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Comments
So far I have been very pleased.
Mark.
Let me clarify that I am not complaining about the Milan's fit and finish;everything is ok except for the tail light issue which you have to concentrate on to notice. When I push down on the trunk lid a bit the lights line up properly, however momentarily. I believe that the pistons/mini-shocks that hold the trunk open are overcharged and that contributes to the upwards pressure on the trunk lid that causes the alignment issue as well as requiring a firm downwards motion to close the trunk on the first try. Is any one else experiencing this?
I Forgot to add a few things. The Accord has a locking fuel door (locks from the inside) as well as the ability to lock the trunk from the inside in addition to a locking glove box and rear fold down seats that lock. The sections of the Milan's rear bench seat fold down nicely, however do not lock and the trunk opens with just a push of a button on the dash, none of the above are locking on the Milan, and the fuel filler door just pulls open. No auxiliary locks means no need for a valet key.
There are Job 1 and Job 2 revisions on the Fusion/Milan, correct me if I am wrong mschmal, and Job 2 has the 6 speed Japanese made Aisin-Warner Transmission, over the 5 speed in Job 1. Job 2 revisions add a MP3 jack to the stereo enabling the "line-in" function to play music from an IPOD or other MP3 player for example.
Job 2 (manufactured after Jan 2007) adds beefed up interior components and improves crash protection as well.
See the following Consumer Reports crash test link and select both years to hear information and to see the crash tests.
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/safety-recalls/carcrashtest/crashtestvid- eo.htm
Are you guys getting the mileage from the info display on the dash or calculating the mileage on your own? I read in these forums to reset the MPG counter at each fill up.
The Milan on my showroom floor also has taillights on the trunk lid that do not line up exactly with the taillights on the fender.
Curiously though the crease at the top of the hood lines up with the crease in the fender. Accordingly it appears to mean that the design was off, not the build.
Mark.
Likes - reliability, fit/finish, styling and comfort.
Dislikes - rear view is a bummer, If Ford just moved the 3rd brake light to the trunk it would help much! Just to keep up with image, a 240HP V6, 180HP 4cyl needs to come now. 6spd for both v6 and 4cyl.
dXR :shades:
Anyway a great Mexican built car, gas mileage with mostly highway driving was 21.something. Handled great, stuck to the road, just needs the bigger engine that is in the new Edge and Taurus.
Sable proved to be very reliable car. I have 115,000 miles on it with no issues or repair except of this TSB. Another recomendation is to replace water pump at 120K miles as preventive measure because that how normall lifespan of waterpump. On Japanese cars it is normally replaced during 100K mile service along with timing belt.
My friends (mostly Honda and Toyota owners) have been suprised by the stylish good looks, comfortable ride, good mpg, and outstanding fit and finish. The only downside to this purchase was that my wife became jealous and bought herself a new Escape later the same week!
we have 2 escapes and a fusion.
In 2006 I bought this car and was told by the Honda/Toyota crowd I would be sorry, it was going to fall apart, have all kinds of problems.. I paid thousands less and know I made the right choice.
The Fusion and Milan seem to have maintained excellent reliability since their introduction. I would not hesitate for a moment to purchase one if I needed a car in that size/price range. But I do think the initial depreciation makes them a better buy used than new. The used car market hasn't yet caught onto this terrific little secret.
Regarding resale values it goes upward for Fords for some time. For Fusion and new Taurus it will aproach at least to Toyota level soon. I for one feel no pressure to sell my Sable since it just runs strong and holds up pretty well. I bought it in pretty good deal new for 18.5K (21.5K with taxes and fees). And it is car with DOHC V6, all leather interior, moonroof and other amenities, very comfortable for daily commute. Price was similar to the price of I4 Accord/Camry at that time
The car has been extremely reliable as well. Other than routine maintenance, there have been no issues of significance.
It also has dual front sun visors, a very nice feature when the sun is low and coming in at the upper corner of the windshield and side windows intermittently. This is a feature, unfortunately, that Ford has not continued on the latest models.
But what is even more important most Camries sold with I4 and thats where Camry beats Taurus hands down. Instead of offering refined I4 engine (which Ford did not have) it offered Taurus with the same tired ancient Vulcan engine which burns more gas with less output than modern I4. Ford had a habit to keep ancient designs in production for too long in such a competitive market. I agree that Taurus/Sable are among most reliable midsize cars in 2000s, but it is not enough to compete.
At its prime time Taurus was among most advanced cars in USA and both Toyota and Honda tried hard to match it. And Toyota did it in 1992 and created even better car, while Ford only facelifted and even cheaped Taurus in 1992 redesign. After '92 Camry came out Ford begin worrying and ordered Taurus redesign to beat new Camry. Team just could not do it with manufacturing system and cost structure Ford had in 90s. So instead product manager decided to beat Camry with outlandish style and it did not work.
Modern Americans do not care much about style - they just want quality appliance that does not look outright ugly, except of Honda and Toyota. Honda and Toyota in American market have a luxury to not spend money on exterior design. Of course this approach in Europe does not work because Europeans have a long tradition to dress stylishly and drive stylish cars.
Dislikes:
1) As mentioned in reviews, the engine is quite noisy in anything more than gentle accelleration. Nothing a good fart-muffer can't hide, though! :P (JK! Wouldn't get caught dead with one.)
2) Can't believe I'd say this, but here goes: Lot's of buttons! I'm still getting accustomed to the center stack, and while I love having so many things to do with it, all those tiny buttons are tough to identify while driving. Party my fault, as I reflexively reach for the cntr stack and forget the steering wheel controls and voice commands.
3) (Nitpicking) USB plug in cntr console in awckward (Sp?) location. Like how Sonata goes straight up, though maybe that would get clogged with crap?
4) Not a design thing, but the backup sensor occasionally goes off like it's right up against something when there's nothing for a country mile. Not a weather factor, unless nice sunny weather causes it... Going to have it looked at this week. I know, it can be disabled, and I didn't really want the system, but if I paid for it, it's gonna work! Besides, the wife may drive it ocaisionaly. (Sorry, ladies!)
5) I wish the Sync voice had it's own volume adjustment, as I find she's usually screaming at me. Hey Ford (Or Microsoft), I get enough of that at home, OK?
Like:
1) Unlike the reviews, I found the power steering to feel really good. This was one that scared me, but was relieved during the test drive. Can't feel the difference from a regular hydraulic one. Not lifeless, as far as I'm concerned, and I'm no race car driver, but it's nothing like the Sonata, which may as well have a joystick, which was pretty much a deal killer for me, along with the road noise and the way the transmission shifted. (Sorry Hyundai. Truth hurts.)
2) MPG. around 27MPG, 70/30 hwy/city. Well, that's subjective, but I like it alot more than the Grand Cherokee Obama bought from me...
3) So far, it's more than adequate power from the 4-banger. Yeah, it would be fun to have one of the 6's, but I have to grow up some time.... Yet to test it through the mountain passes, though.
4) Roomy! Looked small inside at the auto show, but somehow deceiving.
5) Comfy seats. Like the lumbar support. Looking for an excuse for a long trip.
6) Instrument cluster. That's the most common 'Wow!' I get when people see it for the first time.
Very happy with it overall. I still wonder why the base S model has alloy wheels and the SE gets hub caps? But they look like alloys from a distance.
but now that i have about 17k on it, it seems much smoother and quieter than when i first got it. hopefully, your I4 will be the same.
Well, one of the owners of the company I work for bought a 2010 Sport model, and I made the mistake of sitting in it, and eventually decided to say the hell with 34 MPG and dumped the Camry and got the Sport. It reminds me so much of the Vic I had, but is even better. This car handles like it is on rails. It is so much more comfortable than the Camry, it is much quieter inside, more leg room, my knee no longer smacks the door, and I can take my hand off the wheel without worrying about the car drifting one way or the other like the Camry did. Both my kids love the car, they like the roar it makes when I give it gas, how it pushes them into their car seats, and like how they can see out the back windows now, where they couldnt in the Camry, downside is, they are about 2" closer to each other :surprise: so I have the occasional "stop it" coming from behind me. The AC controls, & TC are a bit too low, so Ford does have a little bit of work left to make this car #1 for everyone, For me it is #1, it is the best car I have ever owned, and for a family sedan, it moves pretty damned good, a few times I left the driver in the right lane with a puzzled expression on their face when I blew their doors off, I guess they didn't think a Ford could move out so good. It don't need no stinkin fart can to beat a ricer, that's for sure, as I have proven a few times to the kiddies with their civics
I think the Sport styling is very nice and pleasing to the eye without looking too race like to attract attention The wheels and tires though, when winter comes around, I may be parking it in the garage when it snows, and drive the Veracruz, wont know until the first snow fall to see how well the tires work in the snow. The 3.5 V6 has a lot of power, so I just know I can get the tires spinning with very little effort.
The fit and finish is impeccable, there is not one thing in the car I can point my finger to and say, ohoh look they made a mistake. All the stitching in the seats and steering wheel are perfect, all the leather panels are perfect, not a single blemish in any of them. All the dash pieces are firm and fit properly, the doors give a nice solid thump when you close them, and the Sony stereo sounds Excellent once it gets adjusted properly, hooking up the Ipod was simple, just plug it in, and it plays, and the Sync is so easy, press the voice button, say play artist Alabama and Alabama starts to play(that is of course that you have Alabama on your Ipod). Pairing the iPhone was a piece of cake, had to do it a couple times when getting the sync up to date, and the applications installed for traffic and directions. The iPhone will also stream bluetooth audio to the Sync, so you can keep the ipod connected to USB, the iPhone connected to the power adapter, and choose either one to listen to the music or pod cast of your choice. I also found there is a second USB connection, where you can hookup a hard drive or other drive as a permanent connection so you dont have to leave the iPod or other MP3 player in the car, but I haven't figured out how to get it to work yet, it needs a male to male USB adapter. The Trunk is huge, there is a lot of room in there, and if you fold down all he seats, including the front passenger seat, you can haul long pieces of whatever you like in the car.
This is our 4th Ford in the garage, the others are my F350, my moms, 2007 Lincoln Town Car and her 1995 Grand Marquis. So far the reliability on all 3 of those has been superb. Other than normal wear and tear items, like ball joints, shocks, and brakes, the Grand Marquis, and F350 have been flawless, and considering how rough our roads are, that's pretty damned good, not once has any of them stopped running or had a major breakage in all the time we have them, and other than the town car, they are over 130K on the clock and still going. I had a 1979 Ford LTD wagon that we bought new in 1979, it had its problems, Ford experimented with the Variable Venturi Carb, and also had a bad run of 5.0 engines with piston slap, so after 50K miles on it, I pulled the motor and rebuilt it, blue print style, and drove that car for another 300K until the frame gave in to rust. That's 350K on the transmission, suspension, and rear end, only replacing an occasional tie rod and brakes.
Here's hoping I can do the same with the Fusion( not rebuilding the engine part though:D!)!!!
Fusion S. It is time to drop my Taurus 97. It has antique V6 Vulcan and badly design
transmission, problems with RPM sensor and with catalytic converter. One can live with this car but driving is boring.
I am looking for something more exiting. It could be your Fusion S or Accord.
What be your preference? I like fast cars, and my second one is 06 BMW 325i.
Best regards, Lehrer
thank you for information, it is nice that you are happy about your car!
Lehrer
ps I'd be happy to hear more about your car,
It does. I think it's just the Sport or maybe all the V6's have hydraulic power steering. Check the Ford site to see the specs. Have you test driven it yet, though? I was bummed to hear about the electric steering too after test driving a Sonata, but I think they did it really well.
Car and Driver wrote "the steering was nearly as good as the best in this group" in a comparison with the Mazda6 and Accord.
Motor Trend, in a comparison with Accord, wrote: "Both cars' helms feel overly light, neither transmits much road feel to the rim, and both provide nice, linear response and cornering grip that exceeds expectations".
CR has written: "Handling is responsive. The steering, which is now electric to improve fuel economy, is nicely weighted and conveys some feedback."
Thanks I just brought the car home tonight. What a great machine. I am placing my weathertech floor liners and cargo liner now. Cya
Do more people own a I4 or V6
I drove a I4 & it was noisey.
I did't drive the V6 yet.
Does it have alot more power.
Like Akriby said, only you will know once you drive them.
For what it's worth, I bought a V6 Accord several years ago, and if I had it to do over again, I'd go for the four instead, because I like (a) less weight on the front end for better handling, (b) less weight and smaller engine for better fuel economy, and (c) less upfront cost. But your experience and priorities may be different. The V6 is noticeably faster, and noticeably quieter, whether we're discussing the Fusion or the Accord (or most other midsize sedans)--but only you can decide if the difference is worth the extra purchase price (and the extra fuel cost).
Worth the money....take it for a drive!
The Camry did price out way better especially at a CarMax Toyota dealer (new cars only).
I'm going with the Ford! I hope the write-ups are accurate because in my 49 years I have never owned an American car!