Economy car quality with a mid-size price

I'm the first to confess that I have high standards for cars, and I lean toward the sporty side. Even still, I like to think that my experience with this car is accurate and representative of its true traits.

I had a 4 cylinder 2008 model as a rental for 2 weeks and 1600 miles on a road trip, which I feel is the truest test of any car. I'll break this down into the usual car review sections below:

Interior

Let's face it- you spend most of the time on the inside of your car, not outside looking at it. The fusion's interior is pretty underwhelming. Plastic surfaces abound, somehwere between cheap and average. The seats were pretty odd for me as an average-sized male (6' tall, 175 lbs), since I felt like the side bolsters were compressing my shoulderblades forward, like someone was giving me a weak bear hug. This is NOT in a 'supportive' way, just an irritating way.

The ergnomics are not well-thought out, either. Anything on the dash is awkward to reach (I'm looking at you, radio controls), and the steering wheel does not budge- it's neither telescopic nor does it move up and down. I guess that may not be out of place in its class, but still, it was difficult at times to feel like I "fit" in the car. I'll give points for the steering-wheel-mounted volume controls, though, and electronic side mirror adjustments worked well.

Rear seats were at least average for this class; supportive, with enough room for possibly 3 adults. Legroom was also pretty good in the back.

Exterior

This isn't a bad looking car, but no one will mistake this for anything but a Ford. This really boils down to personal preference, so I can't much comment on that. The trunk (which I consider exterior) is decently sized, but felt a bit narrow on the sides.

Performance

In this category, performance is marked mostly by fuel economy and reliability. The 4-cylinder provides no punch worth discussing, but that's to be expected here. At least I didn't feel frightened by the lack of power on the freeway, so it should be adequate for most situations.

Fuel economy (a much bigger deal now than even when I bought my last car) was acceptable, but not stellar: in 90% highway driving, I got about 26-27 mpg with the A/C on the entire time. I've known 6-cylinder cars from the last decade to do at least as well. I think you could squeeze out a few more mpg on the highway if you stick to 60mph, but I can't give much data for city driving.

Value proposition

Like it or not, a car like this is an appliance. You do not buy it because you think it will impress anyone, and a buyer of this type of car isn't really interested in cars as a hobby.

As I write this review, a 4-cylinder Fusion SE has a retail price of almost $20,000 and an invoice of just over $18,000, with a $1,000 rebate currently offered. For that you get a new car with full warranty that does its job acceptably, and gets about average fuel economy. If this appeals to you, it's probably an alright car to take for a test drive.

Just for purely comparison's sake, I drive a 2000 Lexus GS400 (that's a V8 luxury sedan) with low miles, which lists for about $15,000. I've never had to make a repair other than maintenance items (brakes), and it's quieter, better-built, more powerful, and much more fun to drive than the Fusion. At 60,000 miles, its quality exceeds a new Fusion's by miles. I could not conceive spending an extra $5,000 for a Fusion.

While an 8-year old car may not be for you, a 2-year old one might be. You can get excellent cars in the $16,000 range that are one or two years old and still covered by warranty (I recommend a Camry or Accord if you're looking for an economical sedan). If you absolutely must buy American (though it's hard to tell these days based on where cars are built), take a look at some Pontiac models.

Bottom line

Personally, this car doesn't make sense to me. While it is an improvement in Ford's quality over cars of years past, it still can't touch Japanese brands in the same class. This is a "so-so" car for a new car price. I'd shop around some more if I were considering this car.