Ford Fusion TDCI Test Driven

[lord falkland]

surprisingly no one has mentioned abt the fusion's suspension...must say i wasnt too impressed with the suspension aftr i test drove the fusion 1.4 tdci....the ride ws a lil bumpy..thts jst my opinion though

[gemithomas]

Originally Posted by lord falkland

surprisingly no one has mentioned abt the fusion's suspension...must say i wasnt too impressed with the suspension aftr i test drove the fusion 1.4 tdci....the ride ws a lil bumpy..thts jst my opinion though

"lil Bumpy"!!! You should try out my petrol fusion. I got one of my rear shocks changed as soon as 13K. I had been complaining of the noise from the shocks right from the time i took delivery. But the ford guys took 1 year and 3 services to realise that it was actually a problem. Interestingly they found out that the problem indeed existed only when i payed them "extra money" for the "extra warranty" as they call it!!! I've never really understood the concept behind buying additional warranty by paying money. I would call that "pre-payment for possible defects!!!"


But i've heard that ford has changed something about the suspension on 2007 fusions. If that works right. This would be one of the best cars to drive around.

[Pani]

I have been driving my friend's Fusion TDCI for the last couple of weeks.....except for the turbo lag everything else is great about the car. Suspension in particular shows its mettle only when you drive it a bit off-road.
On plain roads its as good as other cars though.
The turbo kicks in at 1800 rpm. I normally drive a petrol car so this turbo-lag does give me a wierd feeling sometimes but I suppose its still okay since the turbo kicks in pretty early.

[cdcruz]

I too test drove the Fusion TDCi. Do agree the pickup is quite less, Especially when compared to the petrol car I currently own.
I don't know why they decided not to offer the 1.6 TDCi for the Indian Market. Having a cool car with poor pickup while on a highway is a real turn-off, especially when you are doing a ghat road or really need that pickup on Indian highways where u have to slowdown every now and then for a dog or a village limit.

[.anshuman]

Even i test drove the vehicle last week so here is my experience.

Interiors-
The interiors are far better than the first gen fusion and the car compared to other hatchbacks and some sedans is decently spacious with very practical interiors but i did not like the color of the top part of dash.

The meters from fiesta look good and the seating position is higher compared to regular cars is good thing for some.

On road-
The engine is very refined at idle,only minor engine noise intrudes the cabin no boom no vibrations even on revving the same thing continues.but after 2500rpm the engine feels louder than verna and swift.

The car is underpowered for this class and price,there is no push from the back but the good part is it does not wait for 2000rpm to arrive ,what i mean to say that turbo lag is very well controlled despite not having Variable geometry turbo.On expressway the car was slow and unexciting but the nice part was despite having the not too exciting performance the in gear acceleration was acceptable.

Comparing the performance to swift diesel,swift is lot more fun to drive than fusion TDCi,verna and magnum are in two leagues above.Even at times when at 2000+ rpm she feels slower than verna in turbo lag zone.

The best thing i liked about the car was ride and handling.The ride was very absorbant without loosing composure at very rough roads.The handling for a car of this height is very good.

This is a very good car for one does not care much about performance and needs the practicality of a MUV.He will obviosly enjoy the nice in gear acceleration.

[arif_t01]

Originally Posted by Pani

The turbo kicks in at 1800 rpm. I normally drive a petrol car so this turbo-lag does give me a wierd feeling sometimes but I suppose its still okay since the turbo kicks in pretty early.

Actually, the turbo kicks in at 1200 rpm and peaks at 2000 rpm . That's why its so strong in the bottom part of its torque curve. There's very minimum turbo lag, considering that the idle is at 700 rpm (800 rpm with A/C on) and the main reason for its superb in-gear acceleration, especially in the city!

Thats considering, the tuning has not been changed for the Fusion when compared to Fiesta, which is the case of Petrol 1.6

[Ketan]

I guess its a good minSUV/Major hatch but Ford is really not positioning it well in the market with respect to the price,,,
I'm just hoping / waiting for reduce in price and then should try getting one..

[vibzez]

Originally Posted by arif_t01

superb in-gear acceleration, especially in the city!

I dont agree. There is nothing superb about the in-gear acceleration of the diesel Fusion. 2 tonne SUV's like the safari and the scorpio could out-accelerate it in-gear. Ford needs to do something soon. Compared to the Swift and the Getz diesel, the Fusion is painfully slow. The car is brilliant, but at the price, the engine offered is not up to modern day performance standards.
No offense to anyone.

[abhibh]

Originally Posted by Pani

except for the turbo lag everything else is great about the car.

You felt turbo lag in FUSION. Fiesta / Fusion share same TDCi engine and i have driven fiesta and i have never felt any turbo lag or one could say it very negligible. And i think it is the only car sub 20lac that has like almost no turbo lag in Diesel.

[Pani]

You felt turbo lag in FUSION. Fiesta / Fusion share same TDCi engine and i have driven fiesta and i have never felt any turbo lag or one could say it very negligible. And i think it is the only car sub 20lac that has like almost no turbo lag in Diesel.

May be I am bit too sensitive to turbo lags...I am totally used to petrol cars so even the slightest of the lags grabs my attention...nevertheless, I liked driving it around.

I dont agree. There is nothing superb about the in-gear acceleration of the diesel Fusion. 2 tonne SUV's like the safari and the scorpio could out-accelerate it in-gear. Ford needs to do something soon. Compared to the Swift and the Getz diesel, the Fusion is painfully slow. The car is brilliant, but at the price, the engine offered is not up to modern day performance standards.

Hi Vibez,
Ok, what do we say about this:
1. Ford Fiesta TDCI carries the same engine as the Fusion TDCI but is priced a 80-90k more than the Fusion.....still Fiesta sells.

2. Honda City GXI carries an engine with just 77bhp and is pretty ordinary in highway performance...priced again 80-90k more than Fusion..it still sells even though it doesnt boast of the torque or economy of diesel engines.

I am just trying to have an healthy debate on this.
If you feel Ford TDCI is not a good package at that price because it has underpowered engines compared to 2 tonne SUVS and Swift/Getz diesels then I would like to know your comments about the above two cars (Fiesta TDCI and City gxi) as well.

[vibzez]

I agree Pani, to what you say, and myself would have believed the same. But for the fact that in the past few months the sales of the Honda City has gone down, with the advent of the SX4. It is true that their was no competition earlier to the H.City. But with an alternative being presented, the sales has shown a correspondent decrease. And even though the SX4 has a much lower fuel efficiency. As far as diesels are concerened, many people are just warming up to the fact that the new age diesels could be this immpresive in performance. I am sure you would agree with me, that apart from well informed people and TBHPians, the normal junta does not have a very positive view of the diesels. The success of the swift diesel which still enjoys a 3 month waiting period in some regions is proof enough that a high performance diesel car will sell even at a price higher than its actual worth. Based on performance alone, the swift diesel is selling huge numbers. FE is not the major selling point here, because the premium at which the swift diesel is sold negates to quite an extent the benifits of diesel.

The complete package of a honda or a ford is something that I am not doubting, and it shows in the sale( which again is lower than what the competion is doing vis-a-vis SX4 and Verna Diesel). Alll I wanted to point out was that what is missing. And a under-powered engine is a major sore point for me.

[rkbharat]

In last 3 weeks, I had TD of Fusion TDCI twice, and regarding pickup and quickness, it is just little less from Swift VDI or Getz Diesel. Its very punchy and reaches 120 without you even feeling its there. Very controlled car with very good ground clearance of 190mm. There are few problems in the car but those are there in other brands also, in some form or other

Now where it fails is VFM factor, at 6.6 lacs Ex Showroom, Delhi, no ABS, No Air Bag, No Alloys, No Music System. Also as all know about the After sale services, you are forced to buy 30K of TMP(Total Maintenance Plan). And on top of that they reduced the size to just below 4000mm, to save taxes. So boot is just better than other hatches. More, ford dealers are not offering any discounts other than useless corporate discount

My verdict, car is very good but not a value for money package. @ 7.33 Lacs,Safari 2.2 LX is a better buy than this. even Safari Dicor 3.0 Lx at 6.78 is better deal that Fusion. Only thing which is missing in LX is Rear Defogger, Tubless Tyres and Fog Lights. But what you get is 140 Bhp, 2.2 Ltr engine, and more SUV than a compromised hybrid

[Pani]

Hi RkBharat,
What according to you is the right price of Fusion ?

I agree that ABS and Alloys should have been there as an option atleast but just because it doesnt have a seperate bulging boot you shouldnt be comparing it to the Swift and Getz category..
You have driven it and even you would know it that its much bigger and spacious than the Swift/Getz and infact its around 30kg heavier than the Fiesta. For Gods sake, dont treat it as a small car..pleeeeese.
Its a genuine big car in all respects...its boot space is also good enough for a well built man to sleep inside. It gives a lot more luxurious ride and feel than the smaller hatchbacks. If its the seperate boot thats all matters..it doesnt have one.

[rkbharat]

Pani, please check the stats before you claim too hard. check this:



Did I ever said its a small car?, But now if look at the data above, tell me how big it is from swift and getz.

Regarding price, IMHO, it should not be more than 5.75, with the current options and model.

Please do not assume, read the post well and than respond. See what I am trying to say, and if you would have read properly, I compared it more with Safari in terms of VFM

[patil]

Nice review. All that is said about the Ford Fusion Diesel is quite true. It is a very good Crossover, but highly priced. I feel that Ford should offer the car with ABS, Airbags and Climate Control at the current price. The car would sell like hot cakes.