Ask me anything about the Ford Fusion Sport!

"DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!" (daft-ryosuke)
03/07/2019 at 17:35 • Filed to: None

m trying to figure out why this thing flopped so hard. In the meantime, ask me anything you ever wondered about it, or anything else really.

DISCUSSION (24)

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!
03/07/2019 at 17:40

It was the most expensive version of a car that used to be advertised as a lease special and it had the big beefy motor but not much else to help it go faster. It also had no badge connection to the SHO line, and at the same time, Ford rebadged their Edge Sport to be ST. Despite the Fusion Sport being closer to what the ST badge stood for than the Edge.

tl;dr - Ford has no idea what the fuck they’re doing with trim levels and just spin a wheel to see what your trim name will be.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!
03/07/2019 at 17:41

I was actually thinking about this the other day. Future classic? Affordable sleeper? POS?

I’m interested to hear your thoughts.

TysMagic > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!
03/07/2019 at 17:43

Years ago I shopped the older Fusion sport against the same era MKZ - the MKZ won. In four years, would you take the Fusion Sport over the MKZ of the same year?

CompactLuxuryFan > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!
03/07/2019 at 17:45

Didn’t they have some sort of widespread horrific engine defect? Besides that they also turned out to not be all that quick or fun to drive.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!
03/07/2019 at 17:46

I did a lot of research on this one. Off the top of my mind:

1. Price was $40K if you wanted the loaded version. End of the day it’s still a Fusion SE trim made fast.

2. People(as in reviewers) expected an American Audi S4 beater with the specs but in real life the steering/transmission and overall handling let it down from what I read. And the engine lacked character if not outright thrust.Plus it’s 4100LBs

3. Initial models had TONS of issues mainly with electronic and dying batteries. If you look at used ones you’ll see a lot of lemon manufacturer buybacks

4. Most people didn’t even know it existed.

having said that I want to know what you think. Worth getting over the new V6 Camry or 2.0T Accord?

B/Xmrrmvr > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!
03/07/2019 at 17:50

How well does the Pothole Mitigation Tech work? Have you noticed it working while driving?

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
03/07/2019 at 17:50

https://www.fusionsportforums.com/forum/

check the threads.There were a LOT of reliability issues especially with the batteries in 2017 models.

https://www.edmunds.com/ford/fusion/2017/st-200732917/consumer-reviews/

Kinja'd!!!

Unfortunate as I was close to leasing one. They were offering huge discounts on these.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
03/07/2019 at 17:52

Hmmm

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
03/07/2019 at 17:53

Check used listing. A lot of them would be Lemon manufacturer buyback or suspiciously low mileage as owners traded them in to GTFO. At least this was the case last year, could have been fixed in the 2018/19 models.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!
03/07/2019 at 17:57

My aunt and uncle have one that I’ve spent a bit of time driving. It think they’re a very good car that just doesn’t tickle the senses in all the ways a proper sports sedan is supposed to.

In general, the 2.7 ecoboost is a deeply impressive motor and it makes these a properly fast car, but the character of the 2.7 just doesn’t make you want to do redline pulls through gears until you (quickly) get to take me to jail, please, speeds. The low and flat torque curve with almost instant spool up makes for fast, but nothing about the engine says take me to 6.5k (and then do it again in the next gear). I’ve got this engine in my F-150, and it feels like the same truck/SUV/CUV optimized tuning in this application. I think some more aggressive cam profiles and a turbo vane geometry better suited to the upper end of the rpm range (at the expensive of some lag) that would make the engine more enticing to wring out would’ve gone a long ways in the sport.

The other thing that I saw as a let down was the handling. It isn’t bad, but it also isn’t great, or lively, or all that entertaining. My parent’s Mazda 6 is far more interesting to drive at speed on twisty roads (even with a fraction of the power and acceleration potential), and they just seem to lack that firmer, buttoned down German sedan feeling that says it was built for setting the cruise control at take me to jail speeds.

I wanted to love the Fusion sport, but I ended up thinking it was just fine. And nothing more. I was left with the impression of the car being something of a half- measure. The ingredients are there, but Ford just didn’t fully commit to making it a real sports sedan.

MUSASHI66 > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!
03/07/2019 at 18:13

I love their depreciation rate, but I’m super concerned with all the potential issues. What are your plans to prevent/solve all the known issues?

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!
03/07/2019 at 18:18

My aunt and uncle have one of these that I’ve gotten to spend a bit of time driving. I wanted to love the car, but only came away thinking it was just fine. And nothing more. I saw two big areas that really let down the car.

The first is the engine. The 2.7 ecoboost is a deeply impressive engine that I love in my truck, but its also an engine with almost instantaneous turbo spool up and a flat torque curve that really emphases response and capability down low in the rev range. The Sport felt to me like it was running the exact same engine tuning as my truck. This makes for a properly fast car, but not one that really make my heart go pitter-patter with desire to run it up to the rev limiter in gear after gear. Its a fast car, that never really made me want to drive it fast. The fact the engine feels basically the same at 2.5k as it does at 6k takes away some of the magic. If they had gone with a more aggressive cam profile/phasing curve and turbo vane geometry better suited to the upper end of the rev range (at the expensive of some lag) I think the sport would’ve been a more encouraging car to drive.

The other let down for me was the chassis and suspension. The Sport handles okay, but nothing more. It has some rubber, and the overall grip can be there, but it felt like Ford was unwilling to liven up the rear end enough to make it interesting in any way, and was also unwilling to spring the car stiff enough to feel like a proper cruiser at high speed. My parent’s Mazda 6 is a considerably better handling and far more interesting to drive car on a twisty road despite having a fraction of the power and acceleration. Compared to the firm, buttoned down feeling of a proper German sedan, nothing about the way the sport drove made me feel like it wanted to set the cruise at take me to jail speeds (despite having more than ample power to do so). Maybe this is more than just a suspension tuning issue. Maybe the chassis just doesn’t have the torsional stiffness or weight transfer dynamics to support the handling the car should have as a proper sports sedan. I don’t really know.

For me, my overall impression was the car as something of a half-measure. It felt like the ingredients were there, but Ford was unwilling to commit all the way to really making a sports sedan. Maybe that was by design. A fast fusion for folks that think they want a sports sedan, but don’t really want to live with or pay for one.

jimz > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
03/07/2019 at 18:37

That was a bug in the radio firmware, it wasn’t going to sleep when the car was off thus tanking the battery. It was fixed via firmware update not long after those reviews. It would also have affected the Titanium and Platinum trims.

jimz > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
03/07/2019 at 18:40

The upside to a flat torque curve is that horsepower goes up more or less linearly with engine RPM.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
03/07/2019 at 18:50

I think they’ll definitely become an affordable sleeper, if you’re looking for a car that’s just fine to drive, but will pull out it make a pass on a two lane road like it’s going out of style. I haven’t turned any wrenches on one, but I can tell you that the under hood packaging is seriously ti ght. They may or may not be much fun as a DIY car to own.

VajazzleMcDildertits - read carefully, respond politely > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!
03/07/2019 at 19:00

How sporty is it?

IdleInCA > B/Xmrrmvr
03/07/2019 at 19:02

I assume it works because its in the new generation Focus available in Svendlandia

DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! > TysMagic
03/07/2019 at 19:06

I’d actually take the Ford, as I’m not a fan of the bodystyle on that era MKZ.

DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
03/07/2019 at 19:06

Is it bad that I’d rather take the Camry, let alone the Accord? Both feel more in tune to their mission statements.

DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
03/07/2019 at 19:08

I can’t call it a POS, but it’s not either of the other two. It’s definitely a good family sedan with a tiny bit of spice, but it’s more like grinding up a tiny bit of black pepper into a bland ham and cheese sandwich.

DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! > MUSASHI66
03/07/2019 at 19:09

Nothing, that’s for whoever does end up buying this car in the end.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
03/07/2019 at 19:56

Pretty much this. I’d have been satisfied with the Sport had it been 90% of an S4 type experience for 85 % of the price. In stead it felt like a fast fusion and nothing like an S4 or even a 3 series with the bigger engine and sport suspension. Before the Sport they had a fusion titanium . Considerable t orque steer not withstanding, I thought the fusion t was probably a better overall car, and certainly for the price . It was coherent in design and execution.

TysMagic > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!
03/07/2019 at 19:59

Reasonable enough. I love the massive split wing grille on the preface lift MKZ.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!
03/07/2019 at 23:02

Not at all. They’ve made tremendous leaps with the 2018 models especially.