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Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan Hybrid

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Comments

  • tpsvtpsv Member Posts: 3
    Just to clarify...with sales tax of 7% and tag/title, my total was $34K.......drive out price...

    Still seems to be OK as it has rapid spec 500A and NAV...

    Now I feel better:-)

    Has anyone got any Milan Hybrid from fresh order yet?
  • scottphillipscottphillip Member Posts: 249
    I got 54 mpg on my 8 mile route to work this morning. However, I wasn't running the AC and did not exceed 40 mph. Also, I haven't purchased gas yet, so I don't know if the trip computer is accurate.

    So far, I am quite pleased. :)
  • daninoahdaninoah Member Posts: 45
    Since the AC is electric powered and does not take any power from the engine, I don't believe running it should have impact on gas mileage. Plus, with the windows up, you will be more aerodynamic. :shades:
  • texasestexases Member Posts: 10,700
    Power is power, so AC will make some impact.
  • otisnjotisnj Member Posts: 15
    Besides the obvious cosmetic differences, anything significantly different between these cars. For exmple, I have heard the often Mercury vehicles are often built with a different suspension for a softer ride. Is that the case with the hybrids?
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    There isn't enough battery power to run the A/C for very long without starting the engine to recharge.
  • kineticskinetics Member Posts: 4
    My new 2010 Fusion hybrid lasted 7 days and 500 miles before it died in the middle of traffic. Towed into the dealer 6 days ago but they say they cannot fix it because they cannot get parts!

    Ford cannot make a dent in the hybrid market this way. Ford customer support says that they will get back to me in "a few days"

    Maybe I made a mistake.
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    And maybe you're overreacting.
  • hayley2hayley2 Member Posts: 44
    Not good, hopefully not a trend. Do keep us informed however how this all plays out. I wonder if the Ford/Mercury Technicians have been to school and updated on these new vehicles? :cry:
  • daninoahdaninoah Member Posts: 45
    Maybe you're not telling the truth. Something tells me you're a basher and a troll.
  • PF_FlyerPF_Flyer Member Posts: 9,372
    Let's stick to the cars and not get into discussing each other please.

    Thanks for your cooperation and participation.
  • acdiiacdii Member Posts: 753
    I once had a Toyota that died and took weeks to get fixed. It happens to all car lines at some point. It is not unusual for a part to be defective from the factory, and since these cars are brand new, the techs have a lot more to learn, and things like this will happen, hence the wait a year before buying a brand new model. Keep your chin up, there was something about the car you liked, otherwise you wouldn't have bought it.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    That's true, but driving with your windows down will require more power as well, especially at highway speeds.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    There is no difference between Fusion and Milan other than minor trim. Ford has not had the resources to distinguish Mercury any more than grill, tail lighta and minor interior trim for several years now. That may change when and if the company recovers. But for now, Mercury only provides slightly different clip styling to the very same Ford vehicle.
  • kineticskinetics Member Posts: 4
    Now the "processor" has arrived but all the lights on the dash are lit and there" is noone at Ford to figure out what to do until Monday"
  • kineticskinetics Member Posts: 4
    Now the processor has arrived but all the lights on the dash are lit and "there is no one at ford to help diagnose until Monday"
    retired Ford engineer
  • kineticskinetics Member Posts: 4
    Thanks for trying to keep the proper forum tone.
  • daninoahdaninoah Member Posts: 45
    My apologies to all. I will stick to the FFH topic. And Kinetics, sorry about the problem. I am sure it will be fixed soon. A new car is bound to have a few issues, but nothing will be inherently wrong with the car.

    About 10 years ago, I bought a VW Passat right out of the box. It had a couple minor issues in the first couple of months, but nothing since. I sold it to a friend a couple of years ago, and it has 180 k miles and is still going strong. :shades:
  • rsnow95rsnow95 Member Posts: 1
    I just returned from the dealership to check out my new ride and all I can say is Wow!. We are taking delivery on Monday.

    Forget for a moment this car is a hybrid. I have to believe the Ford Fusion is one of the best mid-sized sedans on the market. If you thought about buying a 2009 because of the rebates, you will be glad that you waited. This car is vastly improved inside and out for 2010.

    We drove it about 15 miles today. What I was most impressed about was: (1) how long it stays in electric mode at speeds under 47mph; and (2) how seemless it switches between gas and electric. After driving it, the best way to maximize fuel economy is to get up to speed first. Then, let you foot off of the accelerator and you instantly going into electric mode. The switch from gas to electric is virtually undistinguishable.

    We are purchasing a Spec 501a with leather, black on black. It took about 8 weeks from the point of the initial order (DORA). The dealer graciously accepted Ford X-plan pricing. This plan is offered to friends and family, retirees and shareholders of Ford. If you work for a larger company, you should check to see if your company participates. The trick will be finding a dealer who will accept it. The good ones will and it saved us $2,000 off MSRP of $30,780.

    We have owned only mid-sized vehicles and the suspension on this car is sport-like. You are going to be really impressed with the fit and finish, as well as the quietness of the ride for the size of the car.

    If your most important goal is to just get the greatest fuel economy, you may want to consider the Prius. However, if you are looking to drive a hybrid that drives like a sedan, and offers better fuel economy, this car is a game changer and you won't be disappointed.

    The dealer told us that Ford will manufacture any FFH ordered through 4/30 and will guarantee delivery before the end of 2009. They are only planning to make 25,000 this year. Don't wait too long or you might be waiting until next year.

    Good luck and good hunting,

    rsnow95
  • WyattNicholsWyattNichols Member Posts: 55
    Do GM and Ford have enough hybrids to meet this order? The article I read said the hybrids would be bought before 4/15/09. I find this interesting in light of the comment rsnow95 was told "that Ford will manufacture any FFH ordered through 4/30 and will guarantee delivery before the end of 2009".

    I'm still waiting on my FFH, maybe this week.
  • bobgwtwbobgwtw Member Posts: 187
    Had a chance to drive the FH & MKZ back to back over the same route composed of city, curving rolling secondary & interstate. Both nice cars but for me the FH wins hands down. It's actually quieter than the Z & rides better (to be fair the Z had the sport suspension). No real difference on smooth roads but the Z rides like they forgot to put the springs under it when the road turns rough. Very impressed with the hybrid system. As several other posts have stated the transistion from gas to electric is absolutely seamless; the only way I could tell which it was running on was to look at the instruments. As for negatives, the interior looks a little on the cheap side & the wheels look like hubcaps. The had an SEL & hybrid sitting side by side & the SEL looked much, much sharper just because of the wheels.

    As for the Z, the big problem is price. I want the backup camera, cross traffic system & adaptive headlights; and to get these items you have to buy packages that push the sticker to over $40,000. It's not a $40,000 car,
  • daninoahdaninoah Member Posts: 45
    I think the government will order the cars and then delivery will take place over time. It seems to be just like an order for any other large item: they are delivered pursuant to a schedule, and will gradually replace the older vehicles in the fleet.

    What is clear is that Ford will have to run the Mexico plant 24/7 to meet demand. That is a good problem to have. :)
  • bigtbigt Member Posts: 412
    I was thinking about the 10 gig Jukebox size and although this is not necessary an issue I do wonder where they came up with that size. Heck you cannot even purchase a 10 gig drive anymore. You can get 80 gig for $40 and a 1 Terabyte drive for $95. Who knows what the price would be in a quantity purchase.

    I just paid $120 for a 64 gig flash drive so I guess I can just plug it into the USB port in the car.

    I guess the only point I would make is why not lead the pack and put a 60 or 100 gig drive in the jukebox. It would set the car apart in one of the many areas.

    Still I am very happy with the car. I especially like the cross traffic feature where you are backing out of a parking spot and you get alerted to a car coming your way. That and the blind spot features are some of my favorites.
  • wpwoodjrwpwoodjr Member Posts: 12
    There are unsold FFHs on dealer lots in the Philadelphia area so my guess is you can still get one pretty easily.
  • wpwoodjrwpwoodjr Member Posts: 12
    Yeah the 10gb hard drive; seems like you'd have to pay extra to get one that small ;-)

    Do you still like the inside fit & finish of your FFH? Or does it seem sort of gadgety after awhile? I'm talking about the LCD dash gauge and the slightly gaudy center console.
  • lilengineerboylilengineerboy Member Posts: 4,116
    Yeah the 10gb hard drive; seems like you'd have to pay extra to get one that small

    Its a stop-gap measure...why would you want to rip all your songs to your car when they are already on you computer and your iPod? Might as well just bring the iPod with you, since its bigger than that drive anyway. They are also slightly ruggedized to handle being in a car, and that makes them a bit pricier.

    Do you still like the inside fit & finish of your FFH? Or does it seem sort of gadgety after awhile? I'm talking about the LCD dash gauge and the slightly gaudy center console.

    I guess compared to the digital scale speedometer of the Prius and the center console display that washes out pretty much whenever the sun is out, it works well.

    Compared to the old school gauges in the Escape Hybrid, it might take some getting used to but the information in the LCD is graduated to help the driver learn the ins and outs and not overwhelm. There are a few different modes of information so the driver can have the vehicle provide coaching, vehicle info, or just speed and how much gas he has left. Thats whats cool about the LCDs, they give just the info the driver wants since they can be reconfigured easily.
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    A lot of folks don't have mp3 players or itunes.
  • lilengineerboylilengineerboy Member Posts: 4,116
    A lot of folks don't have mp3 players or itunes.

    It need not be an MP3 player, as you know; it can just be a USB memory stick. Do you think the people who either boycott the MP3 experience or are technology challenged are going to spend the time to rip a bunch of CDs to a hard drive in their car? That is a pretty big leap across the technological divide.
    I thought the main purpose of the HD was to hold vehicle info and navigation system data and the MP3 thing was kind of an afterthought.
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    I think putting a cd in the slot and selecting "copy" is a lot easier than ripping mp3s and copying them to a usb stick. I was just pointing out that for some folks this would be a good option and as you stated, it probably cost next to nothing.
  • hayley2hayley2 Member Posts: 44
    How do I register my Vin # with Ford? I cannot find the web site. I have 2010 Milan Hybrid on order that is to be built this week. Would be nice to be able to download the Owner Manual and do some advance reading before delivery. :)
  • hayley2hayley2 Member Posts: 44
    I would like to register my Milan Hybrid scheduled to be built this week. I have the VIN # but can you tell me the web site to register my vin #? :)
  • bigtbigt Member Posts: 412
    I keep hearing that only 25,000 Ford hybrids are being produced this year. So the Government is purchasing 10% of them?

    Any ideal how many Milans are being built? Is it part of the 25k number?

    Where did this number come from anyway
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    We heard you the first time......

    http://myford.fordvehicles.com/
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    It says the government will purchase 2500 hybrid sedans - it doesn't say they're all Fusions. The Malibu also qualifies. I believe the Milan is part of the 25K limit - it's based on availability of batteries from 3rd party suppliers. The number came from Ford.
  • WyattNicholsWyattNichols Member Posts: 55
    hayley2

    The dealer told me today that the ETA for my FFH is on the 25th. Ford had told me that it had gone into production on 3/30th and finished production on 4/6th.

    That must be a very slow train from Mexico to Memphis.
  • hayley2hayley2 Member Posts: 44
    Wyatt - I also :D had a call from my dealer today advising me that they have a Black Milan Hybrid ordered for stock with an ETA of 4/25 same as yours. Now the one we ordered Silver is scheduled to be built this week and ship week of 4/20. I'm wondering if perhaps the Black and Silver might come in on the same day? My dealer says that the eta could be earlier or even later based on there experience.
  • WyattNicholsWyattNichols Member Posts: 55
    Yea, the ETA is only a rough estimate. They wait until they get a full truck load before they leave the railroad yard with the cars. The dealer said he has had some interest in the one FFH he got last Monday, 4/6th, but nothing serious. The people predicting that the dealerships may come off the sticker price in the future might be right, if Uncle Sam doesn't get all of them and the price of oil remains low for awhile.
  • WyattNicholsWyattNichols Member Posts: 55
    Yea, the ETA is a really rough estimate. What I told you in the previous post was what the dealer found out online at noon today. At 3:30 this afternoon, he called to say that my car was in, and to come get it.

    Based on my experiences, it took 8 days from when the car was due to leave production.

    I really like the car. Only drove it 20 miles tonight since I didn't get away from the dealer until 8:45. This is the first car I've owned that has a crt, backup camera, etc. The mpg readout is hypnotizing. For a 15 mile trip home 1/3 on interstate and rest on 40-45 mph streets, my mpg was 37.
  • bigtbigt Member Posts: 412
    Looks like I am getting around 600+ miles to the tank. The mileage is starting to creep up as I learn how to accelerate and look for the sweet spots. My first tank was around 31 mpg, this tank is now about 38 mpg. Yesterday on a 19 mile trip from the window tinting place in Maryland to Georgetown Hospital. The trip used the DC beltway and city. I got round 41 mpg without really doing anything special.

    New favorite feature: Cross-traffic alerts. Backing up out of a parking space it beeps if vehicles or people are moving near you.

    2nd best feature: Auto traffic alerts that pop up on the screen while you are driving as they occur in almost real-time along your route.
  • acdiiacdii Member Posts: 753
    Sounds good! Makes it sound like I might not miss the smart key on the TCH too much if the FFH has some cool features, although not having to take a key out of my pocket to enter and start the car is freaky fun!
  • scottphillipscottphillip Member Posts: 249
    I am still on my first tank of gas, and the computer reports 40 mpg. I am pleased with the mileage. My favorite features are the mileage and the navigation & MS Sync.

    I had one loose piece of rubber trim above the trunk. I just pushed it back into place, and the glue seems to be holding now.

    I traded a full-size car, and I miss the Smart Key, ventilated seats and plush ride. The Fusion doesn't have a bad ride, however, and I am enjoying all the technology. :shades:
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    2 "real world" FE reports over 40 mpg. What happened to the "it won't get over 35 mpg in the real world" naysayers?
  • acdiiacdii Member Posts: 753
    I can get 43 MPG in my Camry Hybrid if I try hard enough, lets see, that is about 10 MPG over EPA. The Prius I had I got 65 MPG on the highway. These numbers are all hand calculated tank to tank and averaged over time. The 43 MPG was my average for the first summer I had it, winter hit and its now down to 35 MPG average. The 65 MPG in the prius was on 2 tanks going from PA to IL. My overall 10 month stint in the Prius got me 53 MPG from tank 1 until I traded it in.
  • hayley2hayley2 Member Posts: 44
    Just had a call this morning from my dealer regarding the Black Milan Hybrid ordered for stock that he had told me they had received word this past Monday that the ETA was 4/25 but that it could take a little longer or come in early. Guess what, received a call today that it had arrived today. Nine days early based on the orig eta given. We will be taking a test drive tomorrow and hopefully my Silver one will come in early. It was scheduled for build this week and ship week of 4/20. I'll keep you informed. :)
  • kdhspyderkdhspyder Member Posts: 7,160
    As for EV mode the manual talks about if you run out of gas and the battery is fully charged you can go about 1 mile at 30 mph. I am not sure what would happen if you had to go up a hill. I am not sure you would make it up a hill in just EV mode.
    This is why the manual recommends 'that you do not run out of gas'

    I'm going to assume that the technology is very similar to Toyota's ( yes I know it's Ford's own).

    The one thing that you should NEVER do is run out of gas in the hybrids. They are not electric vehicles they are ICE-powered vehicles with an electro-mechanical assist. The one sure way to hurt the hybrid battery and to void the warranty is to run the vehicle bone dry and then to try to drive on battery alone.

    In order to protect the hybrid battery I'm assuming that Ford has programmed in the same 'buffer zone' into the vehicle such that if some idiot ( yours truly ) were to try to stretch the gas tank to it's full limit and drive 100 mi or so with the 'fill me' light on then the vehicle will shut down before the tank gets bone dry. At that time ( from personal experience ) the vehicle will allow a short drive to safety at reduced power.

    IOW 'Do not run out of gas'.
  • kdhspyderkdhspyder Member Posts: 7,160
    Once the battery becomes fully charged after 10-15 min of driving it stays charged while you drive unless you climb Pikes Peak or some similar stiff climb. At normal driving from say from Maine to Key West at 70+ mph you should almost never lose full charge.
  • kdhspyderkdhspyder Member Posts: 7,160
    Confirmed. As you note the fuel economy values are very driver and weather dependent. It will take a good period of time, 6+ months at least, to compile enough variables in terrain, weather, drivers and speeds to get a good accurate number.

    As you noted 41-43 is about the top limit on the TCH for a significant period. Since the FFH is new technology I'd expect that 43-45 mpg being the top values in the right hands in the right conditions with the average of all drivers being about 39-ish.
  • WyattNicholsWyattNichols Member Posts: 55
    kdhspyder:

    "At normal driving from say from Maine to Key West at 70+ mph you should almost never lose full charge."

    By "full charge" do you mean the EV battery indicator is all the way to the top of the meter, or a little above the middle?

    The reason I ask is because I've yet to see the EV battery indicator any higher than about 75%. Now I've only done city driving that might include 12-15 miles at interstate speeds. When I've noticed the indicator much above 50%, it seems to use the electric motor in more situations to assist the ICE.

    This weekend I'm taking the FFH out of town so I'll get a chance to see how it handles on the road and what kind of MPG it gets.

    Wyatt
  • bigtbigt Member Posts: 412
    I am also trying to figure out the magic of the EV battery indicator. I would think that when I am on the highway zipping along at 65+ mph that it would be fully charged but it is now. Weird but sometimes when I am in EV mode it goes up to fully charged and then slowly creeps back down.

    So far I am averaging now 38 mpg. I drove all over town this weekend several trips back and forward under a variety of conditions. One trip from Downtown DC to Landsdown and then to Manassas cover about 60 miles. When it was over the trip indicator said I burned 1.2 gallons of fuel. You have got to love it!
  • kdhspyderkdhspyder Member Posts: 7,160
    Typically in the Ford and Toyota systems the computer maintains the SOC in a very controlled range between 35% and 85% ( rarely higher than 90% ). 85% is a 'full charge'. It takes about 10-15 min of driving to reach this state depending on weather, type of driving and the accessories being used.

    After reaching this 'full' SOC level of about 85% the computer can then begin to intervene more often to have the battery and e-motor drive the vehicle more often. Up until then the ICE is doing most of the work both to drive the wheels and to charge the battery on the fly.

    When the battery does reach this 85% level the computer will direct the e-motor to draw down the battery in order to drive the vehicle in times of low demand ( light foot pressure on the pedal - termed 'feathering' ). After a period the battery will go to a lower SOC because of the draw from the e-motor. Then as the SOC goes lower the computer will instruct the ICE to kick back in again to do the primary driving of the wheels and to recharge back up to the 85% level again.

    Wash, Rinse and Repeat indefinitely.

    In the Toyota display the battery charge indicator is 3 bars at its lowest in the moring at the beginning of driving. After 15 min it's up to 1 bar below the top and it never leaves that level even if one were to drive 800 miles in a day. Since the two systems are cousins I'm assuming the Ford Hybrid System operates in the same manner.

    In both systems the SOC of the NiMH battery never reaches 100% and it never falls below 35%. This is the key reason that the public is finding that the batteries never need to be replaced in a normal period of ownership ( 150,000 to 250,000 miles ). SF Taxi owners recently were angered when they were forced to retire their Escape hybrid taxis at 300,000 miles ( all taxis in SF must be retired at 300K miles ).
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