload. I found one near me for under $30,000, with a sunroof. From the pics, looks like they’ve had it on the lot since last October.
I have a feeling the price is just going down from there.
Even at a fire sale, I’m still not interested.
Does it come with spare PTU units and free labor to install them? From what I read, it seems these things constantly go out.. Especially if you run a tune at all to push it a little.
Change the fluid every 40K miles. If you are tuning the bejeezus out of it, set aside $1000-$1500 for the PTU failure you might have by 75000 miles. I’ve owned two Ford/Lincoln vehicles with the PTU. The only time I had an issue is when the dealership did not actually change the fluid when they said they did. Luckily, Ford covered the PTU replacement. Earlier PTUs had more problems, but its still a point of failure. All the power that is sent to the rear wheels goes through a gearbox (PTU) the has about 20 oz of fluid. Ford considers it a fill for life component so it isn’t part of scheduled service.
Those are low power numbers for the $40k neighborhood, and those sleds are turbo? For less than that you can get a naturally aspirated Hemi with 370hp and almost 400 lbs of twist. Shop around and you might even find a 392 for that price. No wonder Ford’s out of the car biz. Stick to EcoSports, lol.
Very few people that I know will be Cross Shopping the two of these vehicles that you’re speaking of. The Ford Fusion is more of a inexpensive take on a European car. Where is the other it’s just a large Real Drive, brutish and unrefined vehicle. The Dodge and Chrysler have their Appeals however they do not provide the same Driving Experience.
The Chrysler 300C is unrefined? I beg to differ.
I think they’re only going to be selling the fully-loaded models from now on. The Fusion Sport was much more appealing at its old base price, without all the gimmicks and geegaws. Much more comparable to the V8 Charger (and it weighed almost the same too). At $40K, might as well get a Scat Pack… or a Stinger.
Nice try but no one is going to buy them.
I find it kind of baffling that you didn’t tell us what features will be added to the Sport in exchange for that big price hike. I assume it includes the driver-assist features ($1625 on the 2018), but does it also include things like Sync 3 (part of a $2k package on the 2018), dual climate control ($400), or the moonroof ($1000)?
Remind me again why this is better than a charger RT?
Because the door handles line up.
“But soon it’ll be dead and you can have an Edge ST instead.”
No thanks. As a lifelong purchaser of Fords, their decision to discontinue cars is going to turn me away for good. Just wait until more tariff’s kick in and we’re really left without choices.
I was at the Ford dealer today for an oil change. The first thing I noticed was how boring the showroom was. I saw two Escapes and an Explorer, and in the background a lonely looking Lincoln Sedan. Is this the future of Ford? With the exception of the F-150 and Mustang a future Ford showroom is going to have one of the dullest showrooms in the industry. Toyota, GM, and Nissan are going to have a much more deversive lineup of cars in the next few years. In comparison GM is looking pretty good with a shock price nearly triple that of Ford.
It is ironic that Ford was the only domestic car maker that was not bailed out by the government a decade ago, and now they are the weakest of the big three.
Bring on the Ford deathwatch.
Good thing that Mazda gave us a sweet 6 to help ease the pain. Sure, no AWD, but no “dialed” tranny either.
I’m impressed that the Mazda 6 GT is available in so many trim levels AND if I just want the turbo and not all the toys one can be had pretty cheaply.