Ford Fusion: Life Till 55K and Beyond: Now at 92K

[ampere]

Update on FE:
Did another round of 600Km over weekend. (Bangalore-Tirupati)
With 50% AC on, mix of SH, NH and gravel roads, I got an FE of 17.

While on the way back with AC on all the time (same set of road conditions), FE was ~15.

[throttleman]

Ampere,
Your inputs have been very helpful. Both during my purchase of Fusion+ couple of months ago and now with the ownership.
I used to own Zen and used to do tankful to tankful to measure mileage. Then a few times, leakage happened after a drew off from the petrol station. I stopped doing tankful even though it affected accuracy.
How do you calculate mileage with fusion?
I replaced tires with Bridgestone Potenza. They costed 21K(a bit on the higher side considering GY ) After that I see one issue. Steering doesn't return to neutral position completely after a small turn. Alignment issue?

Thanks always!

[ampere]

Thanks for the comments @throttleman. Great to hear your Fusion is running fine. We have very few of them in our forum.


When I was planning to change my Fusion's tyres, I was advised against Potenza.
Reason cited was that they would be hard for Fusion. (I have no idea on this)

The only other brand I was contemplating was Michellin Primacy LC (just then launched).
But they were also quoting 21K! Since as such I did not have any major reasons to change from stock tyres,
I stuck to Bridgestone GT-3. They have served very well till now. The steering not coming to neutral may be a wheel alignment issue.
Need to check with other experts here as well.

ON measuring FE: I always tank-up when filling. And I fill when the fuel goes about 30% of the capacity.
Also I ask the guy to stop, after the auto cut-off. No top-ups. The fuel amount and the distance traveled gives me the FE.

[throttleman]

Even I use auto-cutoff. But do we need to use a same petrol station when refilling so that the sensing for cutoff is consistent? QA kind of question :-)
With the above technique, I get 11 in city. 50% AC.

After you told that bridgestone is hard for fusion, I'm getting this feeling while driving that I'm getting more feedback for steering than needed and throttle response is a bit rough! Talk about car having a soul and our sensitivities!

Planning for small touch-ups in a known garage. Need to get rid of minor scratches and the considerable gap that exists between bonnet and headlights.

I have to say I just love this car. Last week, after a lot of effort, I found a seating position that suited me perfectly!

[ampere]

No idea @throttleman on "tyre-hardness" . Need to check with "tyre experts". Maybe Nikhil can answer.

I just went with stock tyres. I get around 12-14 in the city depending on traffic.
I hardly use the AC in the city, unless its too hot.

And yes I have my preferred list of bunks. One near office and one near home.
I fill at these places only. Sometimes, if there is a "Shell" nearby on the way
and there is a need, I use them.

Just given it for another service today. Reading on ODO: ~66K

[cool_dube]

Ampere - a really nice review but for the lack of pictures!! Please do post up some.

[ampere]

Sorry, dont have any internal snaps!
More of reminiscences of places, that I drove it to!

Lazing around in Mysore


The majestic NH212. Does it need any introduction?


At Kumarakom


Weekend at Yelagiri


On the road to Tiruvannamalai


Waiting at the Gingee Fort

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by ampere

Sorry, dont have any internal snaps!
More of reminiscences of places, that I drove it to!

Thanks for posting up the pics! Very well maintained for its age and mileage I must say

[ampere]

Just came back from another service. The guys are Metro ford in Bangalore continue to do a decent job.
The guys suggested I change the clucth plate in another 10K run. It was kind of weak.

Another thing of late thats worrying is the corrosion of the head lamp cluster. The lamp enclosure is made of fiber and not glass.
Hence with age, its got corroded with moisture seeping in. The is nothing that can be done, but change it.
Each cluster is 8-12K range

If ever I change it, it would cost me about 22K for the headlamp cluster and add to it another 12K for the clutch plate.
Looks like I will have to shell ~35-40K next year!

Any suggestions for the head lamp issue folks?

[Damu]

Hi Ampere!

First time I'm seeing your ownership thread. I was surprised by a few things: 1.6 Duratec, and 15" wheels. I didn't know Fusion had these goodies. How does it perform on rough roads?

Nice pics there, but too few of them. I see you are like me, no sun film. BTW what colour is it? It looks similar to my Ikon's Oyster Silver.

"Looks like I will have to shell ~35-40K next year!"

Are you thinking of an upgrade? Because if you are, then this is the time to do it before spending that big amount. If you do it up and sell it, that amount you spend won't be added to the car value.

[Amartya]

Originally Posted by ampere

Just came back from another service. The guys are Metro ford in Bangalore continue to do a decent job.
The guys suggested I change the clucth plate in another 10K run. It was kind of weak.

Another thing of late thats worrying is the corrosion of the head lamp cluster. The lamp enclosure is made of fiber and not glass.
Hence with age, its got corroded with moisture seeping in. The is nothing that can be done, but change it.
Each cluster is 8-12K range

If ever I change it, it would cost me about 22K for the headlamp cluster and add to it another 12K for the clutch plate.
Looks like I will have to shell ~35-40K next year!

Any suggestions for the head lamp issue folks?

My parents have a 2005 Fusion Plus and before we bought the car (second hand) we carefully went through the cost of spares that one might need and came to the conclusion that things weren't as bad as their reputation seemed to suggest. The sum of parts for the things you mentioned, shouldn't exceed 24K, this includes:

a. Clutch Plate (3,571.34)
b. Clutch release bearing (3,872.60)
c. Headlamps on both sides (7,511.56 * 2 = 15023.12)

Total: Rs.22,467 (add 2k for labour? perhaps change the headlamps yourself?)

Attached the spare parts list for your reference.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Damu

Hi Ampere!

First time I'm seeing your ownership thread. I was surprised by a few things: 1.6 Duratec, and 15" wheels. I didn't know Fusion had these goodies. How does it perform on rough roads?

Nice pics there, but too few of them. I see you are like me, no sun film. BTW what colour is it? It looks similar to my Ikon's Oyster Silver.

"Looks like I will have to shell ~35-40K next year!"

Are you thinking of an upgrade? Because if you are, then this is the time to do it before spending that big amount. If you do it up and sell it, that amount you spend won't be added to the car value.

Damu,

Yes the colour is Oyster Silver! My wife had only comment for them. Too Dull. But my answer was : Its the colour of all seasons.
You will never seen any scratch!

No Sunfilms? That was past. Though even I did not like them, but just got them added in the last service.
Reason? On long drives, wife had to face lot of sun and it was on her insistence that I added them.

Yes the goodies are there: 1.6 Duratech and 15 inch wheels. It performed (it still does) effortlessly on rough roads. Never felt any problems. Always at home. Definitely for me its a car (pseudo SUV) way ahead of its time and not marketed/priced well by Ford. In spite of the price, I still enjoy every moment of its ownership.

In terms of spare part changes, I think I will have to do them, as I will have to hold the car at least till Sep 2012.
That is when the lease of my second car gets over and I can plan to change my Fusion.
I still thought it may be worth while to spend that money and enjoy the car's performance. Any thoughts?

Originally Posted by Amartya

My parents have a 2005 Fusion Plus and before we bought the car (second hand) we carefully went through the cost of spares that one might need and came to the conclusion that things weren't as bad as their reputation seemed to suggest. The sum of parts for the things you mentioned, shouldn't exceed 24K, this includes:

a. Clutch Plate (3,571.34)
b. Clutch release bearing (3,872.60)
c. Headlamps on both sides (7,511.56 * 2 = 15023.12)

Total: Rs.22,467 (add 2k for labour? perhaps change the headlamps yourself?)

Attached the spare parts list for your reference.

Amartya, Thanks very much for the details. I did not realize the clutch plate was that cheap!
The service advisor mentioned, it would take at least 10K for a clutch plate overhaul. Now I need to talk to him.
(I think he would charge another 1-2K services and that explains the round figure of 10K)


The file shows prices effective Feb 2009. Is my understanding wrong somewhere?
Looks like then this is doable. Let me recheck.

[Damu]

Originally Posted by ampere

Not any major updates to report. Just that added another 12K to the ODO.
The arsenal added : Garmin Nuvi 205W with Satguide maps. Serves me very well with long drives and collects statistics.

Ampere, can you give information on this item, what is it, what does it do exactly? I know nothing about it.

Originally Posted by ampere

Damu,Yes the colour is Oyster Silver! My wife had only comment for them. Too Dull. But my answer was : Its the colour of all seasons. You will never seen any scratch!

Oops! Don't tell her I have Oyster Silver too! But you're right, doesn't show scratches.

Originally Posted by ampere

Yes the goodies are there: 1.6 Duratech and 15 inch wheels. It performed (it still does) effortlessly on rough roads. Never felt any problems. Always at home. Definitely for me its a car (pseudo SUV) way ahead of its time and not marketed/priced well by Ford.

It's a pity that such a fine vehicle didn't get the recognition it deserved.

Originally Posted by ampere

In spite of the price, I still enjoy every moment of its ownership.
I will have to hold the car at least till Sep 2012. I still thought it may be worth while to spend that money and enjoy the car's performance. Any thoughts?

Ampere, since you "...still enjoy every moment of its ownership..." and you have to keep it till Sep 2012, there's no question - spend the money, do it up well, and continue to enjoy the ownership.

[ampere]

A Primer on GPS:

Garmin is the one of best providers of GPS hardware. Their Nuvi series is a real VFM product line. You can buy them from Amazon for prices starting <$100. The maps for these devices are available in India by two main Indian vendors:
1. Map My India (MMI) (oldest guys in the business)
2. Satguide

Both these have dealers in many cities. They also sell their own hardware (sourced Chinese hardware I think) PLUS are also retailers for Garmin (selected parts are available). But as usual, buying Garmin sets from these guys end up very costly (4K versus >10K). Its good to buy them from Amazon and buy only maps. They sell Garmin compatible maps also.

MMI maps cost about 7K, while Satguide only 2K. There have been ongoing discussions on this topic, as to which one is better. But I have not been able to justify 7K for MMI and hence ended up with Satguide maps for 2K. Coverage of places I have traveled has been very good.

You can buy the map online and they will send you an SD card, which you can plonk it into the GPS hardware and you are good to go.

Here is the Satguide versus MMI link:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/gadget...apmyindia.html


Garmin has softwares (Mapsource) which can be installed in your PC, and which will interact with hardware. You can transfer track-logs of all your journeys into the computer and analyse all the details. Some examples can be: Roads, that do not show up on the map, average speed of journey and for each leg, altitude profiles etc. Its quite some fun and a handful of information.

You can plan your travel on your computer, by customizing the routes you want to take and program your GPS to guide you through that route also.
You can save different destination points you want to visit on a computer and transfer them to the device and later program the device to take you there.
You can find hotels (stay/lodging) at unknown towns, where you dont know the roads. I have benefited immensely by this feature.


So to conclude:
I would not say GPS and maps have come of age in India. But yes its a very good start, esp. in a country where you can open the window and ask for the route. Under such cases, a GPS provides only more confidence that you are still going on the right road.

[navan49]

Hi Amartya,

I was looking for the spares cost for the Ford. You have attached the price list. Still I feel it is much higher than MUL. Thanks for the information.