2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid

Mid-sized sedan yields 40 mile-per-gallon fuel economy

By Nina Russin

2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid

When Ford execs at last year’s LA Auto show predicted that the new Fusion Hybrid would outperform the competition, there was a collective sigh from the audience. Journalists tend to shy away from blanket statements; the fact that the Ford press conference followed several earlier announcements making similar claims didn’t help.

Last month, a team of Ford engineers and professional drivers traveled over 1400 miles in a Fusion Hybrid on a single tank of gas. The record-setting road trip set tongues wagging. Doubting Thomases though we may be, journalists love to be proved wrong. The team averaged over 80 miles-per-gallon in the Fusion: almost twice the EPA estimate.

This week, I had the opportunity to get behind the wheel myself. Although my eco-driving skills lag far behind the champion hyper-miler and NASCAR driver on the Ford team, I averaged 43.7 miles-per-gallon during a 70 mile test drive that was evenly divided between highways and surface streets. That’s almost five miles-per-gallon better than the EPA average, and I was running the air conditioner. Read the rest of this entry »