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Can't speak on the Sonata 4 cyl, but the Accord 4 cyl is a strong, peppy, marvelous piece of machinery which is hard to beat.
I would guess you're late to work every day.
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Every time I read a mileage report I get nauseous. That's because no matter what we do our 2007 SEL AWD V6 Fusion only yields a constant 14.8 in all-city driving after seven months and 3,700 miles.
The revised EPA estimate (always optimistic) for this power train is 17 mpg city; 24 mpg highway. We did take one 360-mile trip with this car and it averaged 26 mpg going and 24 mpg returning driving 65-75 mph.
Technicians at our dealership checked the car over with a computer at 1,500 miles and said everything was according to specifications; they found nothing to be "wrong."
Our terrain is flat. The climate is moderate (air conditioner now in use all the time). The tires are slightly over inflated to 35 psi. My wife and I are conservative, gentle drivers.
Every visit to a gasoline station, every two weeks, makes me cringe and causes me to wish we had purchased the I4 with either the automatic or a five-speed manual. The fill-up experience occasionally makes me wish we had bought an Accord, too.
We like most everything about the Fusion, EXCEPT for the crummy mileage. I have nicknamed the car "The Guzzler," because of its poor mileage.
Exactly, baggs. It's just as scientific as deciding which is the best car from 40 consumer reviews at the top of the page. "Well, car X is rated 9.2, and I like it a lot, but car Y is rated 9.4, so I guess I'll buy that one. It's clearly the best car." That would be a pretty proposterous proposition(pardon the allitteration!)
The Taurus, while not exactly competitive in its last few years, did prove to be of at least average reliability by many accounts.
Seems like if I were choosing a domestic to be a bad example of reliability, I would've gone with a 90s Chrysler anyway! :P
June 2007 Retail Sales (excluding fleet sales).
43,000 Camrys vs only 9,100 Fusions!
1.Camry 43039
2.Accord 27498
3.Altima 21681
4.Impala 16526
5.Sonata 10917
6.Fusion 9102
7.G6 6949
8.Legacy 6269
9.Sebring 3740
10.Aura 3581
11.Passat 3249
12.Malibu 3243
13.Mazda6 2185
14.Milan 2144
15.Galant 1954
16.Avenger 1701
17.Optima 1466
2008 Ford Focus interior.
Escape with navigation.
From a usability standpoint, it makes sense because the display is much closer to the road so in theory it should result in less eyes-off-road time. The downside is when you separate controls from their displays, there are mapping issues and those might be even more prevalent with sync and its capabilities. I think they just expect the driver to use the steering wheel controls.
I've been getting 23-25 mpg in my normal suburban commute...speed on my route varies from about 30 to 60 mph with an average speed around 40-45 mph. There are quite few stop lights but no congestion.
I think the I4 sounds great, at least in the Mazda variation. I don't feel there is excessive engine noise at all. I could do with somewhat less tire noise than the Mazda has on some pavement, though.
the two that are really surprising are the altima and camry. even though fusion and accord sales were down from last year, both companies saw solid growth in their compact cars, (both focus and civic were way up)which probably explains the drop. but corrola and sentra sales were also up significantly.
1.) 2.5 Stratus V-6. 164 hp 163 lb./ft.torque.
2.) 2.3 I4 Fusion 160 hp 156 lb./ft. torque.
3.) Stratus weight...approx. 3180 lb.
4.) Fusion weight..unknown at this point but possibly something very similar.
Yep, it is 3101 pounds with manual, according to edmunds, then add about 75 pounds for the automatic and it is right there with the Stratus. 75 pounds is the added weight for automatic, based on Mazda6 brochure I have.
It's a manual, I wouldn't shift an automatic into neutral while cruising.
My last automatic... if I was cruising along in gear and decided I needed to make a "powered move" and punched it, I would get... nothing. The car would hesitate for a moment as if to say, are you serious? Then, the revs would fall as it shifted out of the gear it was in and worked its way down... when it found the gear it wanted, wham! the revs would shoot way back up, and acceleration would begin.
Even if I forget I'm in neutral, I can shift into gear and get going as quick as an average slushbox can react to your right foot.
Also, I beleive in contrast to your results...in the March 2006 issue CR measured 32 mpg highway for the I4 Fusion (milan, actually) and the sonata 4 cyl was measured at 33 mpg highway in that same issue.
We traversed the PA TP (worst road in the world I say) from Pittsburgh to Lancaster two weeks ago in our '06 Explorer. Just under 22 mpg for the trip which was 95% highway, 70-75 mph, A/C on all the way, and CC on most of the way. I thought that was pretty darn good. Now we're back to 13 mpg for our 90% city commute where you have to start from full rest on long steep hills. I think that's where mileage suffers, not on highway hills.
Uh oh, not good for Nissan.
Replace the air filter and add a screen.
I'd say that is a very minor recall.
Not even close to "sludged engines" or breaking camshafts or having to replace engine coils.
Uh, yeah, replacing an air filter is no biggie but the reason behind that isn't so "minor" as it seems.
I know from reading MSN's user reviews that everyone had the same problems I did with their domestic, (well, okay, not all, but many). Dodge never admitted to any wrong doing or recalls. What a sham!
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
***
Meh. My 1975 Volvo 164E? 230K. My 1990 Volvo 240? 270K. My Toyota 4-Runner?(currently running) 345K and still going. 4 cylinder Toyotas are as close to indestructible as it gets.
Oh - and I had a couple of Buicks at 150K+ before I got rid of them.
But I should mention that this info is not too important...I plan on keeping this car for quite a while since I really enjoy driving it. For my tastes, it's still the best mix of practicality, attractiveness, performance, safety, and value in this segment.
I wouldn't put a whole lot of anything into KBB or NADA etc. Your car is worth what someone will pay you, and that could be a lot less than you think.
I get at least 30 around town in my 06 I4 Accord with a manual. I've only had a couple of tanks of gas that got 29. Highway is always well above EPA.
I'm not saying it's fair that I could sell my 18 month car with only a 10% reduction in price (using KBB's private party value for my car), but that's the way they price it and I'm surely not compaining. But if I were to go back on the market to look for another car that could take the twisties like a mazda6 and could also hold a coffee table fully assembled in the back and look good doing it, I'd be buying another Mazda6.
See more Car Pictures at CarSpace.com
See more Car Pictures at CarSpace.com
See more Car Pictures at CarSpace.com
Everything else was somewhere between 140 and 190k.
The only time that I've seen a car 'appreciate' after purchase is when it is hard-to-get and/or in very high demand (the Prius and the Mini come to mind) exactly the opposite of the situation with have with any of the cars in this group (to varying degrees).
I don't think the '09 F-150 was before Fields though and it has an Escape/Focus like interior in this spy shot.