How do "we" feel about the 2013-14 Ford Fusion
 

Thinking about a new (to me) car in the next few months. I've always like the look of these, and the price seems pretty reasonable. Looking for a mid-size car that gets good fuel economy, and is comfortable for four adults. I drive a carpool one week a month.

Anyone owned one? Driven one? What's the scoop? I really like them in the pearl white.

Ford dealer friend says the Focus 12-13's have non-recalled issues with Auto trans. I had a friend that bought one and after several trips to fix the trans just stalling on her for no reason, returned it and got a different car. THe same trans is in the Fiesta and has issues. I don't know about the Fusion

Was set to buy one through the Costco program (invoice + $500). The Titanium seemed to have significantly better seats. Overall, I liked the car. I also think that its shape won't look old after a few years like some cars do (certainly looks wildly better than the previous Fusion).

There were complaints about the infotainment system, but that seems to have been revamped. Will always have too many buttons for the crowd that just wants 6 presets & a radio.

Was ready to write a check, but the sales guy kept trying to put the sale through off-program for a lot more money. Openly lied. I left and bought a supercharged Audi A6 instead. It wasn't the money, just the honesty of the dealership.

If you have a good dealership close by, I think they're pretty nice cars.

I think they are a great looking car. Love the front end.

I rented one in may and loved it.

We rented one the last time we were in Palm Springs. I opened the back door and a piece of body work fell off. Likely this rentacar was bottom line but the driver's seat killed my rear end. Mind you I am 170 lbs and have no spare fat on me.
Uninspired car which would drive me to something German or Japanese.

Having said that the next suv I want to test drive is the Ford Escape which is nice looking and should not cost a ton once off warranty. The last Ford I owned was a Ford Taurus back in 1989. The previous Ford to that I owned was a 78 Ford Mustang Ghia 6 cylinder. The Taurus ran well but the Mustang was a POS.
I like the Aston Martin radiator treatment on the Fusion but that does not save it for me.
Guy

Nice looking cars, I've had several as rentals and they were fine. Appliances equivalent to what the Japanese make. The 4-cylinder Ecoboost on the higher trim levels is a really nice engine, responsive with great power. I'm a big fan of recent Ford products, they are making some really appealing cars at the moment.

My dad has a 2013 Fusion. It's a really nice looking car. The interior is better than I expected and comfortable.
His only complaint is that he feels it is underpowered. This is his first 4 cylinder car so take that for what it's worth. I'm not sure what engine is in his car.
If I was in the market for a fuel sipping sedan, I would surely consider a Fusion.

Agree, nice car. But for commuting, reliability and resale value, it's hard to beat the Accord. Using an Accord Sport with 6spd for errands and airport duty. It is so well developed and refined, I struggle to find fault. Just a thought for possible comparison.

You might also want to take a look at the Hyundai Sonata. I was just recently in the market and was initially thinking only about the Fusion but went with a 2013 Sonata 2.0 Limited T instead. Both very nice cars and great value for the money but I'm very happy with my decision.

I like the look of the current Fusion with the Aston-Martin (aka large-mouth bass) grille/front end. AWD still available on the current bodystyle?

Thanks for the input everyone. AWD is available currently, but not high on my list. We don't see much snow here. If the right car at the right price showed up, I wouldn't turn my nose up at an AWD model.

The accord is also on the short list. I just think the Ford is a much better looking car. Looks like the well optioned 2013-14 models are around 20k for a higher spec model. It'll be a few months probably, but I'm just sort of mulling it over right now.

Also strongly considering the new Mazda 6. No diesel yet, but I haven't heard anything bad about them except for a couple complaints about rear seat room. That may be a bit of a problem, but not a killer if the rest of the car is right.

If I was shopping in that segment, for me it would be either the 6 or the Fusion.

IMHO the best looking of the mid-sized sedan segment, which is why they are both on mu short list.

What is the attraction for a sedan over a wagon/hatchback? Whenever I'd had to rent a sedan I've always hated it.

Frankly, my wife has the hang-up about wagons and hatches. I've got a truck to haul stuff, so I don't really NEED the utility of the wagon or hatch back. My wife declared that she would drive a mini-van before a station wagon. If I found the right wagon/hatch I would consider it. It'll be primarily my car anyway...

I agree completely. There is possibly no type of vehicle more useless than the 4 door sedan with a trunk. I've always been perplexed by America's hatred of any four door hatchback or wagon.

Weird. A mini-van is typically just a bloated station wagon that doesn't handle as well.

What is your budget and what do you value in a vehicle? I've owned a lot of different hatchbacks/wagons over the past decade. There is something for everyone - just depends on what you want. There are only a couple of sedans that I think look better than a typical hatch, and those are pricey ones (Audi A5/A7 comes to mind, as well as the new 4-series BMW). But ymmv

This will mostly be for me to commute in, and maybe family duty on the weekends. Around 20K is what I am thinking price-wise.

I've never understood my wife's problem with them, but I stopped trying to figure her out years ago. It's better for both of us that way, trust me! ;)

I want something that I like the looks of, can carry four adults (two extra grande) for my carpool, has no known major problems, returns 30+mpg highway. As previously mentioned, I don't need the cargo space and I do prefer the way the Fusion and Mazda6 look.

I would have thought an Accord was considerably larger than the Fusion. I haven't seen them side by side.
Jim