2013 Ford Fusion Claims "Triple Crown" of Fuel Economy: 2012 Detroit Auto Show

Colum Wood
by Colum Wood

Setting the new standard in the mid-size family sedan category, Ford will unveil its all-new 2013 Fusion today at the Detroit Auto Show. Unequivocally good looking and perhaps even downright sexy, the new Fusion will be available with five different powertrains, and Ford claims the car will get best-in-class fuel economy in the gas, hybrid and plug-in hybrid segments.

Starting with three gas powertrains, the Fusion can be had with a 2.5-liter 4-cylinder with 170 hp and 170 lb-ft of torque as a low cost entry-level model. Nearly identical in power is a 1.6-liter EcoBoost 4-cylinder with direct-injection and turbocharging that gets a non-hybrid class-leading 26 mpg city and 37 mpg highway. In fact, that number is actually higher than the quasi-hybrid Chevy Malibu Eco.

Finally, in the gas-only department anyway, there will be an EcoBoost 2.o-liter 4-cylinder as a performance option making 237 hp and 250 lb-ft of torque – with AWD optional.

The new Fusion Hybrid will deliver 44 mpg city and 47 mpg highway to top the Camry by a significant margin, while the Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid is projected to get 100 mpge – better than even the Chevy Volt.

Along with technologies like SYNC and the latest edition of the MyFord Touch telematics system the new Fusion will also offer plenty of other safety and convenience technologies, including some that are segment exclusives like a new Lane Keeping System. A first in the mid-size sedan class, a camera that reads the road ahead will then signal an alert if the driver isn’t staying in his or her lane. If no corrective behavior is taken the system will then vibrate the steering wheel and finally, if no action is taken, the car will actually adjust the steering in order to return the car to its proper lane.

Other features include adaptive cruise control, a blind-spot monitoring system and Ford’s active park assist.

GALLERY: 2013 Ford Fusion

See AutoGuide’s complete 2012 Detroit Auto Show Coverage Here

Colum Wood
Colum Wood

With AutoGuide from its launch, Colum previously acted as Editor-in-Chief of Modified Luxury & Exotics magazine where he became a certifiable car snob driving supercars like the Koenigsegg CCX and racing down the autobahn in anything over 500 hp. He has won numerous automotive journalism awards including the Best Video Journalism Award in 2014 and 2015 from the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Colum founded Geared Content Studios, VerticalScope's in-house branded content division and works to find ways to integrate brands organically into content.

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  • C44 C44 on Jan 10, 2012

    Really? The hybrid version now gets better highway mileage than city? With all the previous Ford and Toyota hybrids, city mileage is better than highway.

  • Small Squatch Small Squatch on Jul 20, 2012

    So, in Chicago, on the IllinoisTollway, the trucks drive on the left line in their lane. This means as you are overtaking them, with you in the left lane, you must be over onto the shoulder, as often the Semi is OVER his line! With this NEW Fusion lane keeping system, if I had it turned on, I would be risking my life on The Illinois Tollway. Perhaps a Youtube Video of the Fusion (What a sweet looking car, thank you Mr Mullaley) ALERTING the driver (loud Horn, What?), then SHAKING the wheel, and finally centering the car into the encoaching Semi. New stuff is swell as long as there are no unintended consequences.

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