larryh

The snow has finally stopped and the weather has warmed up so I can actually enjoy the new Titanium Energi. Prior to this car, I owned a 2006 Ford Fusion SE with the I4 engine. I have now owned the new car for a week and have driven about 300 miles. So far, I am very pleased with the car and have experienced no problems other than with the Ford Mobile Web Application (which is unreliable and incomplete) and an improperly recessed plug for the engine block heater--the cap doesn't close fully (I'm not sure why an engine block heater is needed when it already has an electric heater for the coolant). I am able to drive the 16 mile round-trip commute to work and back in EV mode on urban streets (55 mph speed limit). So during the week, I should use minimal gas. On weekends, I usually travel to my other home which is 58.5 miles away by Freeway/Highway. The first time I went there, right from the dealership in hybrid mode (since I didn't tell them I was coming so they could charge it), I achieved 40.5 mpg. Today, I had the car charged up first. The first 21 miles were in EV mode. The car used about 0.87 gallons of gas for the remainder of the trip. So in Hybrid mode, I achieved over the 41 mpg EPA rating. It claimed 67.4 mpg for the entire trip. I drove 70 mph on the Freeway and normal highway speeds. I used Eco-Cruise for only a small portion of the trip. I'm not sure how accurate the measurements are that are reported by the Energi. On my 2006 Fusion, it claimed I was getting 28.5 mpg. When I did the math based upon how far I had driven and how much fuel I put in the tank, I came up with 25 mpg. EV mode is very quiet. At stop lights, the car makes absolutely no noise or vibration. While driving, the only noise I hear are the tires and the wind, and sometimes faint regeneration and transmission noise. Acceleration is more than adequate for me in EV mode on city streets. The Energi seems to have an easier time getting up to speed than my previous 2006 Fusion. I can easily tell when the ICE engine turns on while driving on city streets. It makes a low pitched drone and you can feel some minor engine vibration in the steering wheel. The ICE seems to like to rev up to high rpms. But the noise and vibration are significantly less than the 2006 Ford Fusion. While driving on the highway, it is much harder to detect when the ICE turns on or off. The difference, in terms of engine noise and vibration, between EV mode and Hybrid mode is much less than at low speeds. The ride of Energi feels like a larger and heavier car than the 2006 Fusion. It is better at absorbing bumps. I really like the Go and Charge Setting times feature of the Energi. I set my Go Times in the morning for when I leave for work. I set the cabin temperature to 65 degrees. When it is 27 degrees out, it is really nice to drive off in a car that is all warmed up, fully charged, and ready to go. The car finishes charging an hour or so before I leave. Then a few minutes before the go time, I can hear various fans and pumps on the car turn on preparing the battery and the cabin temperature. I use the 110 volt charger that comes with the car. I have not had any problems with the charger. It is on a non-dedicated 15 amp circuit. I notice that when the car is plugged in, the climate control/heater uses only about 1 KW to heat the car (apparently whatever the 110 volt outlet can provide). I wonder if that will be enough when it is below zero? When the car is unplugged, the climate control/heater uses 5KW. Unfortunately, after leaving the garage the car cools down rather quickly if I don't let the electric heater that heats the coolant run. The car has active grill shutters. I wonder if they made them more intelligent to close when the ICE is not running and it is cold out if that would help (rather than closing only above 62 mph). The only major drawback to the Energi is the lack of trunk space. The battery takes up half the trunk and does not leave a useable passthru to the passenger compartment. I liked the passthru on the 2006 Ford Fusion. I used it to transport my bike. Now, I have to fold down the back seats of the Energi and put the bike there and be very careful not to scratch anything.

Ice Storm is apt color choice for the car. We've had snow storms almost every day since I first learned about it last week. I had a lot of time to decide whether I wanted to buy this one or the one that I ordered while waiting for all the snow storms to end. Now, finally, the snow is almost melted. For my first drive leaving the dealership, I averaged 40.5 mpg on 50 miles of freeway/highway driving in hybrid mode. The car had not been charged--I did not give the dealer advance notice that I was coming. Unlike my previous car, the gas mileage kept increasing up until my final destination. So I almost achieved the EPA estimate of 41. I have a 16 mile round trip commute to work. So I should be able to go to work and back completely in EV mode. So far, I haven't driven my normal route back and forth from work. I have taken side trips and the last couple of miles were in Hybrid mode. But the total gas consumption was less than 0.1 gallons. In EV mode, the car is pleasantly quiet--there is very little engine or transmission noise to hear. Just some quiet whirring from the regenerative breaks when coming to a stop. I use the Ford Mobile web site to set up my go times and set up the value charging times. So far, I have had no problems. When I leave, the car is fully charged and warmed up using the supplied 110 volt charger. Its nice to start off in a warm car when it is only 27 degrees out.

I purchased an Ice Storm Titanium Fusion Energi from dealer stock on 4/20/2013. I called last week on Wednesday to find out the status of my order. They told me they had just received a Fusion Energi in stock. So rather than waiting, I bought that one. My 3/28/2013 order will still be completed. No VIN has yet been assigned to that car.

There is an interesting document at http://www.motorcraftservice.com/vdirs/diagnostics/pdf/OBDSM1302_HEV.pdf that describes the modes of operation of Ford's hybrids and plug-in hybrids: Look at the section entitled Propulsion Modes. It describes four modes of operation: Series Mode: car is not moving and the engine is running to power the generator to charge the battery, heat the passenger compartment, or catalyst warm up. Postive Split Mode: engine is running to power the generator (to charge the battery) and for propulsion. The electric motor makes up the difference if the engine does provide enough or provides too much power. It seems the electric motor can also act as a generator (consuming power). Negative Split Mode: the engine is on and the generator consumes power to reduce engine speed (when the battery is fully charged). Electric Mode: the engine is off and the electric motor provides propulsion. Note the engine cannot provide reverse torque--so the electric motor is used for reverse. Larry

Go to www.motorcraftservice.com. Select Owner's Guide on the left. It will allow you to select the owner's manual for the 2013 Fusion Hybrid/Energi. The other Ford sites provide the regular Fusion owner manuals even when you ask for the Hybrid/Energi owner manuals. Larry

I was able to order an Energi at the X-Plan price. The one local dealer that I was aware of that had them in stock would not sell the ones on the lot for the X-Plan price. It takes 8 weeks for delivery.

Trim (Energi SE/TI etc): Energi SE Order date 3/28/2013 Vin date (date you got your VIN if you know): Unknown Sticker date: Unknown Build week: Unknown Build Date: Unknown If it is in Transit or Arrived Your State: MN ETA: Unknown Delivered Date