 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reviews Ford Fusion+ to Frankfurt; Practical, Great Engine, Good Economy |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Family Friendly Package Includes Multi-Media Gubbins In the Back Price Is The Achilles Heel; Lots Of Goodies, But £16,100? FRANKFURT, Germany I drove the Ford Fusion+ to the Frankfurt car show in September, so I can tell you lots about how it behaves on motorways – about 1,000 miles of them. The Fusion is surprisingly powerful and the 1.6 litre TDCi 90 bhp diesel is a gem of an engine. It’s a bit noisy at start-up when it’s cold, but it propels the little car forward with surprising velocity. The engine can be heard as you accelerate, but it’s a not unpleasant, certainly not intrusive. When you switch it off, there’s a weird kind of whirring noise, but that quickly goes away. Cruising down the German autobahns at about 90 mph – don’t forget there’s no speed limit on many of these roads – the diesel was remarkably quiet. There’s just a bit of wind noise, and that’s it. 90 mph only qualifies you for the middle lane on German highways. If you venture into the fast lane, you have to about 100 mph, or quick as a flash there’s a Porsche or a BMW almost in your back seat demanding that you move back into the middle. I don’t think I’ve ever been overtaken by a Skoda before, but in Germany it happened all the time. And ICE trains too. As you bomb down the autoroute from Cologne to Frankfurt these futuristic trains swish past as the railway follows the line of the road. Or blast towards you with a combined speed of about 250 mph. Pretty Good Economy At these kinds of speeds, the Fusion won’t get remotely near the average fuel economy figure claimed by Ford of 61.4 mpg (4.6 l/100km), but I managed 46.06 mpg (6.13 l/km) during my 10 days with the car, with the air conditioning on all the time. I think that’s pretty good. The car’s handling was fine, just like its Fiesta sibling, with little body roll. The 5-speed gearbox worked well. The engine has great flexibility in top gear, almost good enough to forswear an automatic. Around town the car felt responsive and agile. The Fusion range has the choice of 2 petrol engines – a 1.4 80 bhp and 1.6 100 bhp – and another diesel – the 1.4 litre Duratorq 68 bhp. Room For The Mountain Bike The rear seats fold down and there was enough space for my mountain bike, all in one piece. The Fusion, which looks a bit like a Fiesta on little stilts, isn’t the most handsome of cars, but it doesn’t look unappealing. It is wider and longer, as well as taller than its Fiesta relative. Ford has spivved up the range and now offers features which are normally only offered on more upmarket cars. These include rain sensing windscreen wipers, automatic “home-safe” headlamps (they stay on for a few minutes while you scamper down your driveway) air conditioning, satellite navigation, computer, one-touch-down drivers door electric window, power folding and heated foor mirrors, MP3-compatible stereo systems and voice-controlled hands-free phone connection. There’s a new look to the body, with new bumpers and grille, new headlamps, rear lamps, thicker body side mouldings and body coloured handles and mirrors on some models. Standard 16 inch wheels have alloy trims. Inside the dash has been redesigned and softer, higher quality materials have been used. Entertainment System There’ a DVD entertainment system for the rear seat passengers. Ford is very proud of this, as it is seeking to appeal to families with children. The system can be controlled by the front-seat passengers. There are front seat stowage areas for DVDs and games. There’s a time-out function which allows the electronics to stay on for 30 minutes after the car has been turned off, then shuts down. The hazard warming lights operate automatically under emergency breaking above 62 mph (100 km/h). I’m happy to report that I can’t say if that works or not. The body is toughened up by a high strength steel shell. There are twin-front dual stage air bags that calculate the severity of the crash. Crumple zones and a decoupling brake pedal protect passengers, although there’s no word about the likely rating in any Euro NCAP tests. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hard To Believe The Price Now we come to the bad points. The radio was fiddly and seemed to have been designed by Microsoft, given its maddening lack of intuitive operation. Er, and that’s it. The price though is going to be a major problem. The version I tested had loads of great extras – fog lights, quick-clear windscreen, electric front windows, powered/heated wing mirrors, park assist radar, extra side curtain airbags and a centre head restraint. There was sat-nav, one of those small screen devices, but it added £1,000 to the price. You can get a Tom-Tom Sat Nav device for about £350. The total price was £16,100 – that gets you right through bigger family saloons like the Ford Mondeo and Opel/Vauxhall Vectra, and takes you into BMW 1-Series territory, although inside the beemer might be a little empty at that price. That seems ridiculously overpriced to me, and makes competing products like the Citroen Berlingo very attractive propositions. My favourite car in this category is still the Honda Jazz, with its loading flexibility – the seats fold into the floor – although the lack of a diesel engine does the Jazz no favours. The quality build of the Jazz, the funky instruments, the great handling, and not least the price, make this the product to beat in the supermini segment. Neil Winton – September 29, 2005
home page / more car reviews / auto industry news / top of page |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
