Links: Ford Fusion 2010 Site /

I expected to be intrigued by the technology packed into Ford's new Fusion Hybrid, but wasn't prepared for how impressed I'd be with it as a car. It's quick, comfortable, fun to drive, loaded with good ideas, and gets great mileage. Innovation appears to be "job one".

Putting the car into reverse reveals two surprises. First, though we more or less expected it...the car makes no noise at all backing out of its space on electric. You know it won't, but it's still weird. The second is that our favorite gadget is part of the package, the rear view camera. If we had our way, automatic braking and rear view cameras would be standard on all cars. At least we got half our wish here.

Somewhere turned out to be lunch at a local burger shack named Hops, where I was meeting my friend Scott, who happens to be a Camry Hybrid owner. I brought up the nav display (though I knew the way) and puzzled over which selection I wanted: address? No...point of interest. The system narrows down your choices at each keystroke, and in short order I had the list of possible Hops to select from. I chose the nearest, and headed out.

The 191 hp moves the car out smartly, and the transition from electric to gas power is very well done. When you press the accelerator all the way down you get a very positive response from the vehicle, as well as some reassuringly throaty noises from the engine. It doesn't sound apologetic about its performance at all. I made no attempt to drive "economically," and was still getting mileage figures above 35 for all my driving. All in all, it handles pretty well, but the additional 500 or so pounds that the hybrid system adds shows up in cornering, where the car feels a bit heavy.

I was right at home in the cockpit, with first rate visibility and plenty of legroom (I'm 6'2" and was very comfortable), the seats were comfortable, if a touch on the soft side, and the side bolsters provided good lateral support during my handling tests. The nose and trunk are both quite high, reducing visibility a bit, but the rear view camera and sensor system makes the rear a non-issue, and the only time it bothered me in front was when I was trying to figure how far from a curb I was. The only control that I'd like to see moved is the turn signal stalk, which was placed higher than I liked. Maybe if I actually placed my hands at "10" and "2" it would be within reach, but when cruising I tend to hold them lower, closer to "4" and "8," where my arms are supported by the door recess and center console.

The Nav/Music/Phone/Climate/Rear Camera console doesn't shut down when you pull the key out, but waits until you actually get out of the car. The media center has its own "jukebox," a hard drive with storage 164h 50m worth of audio, which it estimates as 2472 tracks. You can load the jukebox by letting it copy your CDs to the drive, which is slow and painful. I'd much rather download my iPod's contents to the Jukebox, but I assume Ford is worried about licensing issues, and loading from CD does address that. Mostly.

When I'm not at home I listen to most of my music and other audio through my Blackberry. Since I'd already synched it with the car, there was no problem outputting the sound from its audio files. In short order I'd established my personal environment, with downloaded phone book, streaming tunes, and hands free phone. To use an overused phrase...sweet.

The 35+ mpg that I got from driving it around for a week was great news, and quite a revelation in a midsize car that spent much of its time in stop and go traffic. That's where hybrids really excel, of course, at low speeds where stop and go would eat up much of their efficiency. If you're going to be cruising down the open road for hours at a time, the 50 mpg that a VW Jetta TDI can deliver will make you feel like a gas hog, but if you're in mixed or urban traffic, you'll probably come out ahead.

If you've been reading reviews of the 2010 Fusion Hybrid, you no doubt know that the consensus is that this is the best of breed as far as hybrids go...and possibly as far as midsize sedans period. You'll get little disagreement from me on the first, and I'd be happy enough to drive one regardless of its hybrid status or not. The car is comfortable, quick and nimble, and with the onboard Sync system, its potentially smarter than I am. With the 2010 Fusion, Ford again shows that at least one American car company isn't mired in the past, though it hasn't lost sight of the best parts of its heritage either.