Ford Fusion Hybrid vs. Volvo XC70

[mossguy]

Wife and I bought a fully equipped Volvo V70 in 2004 with factory delivery (A wonderful experience!).

Fourteen months ago, this car was T-boned and totaled. We credit the car with saving my wife's life, so, naturally, it needed to be replaced by another Volvo.

With the insurance money we were able to purchase a 2006 bare naked Volvo XC70. A (big) step down in convenience and creature comforts. I am sure that Lucas supplied all the electrics. Many of the electronic "features" do not work and others work intermittently. We are on a reasonably tight geezer budget, so chasing down all these faults has become unacceptable. 18 mpg is not so hot, either.

We are considering a new Ford Fusion Hybrid and wonder if the safety and crashworthiness is equal to, or approximates, Volvo.

All replies respectfully considered.

Thank you!

Tom

[kaisen]

The new Ford Fusion would be considerably safer than your 2004 Volvo V70 or your 2006 Volvo XC70.

Volvo's safety is certainly good, but with a giant heaping helping of even better marketing

[mossguy]

Thanks, Eric! That is really good news!

Any other thoughts to share on the Fusion?

[kaisen]

Fusion's safety testing (w/ photos and videos) here:

2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid 4 DR FWD | Safercar -- NHTSA

Images & Videos | Crash Test Media Library | Safercar.gov | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

They do NOT get the 47 mpg they are stating....in fact they're under investigation
Still, I think they're fantastic cars

I'd also consider a new Nissan Altima (38 mpg freeway) or Honda Accord (36 mpg freeway)

[kaisen]

And before you question why a 2004 or 2006 Volvo can rate as high or higher than a 2013:

[mossguy]

Good information Eric! Thanks.

Any thoughts on Ford Fusion vs. Ford Fusion Hybrid? This is supposed to be a "forever" car (same like the 2004 V70).

[kaisen]

There are so many factors, and many depend on your needs and preferences

What attracts you to the Fusion in the first place?
What about the Fusion suits your needs better than, say, the Altima or Accord I suggested?
What did you like about your V70 that you want to make sure your next car does/has?

[dyusem]

Just returned from a vacation up in the Northwest and the rental vehicle was a 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid.

My overall impression was positive although I did not crash it so I obviously couldn't help you with that aspect of your purchasing decision

I believe that the one major negative is the front passenger seat: it sits very low and if your SO is petite like mine, she may need a booster to be a proper co-pilot.

Re gas mileage: after 500 miles of use, I was only getting 34.1 MPH and I was taking it easy the whole time; while that is much better than my SC, it is the same as my family's MCS and Scion xD.

Would I purchase one? Probably not although I may consider it if I was in the market for that type of vehicle.

[mossguy]

Some answers to your questions, Eric:

1. APPEARANCE!! I love that Aston Martin front end!
Less important: Dealer is in the neighborhood, sales taxes (most) go into the town coffers.
I've owned many Fords (and Ford products) over the years, grew up with Fords, could be considered a "Ford Guy" but not in the same league as Mike Rowe.

2. See #1

3.The V70 was supposed to be our forever car based on its rep for safety and longevity. We got it with ALL the bells and whistles, first time ever for me. I got used to it and would like to repeat that part.
The turning radius on the V70 is horrible. The XC70 is much better. I intend to keep the next car for a long, long time,

dyseum, Thanks for the driving impressions. Glad you didn't crash it.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Just one other suggestion, the 2014 Mazda6 is a great looking new sedan that will be out mid year. Something to consider if you don't need a car immediately.

[Meatballs]

Your Volvo from 2006 is built on a platform released 2001 in the US. It was state of the art at that time but vehicle safety has made a lot of progress in the last 15 years. The Fusion Hybrid is a later design and is probably safer in many types of accidents.

There was a new release of the V70 in 2008 based on a new platform. I have a lot of experience with that series of V70 regarding safety and is one of the best I have ever seen.

I would much rather crash a V70 2008+ then the Fusion hybrid.

Just my 2 cents

[enzo1]

Originally Posted by Meatballs

Your Volvo from 2006 is built on a platform released 2001 in the US. It was state of the art at that time but vehicle safety has made a lot of progress in the last 15 years. The Fusion Hybrid is a later design and is probably safer in many types of accidents.

There was a new release of the V70 in 2008 based on a new platform. I have a lot of experience with that series of V70 regarding safety and is one of the best I have ever seen.

I would much rather crash a V70 2008+ then the Fusion hybrid.

Just my 2 cents

Well, thats all Scandahoovian to me....

[Ronbo]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Just one other suggestion, the 2014 Mazda6 is a great looking new sedan that will be out mid year. Something to consider if you don't need a car immediately.

They are already out. I looked at one at my local dealer last week. They look much nicer than last year's car, and that one wasn't so bad. Reasonably priced too.

[kaisen]

Originally Posted by Meatballs

Your Volvo from 2006 is built on a platform released 2001 in the US. It was state of the art at that time but vehicle safety has made a lot of progress in the last 15 years. The Fusion Hybrid is a later design and is probably safer in many types of accidents.

There was a new release of the V70 in 2008 based on a new platform. I have a lot of experience with that series of V70 regarding safety and is one of the best I have ever seen.

I would much rather crash a V70 2008+ then the Fusion hybrid.

Just my 2 cents

This is exactly what I'm talking about. MARKETING, consumed by the sheeple....

The 2008-up Volvo V70 is underpinned by -- guess what -- a FORD platform

Yep, that new platform Meatballs heralded in the V70 is Ford's EUCD platform shared with the European version of the Ford Fusion (Mondeo) as well as several other modern Fords, Volvos, and Land Rovers.

The NEW Ford Fusion/Mondeo is underpinned by an all-new platform (CD4) that is 60% stiffer and uses 40% more high-strength steel than the EUCD platform.

But don't let the facts dissuade you from buying into the hype

[onewhippedpuppy]

Quote de onewhippedpuppy

Just one other suggestion, the 2014 Mazda6 is a great looking new sedan that will be out mid year. Something to consider if you don't need a car immediately.

They are already out. I looked at one at my local dealer last week. They look much nicer than last year's car, and that one wasn't so bad. Reasonably priced too.

Good to know. They're really stretching that 2014 designation, aren't they?

[kaisen]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Good to know. They're really stretching that 2014 designation, aren't they?

Model years in the US can be the previous year starting Jan 1st. So the 2014s could have been sold starting Jan 1, 2013. It's been that way for years.

Most new vehicles are launched in late Summer. So most 2014s will be out this August or September.

[Meatballs]

Originally Posted by kaisen

This is exactly what I'm talking about. MARKETING, consumed by the sheeple....

The 2008-up Volvo V70 is underpinned by -- guess what -- a FORD platform

Yep, that new platform Meatballs heralded in the V70 is Ford's EUCD platform shared with the European version of the Ford Fusion (Mondeo) as well as several other modern Fords, Volvos, and Land Rovers.

The NEW Ford Fusion/Mondeo is underpinned by an all-new platform (CD4) that is 60% stiffer and uses 40% more high-strength steel than the EUCD platform.

But don't let the facts dissuade you from buying into the hype

Well, please enlighten me about the facts, Kaisen.

I've worked 13 years at Volvo in the safety department but quit recreantly. All that safety work seamed very real to me. Not like a hype at all, but I guess I was wrong?

I've worked a lot with Ford during the development of the EUCD platform and done much of the crash testing and analysis. And yes the Mondeo and the V70 shares the same platform but the safety structure is not exactly the same. Also the airbags, belts, belt pretensioners, seats, dash etc are not the same.


Lets discuss the "hype" regarding high strength steels. Why do car manufactures use them? To make cars stronger?
No, high strength steels are used because you can use thinner sheet metal and therefore save weight. I trust that you know all about HAZ around spot welds and how that makes the safety cage unstable when using high strength steels? I also trust you know all about how that affects real accidents?

Call me sheeple all you want if that makes you happy. You seem to have all the answers.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Quote de onewhippedpuppy

Good to know. They're really stretching that 2014 designation, aren't they?

Model years in the US can be the previous year starting Jan 1st. So the 2014s could have been sold starting Jan 1, 2013. It's been that way for years.



Most new vehicles are launched in late Summer. So most 2014s will be out this August or September.

I'm aware that its mostly a marketing tool. However, it doesn't change the fact that selling a car in January 2013 as a 2014 model is corny. THE FUTURE IS NOW!!!!

[kaisen]

Originally Posted by Meatballs

Well, please enlighten me about the facts, Kaisen.

I've worked 13 years at Volvo in the safety department but quit recreantly. All that safety work seamed very real to me. Not like a hype at all, but I guess I was wrong?

I've worked a lot with Ford during the development of the EUCD platform and done much of the crash testing and analysis. And yes the Mondeo and the V70 shares the same platform but the safety structure is not exactly the same. Also the airbags, belts, belt pretensioners, seats, dash etc are not the same.


Lets discuss the "hype" regarding high strength steels. Why do car manufactures use them? To make cars stronger?
No, high strength steels are used because you can use thinner sheet metal and therefore save weight. I trust that you know all about HAZ around spot welds and how that makes the safety cage unstable when using high strength steels? I also trust you know all about how that affects real accidents?

Call me sheeple all you want if that makes you happy. You seem to have all the answers.

Yes, Volvo is the only company that employs engineers in the "Safety Department"

Ford and Hyundai just copy Volvo's innovation, right?

Sure, high strength steels aren't utilized simply for safety. The benefit can be torsional rigidity as it pertains to handling, for example. But one of the main benefits is controlling energy dissipation through the bodystructure in an impact. Different materials deform at varying rates. By utilizing these varying materials in varying shapes and thicknesses engineers can use computational dynamics to determine how to best transfer that energy away from the occupants....while maintaining weight goals, cost goals, chassis NVH, handling, etc. Correct? Or was Volvo using some other Nordic wizardry?

The newest platforms are, generally speaking, better than the previous generations. Materials, computing/analysis power, new manufacturing techniques, etc are getting better all the time.

The "hype" is that Volvo somehow has better safety than other manufacturers. And that's simply not true. And note that I didn't say that there were manufacturers that were better than Volvo. The proof is in the pudding, as they say. Several manufacturers are earning similar ratings, both general (i.e. 5-stars) or specific (i.e. femur loads) in similar classes/weights of cars.

Volvo has marketed safety for so long that consumers believe Volvo = safety. I'm simply stating that there are other safe cars.

In fact, the 2008 Ford Mondeo and 2008 Volvo V70 performed almost identically in Euro NCAP crash testing. The Ford earned an adult score of 35 (15.3 front / 15.8 side) and the Volvo earned an adult score of 34 (15.2 front / 15.9 side), both good enough to earn NCAP perfect five stars.

But the Volvo's safer, right?

And you'd still rather have a 2008 Volvo with the old EUCD platform than a 2013 Ford with the brand-new CD4 platform, right?

[mossguy]

So far. so good! Thanks for all the information, guys. I guess my next step will be to drive the Ford and see how it fits. Since we are not in a rush, we will probably check out the Nissan, Mazda, and Accord as well.