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Before the drive, consumers rated the Honda and Toyota vehicles higher than the Fusion. But after the drive, opinions of the Fusion improved dramatically, leveling the playing field with the competition. Fusion also emerged as the clear winner in key areas including “Styling,” “Handling,” “Fun to Drive” and “Performance.”
LINKY
All this really says is that you need to drive it to appreciate it and a lot of folks changed their opinions after driving it.
I would agree - the handling of the Fusion isn't bad, and the perceptions without actually driving the car is never accurate. The problem with a closed loop circuit though is that its not representative of the full range of driving conditions on the road as what thegraduate explains in his post.
19/26 is rather sad numbers for mileage these days, especially considering the Fusion even has a 6-speed transmission. Not surprising though since even the FWD Fusion is lagging behind the Accord/Camry V6s which both produce more output with better mileage.
Any plans for a hybrid?
Check out this post in the 'Where is Honda taking Acura" forum and droll over the new Accord Coupe. The Sedan will surely be as sweet.
http://www.leftlanenews.com/2007/01/08/2008-honda-accord-coupe-concept-unveiled/-
Yes, for the 2008 model year. I was hoping they'd have one at the Detroit Auto Show or at least start talking about it. That was the plan - AWD for 07 and Hybrid for 08. Redesign for 09. Hopefully the 3.5L will also make it for 08.
Here is something that the Fusion and most other Ford products will have in 08 that nobody else will, including Honda.
Ford Sync
More along the lines of the heated/cooled cupholder in Chrysler. A cool feature, but it doesn't change the game like the Hybrid Camry did (real-world upper 30s MPG with ~190 hp), or the big horsepower in the 2002 Altima did.
I'm pretty sure that you can't plug in and control any MP3 player including a USB Memory stick of MP3s or have it read and interpret text messages, in addition to the other bluetooth and cell phone features.
Sync Features:
* Voice-activated, hands-free calling: Simply press the “Push to Talk” button on the steering wheel, and then say the name of the person you wish to call. Sync will automatically connect with the names in the mobile phone’s contact list.
* Uninterrupted connections: No need to hang up in the middle of a cell phone call as you enter your vehicle. Simply touch the Telephone Button on the steering wheel, and Sync will instantly connect to a Bluetooth phone.
* Audible text messages: Sync will convert text messages from your phone to audio and read it out loud. The system is even smart enough to translate such commonly used text messaging expressions as “LOL” and J. You can choose to reply from any of 20 predefined responses.
* Advanced calling features: Sync includes the same features offered on mobile phones, including caller ID, call waiting, conference calling, a caller log, a list of contacts, a signal strength icon, and a phone battery charge icon – all conveniently located on the radio’s display screen.
* Voice-activated music: Browse the music collection on your digital media player, mobile phone or USB drive by genre, album, artist and song title using simple voice commands, such as “Play genre Rock,” “Play ,” or “Play Track .”
* Instant voice recognition: Sync’s advanced voice recognition technology means when you’re ready to use your phone or digital music player, just speak simple voice commands.
* Ring tone support: For supported phones, Sync will play personal ring tones. If you’ve configured unique ring tones to identify specific callers, Sync will automatically play those, too.
* Automatic phonebook transfer: Sync will automatically and wirelessly transfer all the names and numbers in a mobile phonebook.
* Multilingual intelligence: Sync is fluent in English, French and Spanish.
Basically, this looks like a "Cell-Phone Package" option on Fords, is that about right?
The only thing I don't like about it is that it puts all of the info on a screen = eyes off the road time.
I thought the purpose of hands-free stuff was so I didn't have anything to look at; by putting all of this on a screen, people are going to be looking at that, instead of me that they are about to rear-end.
I'm all about hands-free stuff, but PLEASE don't make anything extra to look at!
Thanks for the extra info, BTW - it's much appreciated, since I hadn't heard about this.
You should really go watch the video at syncmyride.com to see some of the capabilities.
Ford has an exclusive on this for the 2008 model year. After that it should start showing up in other makes and models.
For once Ford is finally ahead of the curve on something.
For once Ford is finally ahead of the curve on something.
It was about time.
By the way, the updated Ford Five Hundred looks pretty nice -
Image courtesy of http://thehollywoodextra.blogspot.com/
Just the concept, but the Concepts usually hold similar to production models. The front-ends of the Accord Coupes are usually very similar to that of the sedan. This gives you an idea of the direction the next Accord will take. Looks classy to me.
http://www.autoworld.com/apps/news/FullStory.asp?id=5767&frame=
So you want the CD to "play', and you repeat it a couple times, and soon realize how much easier it would have been to just push play.
It did? Where? It's just a TV commercial...
Anytime anyone replies to something you write you think that you've just ruined someone else's day by posting a dissenting opinion. Everyone usually replies to my posts - I must be ruffling everyone else's feathers too by that logic. Hehehe
Fusion has some great qualities and has the ability to compete against the Accord/Camry. Is the Fusion better? No, not better, just as good and a viable alternative.
I don't think anyone thought any less of the Fusion than that...
The Fusion is a VERY viable competitor, I don't think anyone is doubting that. It didn't win my personal comparison (and only on a few points did it miss for me), but it is obviously winning many others'.
Now, to see the sedan...
I think the 500 looks very good. Not great or earth-shattering but good enough given that it's a mid cycle refresh.
I hope the Sync head unit looks better than the old style Ford radio. That's the only part of my Fusion that I think looks cheap.
I think the Accord will do well; classy, understated, and won't turn as many people off as the current generation.
I do think this is the best looking Accord in a decade though. The sedan may look completely different though - time will tell.
Now there's a shocker, especially from somebody that likes the look of the USS 500.
The Accord sedan won't be unveiled until late summer, but if its anything along the lines of the coupe, it'll sell big.
Often, KISS is the best approach. I hope Honda doesn't end up putting useless TPMS into the next Accord but its likely they will. I wonder if the people with navigation equipped Accords find the extra buttons to activate the navigation voice entry on the wheel an annoyance while they're driving (since its not flush on the wheel like the cruise/audio buttons). And the more electronics they stuff into cars, the more stuff that can break and fail over time. And Honda (+other manufactures too) needs to get its next-gen nav systems running with a small footprint memory card, not a huge honking DVD drive.
I said the 500 was good, not great, and should suffice until the next full redesign. I predict it will be outselling the 300 by Thanksgiving provided they advertise it. Besides, since when does a large family sedan need to be exciting? Is the Avalon exciting?
Frankly, I would much rather have a sedan with the classic design of a Passat than ALL of the sedans with "vertically-challenged" side windows that we see in abundance today. One of the very first things I noticed driving the new Camry, for example, was just how poor the side visibility is in that car, and all cars like it.
Give me a classic design any day over the trendy, bling-bling designs that are showing up today.
"At the session I attended the paid drivers who rode with the participants were shamelessy pushing the Ford at every opportunity. It was simply ridiculous the way they attempted to coherse positive comments about the Fusion and negative comments on the honda and toyota. Strangely enough both the brand new 2007 Accords (less than 100 miles) suffered from defective traction control and ABS systems as both accords systems showed warning lights on the dash as if they had been purposely disabled. Even with these sytems disabled on the Accord could run laps around the Fusion and everyone I spoke to at the event said as much eventhough that is the exact opposite angle being reported on TV. The Fusion was slower, heavier, slower to shift, more floaty and generally inspired a lot less cofidence than the Accord on the driving course."
I guess Consumer Reports reliability ratings and all the other awards were rigged, too. It's a huge conspiracy. We all know that nobody can possibly beat the Accord at anything, just like there's no way Ohio State could lose to Florida. Oh wait.....
Consumer Reports is one of the worse rags out there... that would be the last place I would advice anyone to turn to. You simply cannot tell reliability accurately when the car is as new as the Fusion... there is not enough historical data. Awards based on predictions of reliability is like betting on the Buckeyes and then having the Gators suddenly beat the crap out of them.
Interesting - a used Accord can beat a Fusion from another poster's test drive experience there...
http://www.caranddriver.com/idealbb/view.asp?topicID=72445&forumID=11&search=1&s- - earchstring=
And the dismal 30% US content of a Fusion...
http://www.caranddriver.com/idealbb/view.asp?topicID=74898&forumID=11&search=1&s- earchstring=
And the disappointing NHTSA crash test ratings...
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/ncap/cars/3712.html
Its the stuff that counts, that the Fusion falls flat at.
more floaty and generally inspired a lot less cofidence than the Accord on the driving course
Ok, now you are really reaching. Everyone and their mama knows the fusion is far for floaty. It's more sporty than your Accord and handles like it's sister the 6
http://www.caranddriver.com/idealbb/view.asp?topicID=77336
Don't forget this was an AWD Fusion which should give it an advantage in certain situations. But it's a fair comparison because the Camcords don't offer AWD.
Sure it's fair - we compare Subaru Legacy in here too, so its only fair that any other AWD offering in the price/size range be compared too.
The point of the test was to compare against the established market leaders (and perennial comparison test winners) - that's why the Legacy wasn't included. Although I would like to see a test between the Fusion and Legacy AWD.
But the Camcords do offer stability control and ABS/EBD, both of which seems to have been purposely disabled on the Accords used in the comparison. That's bogus.
I think we both agree with each other, in a haphazard way.
I'd have to see more comments from others (preferably non Honda/Acura owners) about purposely disabling features before commenting on that.
What do you mean by that? Fusions is as big as Accord or Camry, has the same size or bigger trunk, is comfortable, well built, has enough space in the back, is more reliable than Accord or Camry. So why it is not “family car”?
What family is looking for in the car? You suggest “family man” prefers floating boring-to-ugly looking car like Camcord? Or you may accept that he/she may prefer bold, stylish, sporty and well handling car like Fusion?
Na. Not for me.
Everyone also agrees that Fusion stands out in this segment because of its style. You may not like it, but it is just you. If you find Accord or Camry more stylish than Fusion then, well, good to you.
Where do you come up with this nonsense?
The Camcords have other advantages over the Fusion but handling isn't one of them.