During my entire week with the Ford Fusion Energi, it did not stop raining. Not. One. Day. Well, maybe once for a few minutes, but it was at night when I couldn't shoot pictures. But you know what? It didn't matter. This velvety-smooth little hybrid, combining everything that's perfect and balanced about Ford's Fusion platform with the ultra-efficiency of a plug-in hybrid, managed to shine through the most dreary miasma that Seattle's late-fall days had to offer. Maybe the pics turned out a little soggy, but the essential vibrancy of this plucky and refined hybrid was impossible to ignore.
First, a brief lesson on taxonomy. Ford has another Fusion hybrid, called simply the Ford Fusion Hybrid, that uses a standard gas-electric setup and gets about 47 mpg combined. The "Energi" sub-model is the rechargable plug-in hybrid, with a larger rear-mounted battery pack and the ability to go 19 miles on electric power alone before the system reverts to gas power (this too is worth qualifying, since gas power will kick in periodically, unless you select the "EV Now" mode which keeps it locked in electric-power mode). Ford does not currently offer an all-electric Fusion (though it does offer a pure-EV version of its Focus compact). And unlike Chevy with its Volt or Nissan with its Leaf, Ford doesn't call out its most-green critters as unique and separate models, choosing instead to group them as variants under existing model lines.
As far as the Fusion Energi is concerned, the result is an almost-EV that, for better or for worse, blends into the Fusion line, allowing it to fly under the radar as a "green" car while being able to bask in the halo cast by the massively popular and superbly squared-away 2nd-generation Fusion. The Energi is a good choice for folks who want to feel like they're driving a "normal" car replete with creature-comforts and refinement, instead of a crunchy-granola automotive Birkenstock like the Leaf or a look-at-me flagship EV like the Volt. However, it also means that the Energi suffers from a bit of invisibility, both in traffic and from a marketing standpoint. Not much calls out the Energi as a hybrid except some badging and the charging port in the front fender (which admittedly glows LED-blue when charging—pretty cool). Plus a lot of people aren't even aware that Ford makes EVs or almost-EVs at all (including my boss, who just bought a Focus EV over a Leaf only after I told him that the Focus EV existed). Ford's electric offerings just don't always come to mind, and whatever the pros and cons of stealth mode might be, this seems like a distinct liability for Ford's hybrid and EV sales.
One thing though is certain—the Fusion is an amazing car in all of its iterations. As midsized sedans go, it's about as close as you can get to perfect without venturing into luxury-car territory: and even here, the Fusion holds its own. Handling is solid and tight while maintaining a smooth ride and whisper-quiet cabin. Steering is intuitive and connected, with good feedback. Fit and finish are great, and high-quality materials and pleasant surfaces abound throughout. Styling is sharp, both inside and out: and while looks are subjective, I feel that the current Fusion is the best-looking passenger sedan since the first-gen Dodge Charger. Braking feels strong, and the Energi's regenerative braking is probably the least intrusive of any so-equipped vehicle I've driven. Regen brakes are usually either draggy or have this weird watery feel that makes you feel like you're about to go over the cliff—but on the Fusion Energi, you couldn't even tell they were working their magic, even though the charge they feed back into the system is quite generous (I picked up an extra couple of miles every time I coasted down the hill to my house). There's even an in-dash "braking coach" that lets you know how you did after each stop.
The dash and center-stack interface is where things start to unravel a little. Everywhere you look there are screens, each containing a labyrinthine array of menus to flip through. Data here, data there, touchscreen somewhere else, and an eerily smooth button-pad below the main touchscreen that's just as difficult to operate without looking at. There is only one actual knob: a comically oversized volume control, right in the middle of everything. Hey, I'm all for having an actual knob to control volume, but this just seemed weird, especially when there were so many other features that should be operated with real click-clack switches or analog dials that are instead buried two or three menus deep in touchscreens. (I was despondent, for example, to find that the Energi didn't seem to have heated seats—recall that this is late fall in Seattle!—until I discovered them by accident several menus deep within the touchscreen jungle). Functionality seemed at times to be a little marginal as well, with lag in touchscreen selections, and features crowded closely together that were easy to activate by accident: more than once I set the fan blowing in my face at full force while trying to adjust the volume knob. At the very least, it seems that a friendly relationship with the Energi's tech will require at least a good evening's sit-down with the manual. This isn't the kind of intrface where just mashing the keypad and hoping for the best is going to get you anywhere, and the persnicketyness of the setup mostly just amounted to a whole lot of distraction.
It is also true that the Fusion Energi is brimming with tech and safety features: everything from optional park-assist to radar-controlled adaptive cruise control to self-inflating seatbelts. The car practically drives itself, but only as much as you let it: make no mistake, the drive in this car is a very engaged experience by modern standards.
The powerplant, or more accurately powerplants, deliver a perfectly reasonable level of pep for a hybrid commuter car as well. Being a performance machine would be the opposite of the point for the Energi, but between its 2.0L gas motor and an electric AC motor it produces a combined 188 hp and is more than able to get out of its own way. Complaints about the gas engine's noise are unfounded: for one thing, it's not loud at all, and the electric-to-gas transition is not in the least jarring like it is in, say, Acura's now-defunct trainwreck ILX hybrid. And second, since when is it a bad thing to be able to tell when your motor is, you know, running? Under hard acceleration it's gas power you're primarily running on with the electric motor providing helper-boost, not the other way around, though as mentioned, this is user-configurable through the vehicle's three distinct EV modes: EV Now, which makes it pure electric; Auto, the default middle setting; and EV Later, which favors gas operation to save battery. Clearly, EV Now is the most smug, though it dampens acceleration significantly.
The Energi's sprightliness is additionally impressive when you consider that the battery pack contributes an extra 486 lbs and cuts the trunk's cargo space in half from the regular Fusion, down to 8.2 cubic feet. There's a lot of outrage about this in the reviews, but I found it wasn't as much of an issue under real-life circumstances as you might imagine: I was still able to fit my very biggest suitcase for a week at SEMA without drama. The Fusion is a sedan, after all, and the Energi even has a pass-through, which sets it apart from a lot of other hybrids. If cargo is your priority, you might be better off with a hatchback.
That battery pack, also, will charge up from dead flat in 7 hours on household power. While that only gets you the aforementioned 19 miles, it's perfect for overnight charging at home, then leave it cooking for the day while you're at work. Unless you're a marathon commuter, you could pretty much run it 100% on electric power if you stayed organized about charging it.
All things considered, I'd rank the Ford Fusion Energi among the very best hybrids I've driven. It offers all the frills of a reasonably high-end car while delivering an abstract but bragworthy 88 MPGe (refernecing the convoluted way the EPA determines mileage in EVs). Other than the touchscreen interface, it's hard to find much that still needs improvement.
2015 Ford Fusion Energi
What's New: Only subtle tweaks for the 2015 Energi, which carries over from the 2014 model.
What's Hot: Great styling, nimble handling, high-end interior, great mileage.
What's Not: Distracting and glitchy touchscreen and center button-pad.
Get this car if: You want a bona-fide plug-in without sacrificing the features and refinement of a higher-end sedan.
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