Good Morning..
I just want to report an FFH sighting...

I was taking my 09 FE, not hybrid... :-( (but that is a story for another day) to the dealer for it's first oil change on Saturday, and saw my first Fusion Hybrid. It was on the lot, not pre-sold, and had a sticker price of jusy under $38K Canadian. It was equipped with the 12 speaker Sony Premium Audiophile sound system, Sync, Heated leather seats, power moon roof, blind spot detection, and possibly a could other options I can't remember. All in all a really nice looking car..

I was waiting for a couple of hours for my servicing so I should have asked for a test drive, but did not have the nerve considering I was not actually in the market for another new car.

I will definitely be doing some more reading no this vehicle.. I may have found my next car.... :-)

 

The '09 FEH 2.5L is much more efficient charging the HV battery than my '05 FEH 2.3L engine. The added torque allows the engine's RPM to stay much lower while charging the battery also. When my low battery requires a charge from the engine and the small generator, I can just hit the cruise control after a restart and see 30 - 40mpg instant readings. This is at 25-40mph where my '05 would get 20-24mpg with a low battery SoC.

In addition, warm-up is much quicker in my '09 which allows EV in 2/3 the distance of my '05. The new FFH has a much more efficient high voltage A/C to D/C converter (VVC -variable voltage converter) which actually boost the voltage for more power into and out of the battery.

Red, most of the fuel you will use in those 1-3 mile trips will be for warm-up of the engine. This is where the worst gas mileage occurs so don't expect to be a hypermiler. Until Ford programs their non plug-in hybrids to run in EV before the engine starts, short trips will be a killer on MPG. These nickel batteries only push the vehicle up to 2 miles max. The FFH may go a little further, but we will have to wait for more information.

GaryG

 

Thanks Gary. I thought it would go up to 25 miles on battery alone. I may be the worse case user - but it will still be better than the 16-18 MPG I've been getting.

I may have to revise my routing to accomplish shopping and trips to the kids houses in the same outings to take advantage of the electric mode most efficiently

Red, Grey, Jack Stands and dfs. (different names on different sites)

 

Sorry to disappoint you with the EV distance Red. The good news is you can still turn mileage with the gas engine and EV into unreal mileage. I changed my routes and the vehicles I use accordingly to pay less at the pump. The Ford Hybrids can make you a smarter driver and thank God they don't offer a AWD FFH.

Today I did over a 61mpg 40 mile round trip with an overall day of 56mpg plus in my '09 FEH with no problem. This is with that BS E10 ethanol crap for gas. Screw any supporters of corn ethanol!

GaryG

 

Pugmire L/M Town Center, Kennesaw, Ga has a white Milan Hybrid on the sales floor (everything but Nav.) Great looking vehicle.