2018 Ford Fusion Sport doesn’t just look the part
2018 Ford Fusion Sport doesn’t just look the part
The current Ford Fusion has been around for since the 2013 model, but its styling – as well as its capabilities – make it a strong player in the midsized sedan segment.
Last year Ford refreshed the car, and its styling is now a cleaner and crisper – and even more elegant – than before. This generation of the Fusion is one of the more attractive cars Ford’s designed since divesting itself of Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin.
Speaking of Aston Martin, I’ve always seen something of that legendary luxury brand in the shape of the Fusion. But in its recent refresh that similarity seems sharper to me, and that’s not a bad thing for a car that was designed seven or eight years ago. This is particularly evident in the car’s face. It just seems, well, more sophisticated as well as attractive.
The interior also got some improvements last year, but there’s only so much you can do in a mid-lifecycle update. So, the interior’s screens, for instance, are smaller than more recently designed interiors. The Fusion also must deal with the fact that its prices run from the low twenty thou to the mid-forty range.
While leather and luxury touches can be added to some degree, they are still additions to a twenty-grand car. But Ford has done about as good a job as is possible spiffing up the Fusion.
But Ford also added to the already broad range of Fusion models by sticking their high performance 2.7-liter EcoBoost engine under the hood and calling it the Fusion Sport. The engine is twin-turbocharged and intercooled. It uses overhead camshafts driving 24-valves. The iron block has aluminum heads and uses direct gasoline injection for better power when requested, as well as better efficiency when not. Fuel efficiency is rated by the EPA and 17 mpg city and 26 mpg highway.
What comes out through the tires are 325 horses pounding 380 lb.-ft. of peak torque into the road. This is a lot of power for a mid-sized sedan. While this may be the design Ford uses for its NASCAR race cars, it isn’t viewed in the market place as America’s answer to the BMW.
Okay it isn’t, but with this engine the power – and the ability to control it – is representative of what the German luxury sedans offer. With the Fusion Sport power goes to all four wheels because the Sport models have standard all-wheel drive. You can also get summer-only performance tires. That is certainly a first in the American mid-sized, midpriced segment
Ford also has some history to base their hopes for success of this model. From 2013 to 2015 Explorer sales rose 24 percent but the Explorer Sport model’s sales jumped 103 percent. During that same period Ford’s Edge sales were close to flat, but Edge Sport sales jumped 62 percent.
And even though this is a mid-sized car with a starting price of $33,475 the car is really sporty, rather than merely looking sporty. The EcoBoost engine’s twin turbochargers puff up the power quit smoothly, and the sport adaptive suspension, brakes and steering keep up with the Sport’s capability.
One of the changes to the interior last year was the rotary gearshift knob, and the sport button in its center completely. The sport mode button lives at the center of the car’s all-new rotary gear shift dial. Pushing it really changes things.
Starting with the handling, it stiffens the continuously controlled dampers and adds damping under spirited cornering by keeping the car flatter, improving cornering speed as well as making it safer. The Fusion’s in-cabin noise cancellation is re-tuned for more fun engine sounds. The electric power steering gets tweaked to improve both feel and the speed of its response.
The transmission is convinced to hold shifts longer and downshift sooner. It also holds the gear in corners and rev-matches on downshifts. With this comes more response from the throttle and the paddle shifters take charge of the transmission. You know all this is happening because there is a “Sport” icon in the instrument cluster just in case you don’t notice everything else.
But the Fusion V-6 Sport isn’t only about performance, you also get top-end features. This Sport starts with features from the SE with Luxury package and adds the EcoBoost engine, all-wheel drive, 19-inch wheels, quad exhaust tips, a rear spoiler, adjustable suspension dampers, suede and suede leather upholstery, and nine-speaker audio system. The version I tested was priced a bit north of $40,000.
The V6 Upgrade Sports Package basically matches the features of the Titanium trim.
While you probably won’t confuse this with the FiveSeries BMW, you will have an equally hard time imagining it shares its DNA with the base Fusion. It is, relative to the prices, as much fun as those German sedans.
The engine is the best part of the package but only because the other systems can keep up with it. This is simply a great engine and deserves to be used in any car – or crossover – that can handle it. This is a car that weighs in at more than two tons, so you aren’t going to throw it around with complete abandon and stay on the road. The steering is decent, but feels a bit heavy. Going hard on the brakes a couple of times reminds you that this is a fairly heavy car.
Having said that, driving the car on twisty back roads is fun. It isn’t over-the-top, but neither is the price. As it should, this Fusion drives in a civilized manner when treated so. But plant your foot, especially after pressing the Sport button, life is suddenly good again.
My guess is that most of the people who buy the Fusion V-6 Sport are going to keep that button pushed almost all the time they are behind the wheel/
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