So my parents just got a new Fusion SE. They were longtime GM owners who were very dissapointed when GM got rid of Olds. They sucked it up and moved onto Saturn, leasing an Aura 3.6 XR. The had mixed feelings about the car and not wanting to buy a Malibu since it was virtually the same car as the aura but still wanting to drive a Domestic they ended up giving the Fusion a shot.

I bombed around it in giving my Mustang the night off last weekend and here's what I took away. (keep in mind i drive an 05 Mustang GT and owned an 06 Malibu SS before that. Also I have extended driving experience in The Aura XR)

Specs: Fusion SE - 2.5 I4 175 hp 172 torque 6 speed auto. Silver Exterior - Charcoal cloth interior - Sync Premium Sound/Sunroof Package.

Drive:

The Fusion feels light on it's feet. The steering is well weighted. I whipped it through some corners and the car hunkered down and transitioned well cornering very flat with verly little body roll. It has substantial 17 inch p225 Michalin tires that rarley protested and had very solid grip.

The biggest difference in handling between this car and an Epsilon was the width. The car felt wider and more planted than the tall and narrow Epsilon platform. It also is more compliant over bumps and feels lighter (and is lighter.) Overall it has noticable better ride quaulity and handling then a malbiu or aura.

Drive train:

The aura 3.6 had balls. You could floor that car and be at 100+ in no time. Of course you can't compare a v6 to an I4 so, for the sake of being openminded my folks and I went and test drove an I4 Malibu (we had already decided that my folks didnt need a v6 this time out) The Malibu felt sluggish. Some of it was the gearing because the tranny was slow to shift and the gearing seemed to be spaced out.

The Fusion was downright spunky. It's not a drag racer to be sure but it revs quickly with agressive upshifts and down$h!s that made the best of the power band. I floored it on on on ramp and got adouble downshift and before I new it i was at 80+. Very respectable accelleration and this is coming from a guy who's daily driver is a 300 HP v8.

My parents said fuel econemy has been close to 30 mpg in the 2 tanks since they have had it.

Interior:

The interior was very well put together with decent soft touch materials and very comofrotable seats. The dash is nice and the backlit gauges are handsome and easy to read.

Sync is awsome. My parents have alerady linked their phone and ipod to it and have used it to get directions as well.

The trunk is very large and usable for this class. It has a much wider opening and is deeper and much more usable then Aura's trunk. This was a bi selling point for my folks since my dad has a wheel chair and walker that need to be stowed in there.

Overall it's been a great car since we got it on July 5th. MSRP was just under $25000 and we got it at 22,3XX (just 300 over invoice.

While i liked the Epsilons and owned one for 3 years this car just makes them feel very mid 2000s. So far this is parents favorite new car since their 2000 Olds intrigue GLS which was their 2nd favorite all time.

nice writeup. I had heard the manual fusions got 30 mpg but the auto getting close to that is good news also.

nice point about the 6 vs 4 cyl though. the tradeoff lots of buyers are making now going to 4's is less gusto when on the gas. in my malibu test drives i noted some of same behavior that you pointed out.

Nice review! The Fusion definitely has heavenly seats. They made the change in 2009, and they remind me of Volvo seats.

Edited July 15, 201015 yr by pow

I've driven 2 rental '10 Fusion SEs this year so far, they are very nice...very quiet at idle, smooth, comfortable. My only complaint is the inside rear view mirror and the distorted view it gives (both I drove were like this).

Nice review! The Fusion definitely has heavenly seats. They made the change in 2009, and they remind me of Volvo seats.

they probably are...LOL