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The comfortable and attractive redesigned Ford Fusion blew me away with its  high-tech options and excellent mileage ratings, as well as a starting price of just under $20,000. “It’s one of the nicest cars Ford makes,” agreed Brandon Lamarque, sales manager at Lamarque Ford in Kenner. “And with the redesign, it’s a little bigger than last year, it drives...


The comfortable and attractive redesigned Ford Fusion blew me away with its  high-tech options and excellent mileage ratings, as well as a starting price of just under $20,000.

“It’s one of the nicest cars Ford makes,” agreed Brandon Lamarque, sales manager at Lamarque Ford in Kenner. “And with the redesign, it’s a little bigger than last year, it drives better and gets great fuel economy.”

Plus, the Fusion adds a Sport model and an all-new hybrid this year that earns a fabulous 41 city miles per gallon and can go up to 700 miles on a single tank.

The 2010 Fusion boasts a redesigned front end that gives the entire car a bolder and more refined look with its slightly domed hood and judicious use of chrome. The car also features a sporty, slightly wider stance and an overall uptick in sophistication. This is a car you’d be happy to have parked in your driveway.

The roomier new interior features soft-touch materials everywhere from the dashtop and leather-wrapped steering wheel to the center console and well-contoured optional leather seats. Metallic trim throughout adds a contemporary touch, as do the blue-lit gauges that sport a 3-D appearance. Another cool feature is the adjustable lighting system (a hint at the car’s treasure trove of high-tech features). Owners can change the lighting scheme by, say, illuminating the footwells (which can be very handy when you drop your keys) or the cupholders. They can also choose their lighting color scheme from among white, blue, ice blue, purple, red, orange and green.

The impressive list of high-tech options also includes a 12-speaker Sony sound system and a voice-activated navigation system with Sirius satellite radio Travel Link, which provides real-time traffic information. There’s also a rear parking assist camera and a blind spot signal with cross-traffic alert. This is really interesting. In traffic, if a car enters your blind spot on either side a little orange circle lights up in the corner of the mirror on that side. Additionally, when you’re in reverse, the cross traffic alert not only beeps when there’s a car behind you that you could back into, it beeps if there is a car approaching from either side that is about to be behind you. You can also get the hands-free phone system, Ford Sync, which can help call 911 in an emergency and can give you a health report on your car.

It makes you wonder how much longer can it possibly be before vehicles are simply driving themselves.

The long list of new offerings for 2010 also includes two engines (a four- and a flex-fuel six-cylinder), a six-speed transmission, AdvanceTrac with electronic stability control, electric power assist steering, and a capless gas tank that automatically seals itself after you remove the nozzle.

There’s a choice of three engines. Standard is a fuel-efficient inline four cylinder, rated at 175 horsepower and 172 pound-feet of torque. With FWD only, mileage estimates are 22/31 when mated to the six-speed manual transmission and 23/34 paired with the optional six-speed automatic with manual-shift mode.

The test car came with a 3.0-liter Duratec V6 flex-fuel engine, producing 240 hp and 223 ft-lb. Fuel economy is 18/27 FWD, 18/25 AWD. This was a smooth-running engine with good low-end torque and should be powerful enough for almost everybody.

Of course, there are always at least a few power junkies who will want to check out the 3.5-liter Duratec V6, boasting 263 hp and 249 ft-lb. EPA estimates are 18/27 FWD, 17/24 AWD.

As for the new hybrid version, Ford had to eventually come out with one because “Fusion

Tags: Ford

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2010 Ford Fusion: Redesigned sedan steps up in class and high-tech options was originally published by New Orleans Auto Reviews: Ford. Read the full story by clicking here.