PaulinPalmSprings

I have to agree with a lot of posts here that I was very disappointed with the 2017 Fusion announcement, and all announcements Ford made for the 2017 model year. Now that my car is three years old, I'm thinking of whats next. I thought for sure they would be announcing some sort of Energi SUV (Escape or Edge) or at the very least increase the range and reposition the battery in the Fusion.. either would have enticed me enough to trade my car in, but now I have to look elsewhere. After having a plug-in, I won't ever go back to a ICE car again - which means my market of potential vehicles is pretty small. If Ford had read their customers better, they would have realized that many Plug-in owners are new to the Ford Brand, and loyal to plug-in cars, and create a market to keep them in the brand. But there is nothing new in their offerings for 2017.

So does anyone think they will announce a plug in SUV at the Detroit auto show?

Has anyone heard any rumors about Lincoln making a plug in? Seems like they are re-addressing their business model and updating a lot of their products.. just wondering if electrifying their products is in the plan...

"For Lincoln to be competitive, they have to offer the same or better performance/Luxury/appearance as the other luxury brands." In my opinion, Lincoln is not competitive in performance, luxury or appearance.. so my thought was making the whole line a hybrid/plug in line would at least set it apart from the competition and they would be better at something…just my two cents. I never considered an american car before buying the Energi, and was impressed with the fusion and equally unimpressed with the Lincoln…my two cents!

With all this talk about Ford trying to re-launch Lincoln, I had a thought. Why don't they make Lincoln the 'environmental' brand for Ford and sell only plug in and hybrids? When I purchased my Energi, I compared it to the MKZ Hybrid.. not only was the Lincoln not available as a plug-in (don't understand that marketing move) it was hard to justify the price difference in the two cars with what just appeared to me to be trim and styling upgrades.. the Energi Titanium had all the bells and whistles and technology that the Lincoln had (myLincolnTouch? - they barely even changed the name!) However, when you walk out the door of the Ford Dealer paying a very hefty price for one of their premium cars, and return for service or parts, you certainly don't get the 'premium' experience you would expect if you spent that same amount of money over at Lexus. Why not make Lincoln the Hybrid/Energi brand - then when you pay a premium price for the car, you know you will also get premium service and support going forward - which is part of the ownership experience. My dealership experience has been night and day compared to Lexus. Just my thoughts.. I spent more on the Energi as I did my former Lexus.. love the car, but the dealer and ownership experience is very different….

I'm glad they came out with a new interior color.. I don't like black interiors, but that was the only thing available with the 13 energi titanium. I thought Ford had some strange color combinations and choice limitations for the energi and titanium. I think the Ceramic, Brick and maybe a Tan interior would be great as options for the Titanium seats.. may have to swap my 13 in for a newer one if they ever have a clear way to buy good color options!

I've had my 18" rims on for awhile now and have not noticed any adverse effects.. Car handles great, rides nicely.. i've got 12K of miles on the car so far. Can't say it's effected mileage as I am rarely in gas mode.

On my cross-country trip - 4500 miles (CA to MN) I had the following stats: Average MPG: 40.88 (High tank was 53.56 low tank was 36.63) Now that I am in town, I'm in electric mode all the time, and my lifetime average is 50 MPG. But like everyone here states, it all depends on your driving habits. I do several short jaunts during the day, and always am topping the car off with a level 2 charger at my house, or the 32 free Level two chargers the city put in all around town.. so I never use gas. But when I do have to drive long distances, I seem to be averaging about 40 MPG on Gas only.

SD Driver - when I took my Energi Cross country, I kept it plugged in at hotels overnight. I turned the 'light ring' off (in your preferences on the sync system) so the flashing ring around the charger wouldn't draw attention. Then I would drive the car over the cable so it went from the charging port to under the front wheel.. no one would be able to take it. I had a small heavy duty extension cord - but once I used a friends long, not-so-heavy-duty extension cord and it actually shorted the extension cord out.. so beware. Have a great trip!

I talked to Ford (their 800#) regarding wheels.. they, of course, said any modifications to the car they could not warranty the result. But they finally escalated it and I got the answer that the reason the 17"s were only offered is that the 17" tires they get are low rolling resistance - they don't have low rolling resistance tires available for the 18". I then when to the Ford dealer and talked to guy there, who said he probably thought is was a supply decision - only to have their suppliers supply the lower rolling resistance tires for 17" rims since they are only used on the Energi. That said, I ordered so take-off 18" 235 45R18's from Ebay from a Hybrid - Chrome. Since I mostly drive around town in all-electric mode it will be hard to see if there is any difference in Gas Mileage.. I'm keeping the original 17's for awhile just in case....

The trip was great and I was truly impressed my the Ford. The best thing about the car was the comfort of the seats.. we had long stretches of driving and the seats we comfortable for the long haul. Things I would change are minimal - the position of the 'EV' and 'Fuel Door' buttons on the passenger side of the console were way to easy for the passenger to activate by mistake. The air vents don't have individual flow dials, and the passengers seat doesn't have an up/down adjustment. This was the first time I ever considered an American car. Before I bought this car, I was really interested in the MKZ Hybrid. But upon putting the Fusion next to the MKZ (and the fact that the MKZ doesn't come as a plug in) I just can't see or understand the justification for the MKZ. It seemed like a lot of extra money for some small 'upscale' touches, and the styling looked very old-school Ford to me. The Fusion's looks were much better in my opinion. Paul

Traded in my Lexus IS250 for an Fusion Energi Titanium just in time to take a three week rode trip across the U.S. Trip Summary: Travelled 4564 Miles Used 111.63 Gallons of Gas Average Price of gas was $3.74 Average MPG: 40.88 (High tank was 53.56 low tank was 36.63) Only able to plug in overnight 4 times on the trip.. hard to find outside plugs at hotels or motels Motels in the northernmost states usually have plugs for block heaters.. which are perfect for overnight charging! Seats were very comfortable - comfort lasted much longer than my Lexus BLIS worked great and well worth it Lane Keeping system was great on long straight roades (iowa, Nebraska) but you felt like a ping pong ball on the windy roads of Colorado Had plenty of time to learn all the sync commands - once you know the system it's pretty easy to use.. you just have to think like a Microsoft person, not an Apple person VERY satisfied with the performance and comfort of the car.. first Ford and first American car I've ever purchased!