Ford Fusion 2017

The Ford Fusion mid-size sedan is one of the best-selling family four-doors on the market.

Rivals include perennials like the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, but the Fusion also competes with the Chevrolet Malibu, Mazda 6, Nissan Altima, Hyundai Sonata, Kia Optima, and Subaru Legacy.

With the Fusion, Ford offers more powertrain choices than many of those competitors, including a plug-in hybrid sedan. (The Fusion Hybrid, and its plug-in hybrid Energi variant, are covered separately.)

For 2017, a new Ford Fusion Sport joins the lineup with a 325-hp twin-turbo V-6 under the hood.

The new Ford Fusion

The Fusion was entirely redesigned for 2013 in stunning fashion. The Fusion was named The Car Connection's Best Car To Buy 2013, for its sleek, elegant good looks; refined performance; and fuel-efficient EcoBoost turbo powertrains. The Fusion has a premium-car feel and an impressive feature set.

The latest Fusion wears an entirely new design language that owes much to the themes seen on the Ford Focus. It's a sophisticated look, with some cues that echo details on everything from newer Hyundais to the latest Aston Martins and Audis. The cockpit design is formatted around MyFord Touch, a touchscreen controller for phone, navigation, climate and audio systems—though it's an option, not standard.

MORE: Read our 2017 Ford Fusion review

Engines on the 2013 Fusion included a base 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine with 175 horsepower; a turbocharged 1.6-liter 4-cylinder with direct injection, 178 hp, and an estimated highway gas mileage rating of 37 mpg; and a 2.0-liter turbo-4 shared with vehicles from the Taurus sedan, Edge crossover, and the hot Focus ST hatchback. Most were fitted with a 6-speed automatic, although a 6-speed manual was initially available in 1.6-liter versions. That engine was discontinued after 2015.

While most Fusions make do with front-wheel drive, the top Titanium trim offers the option of all-wheel drive when paired with the 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine. The 2.0-liter almost needs the extra traction to put its potent power down. All Fusions use an independent suspension design that provides confident, and even sporty, handling. It's fun to hustle and also handles long cruises with comfort. The Fusion also has good interior packaging for a family sedan, with a good balance of front- and rear-seat room.

When this generation was introduced, it offered a strong list of standard and available features. Those include Bluetooth with audio streaming standard, available leather upholstery, a rearview camera, and even park assist, which uses sensors and the electric power steering to put the car in tight spots with the driver only operating the brake and throttle.

In the 2014 Fusion, Ford introduced a new 1.5-liter 4-cylinder EcoBoost engine that returned almost the same performance as the 1.6-liter turbo-4 but with better fuel economy. It comes paired only to the 6-speed automatic and features an engine stop-start system to conserve fuel. The 2014 Fusion also made the inflatable rear seatbelt system that was originally offered in the Explorer available on the Fusion, and Ford added cooled front seats and a heated steering wheel to the sedan's options list as well.

For the 2015 model year, Ford quietly dropped the manual transmission and its requisite 1.6-liter turbo-4 from the Fusion lineup. The Fusion's other features remained: enduring styling, very good handling, and excellent crash-test scores from both the IIHS and the NHTSA.

For 2017, the Fusion received a very mild mid-cycle update, with a grille and headlights so subtly redesigned that you might miss them altogether. There's a new top-level Platinum trim, and a new powertrain option as well: the Fusion Sport offers this generation's first V-6, a 325-horsepower 2.7-liter turbocharged V-6, along with all-wheel drive. There's also the latest Sync 3 infotainment system, a redesigned center console with a rotary drive selector, and added active-safety systems including adaptive cruise control that now works all the way down to a stop and back up to highway speeds again.

Ford Fusion history

The Fusion name first appeared in 2006, effectively replacing the defunct Contour that had ended production after the 2000 model year. The first-generation Fusion received an styling and equipment update for 2010, when it added a hybrid version for the first time. The all-new second-generation Fusion debuted for 2013, along with not only another hybrid but the brand's first plug-in hybrid, sold as the Fusion Energi.

Both generations of Fusion were related to the Lincoln MKZ, which was also revamped for the 2013 model year with a more distinctive design. The first-generation Fusion also spawned the Mercury Milan, which was discontinued along with its namesake division in 2011.

In 2006, the first Fusion set a new look for Ford with a very prominent three-bar chrome grille and upright headlights leading to a more conventional look otherwise. Though the look was bold for the time, it aged well and still looked fresh several years later at the end of that model's run. That early Fusion also earned excellent reliability ratings (including the all-important approval of Consumer Reports); it  also gained kudos for quality from many other sources, and has held its resale value far better than the previous Taurus did.

Another reason the first Fusion resonated is that it simply was fun to drive. It helped that it was built on some of the same underpinnings as the previous-generation (pre-2009) Mazda 6, another vehicle lauded for its sport-sedan handling. Not counting pricier European luxury makes, the first-generation Fusion was quite possibly the best-handling mid-size four-door sedan available in the U.S. during its run on the market.

The base 2.3-liter 4-cylinder engine offered from 2006 through 2009 was only adequate with the automatic transmission, but felt considerably peppier with the standard manual gearbox—a combination that was hard to find in some areas. The V-6 didn't stand out for its performance numbers—it only made 240 hp—but it felt strong in the Fusion and the 6-speed automatic transmission worked especially well with it.

For 2010, the 2.3-liter engine was replaced with a 2.5-liter that wasn't much more powerful but was considerably less noisy when pressed to perform. And the Fusion finally got Ford's larger, 3.5-liter V-6, making up to 263 hp. From 2007 on, all-wheel drive was been offered on the Fusion, but it was only available with the V-6 at first, and had slightly lower power ratings than front-wheel-drive models. All Fusions received a heavy face lift for the 2010 model year, as well.

The first-generation Fusion had a comfortable ride and a roomy interior, but for its first several years, up through 2009, it could feel a little drab inside. A redesigned instrument panel and new seats, along with some improved materials, brightened up the feel of the Fusion for 2010. Ford also stepped up the safety features for 2010; options included blind-spot monitors with rear cross-traffic alert.

The only common complaint with the 2006-2009 Fusions was that they didn't return the fuel economy of most mid-size rivals—most of which were slightly larger and had slightly larger engines. Despite the improvements for 2010, fuel-economy figures didn't become much better.

Ford remedied that for 2010, with the introduction of the Ford Fusion Hybrid, a model that paired a version of the 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine with an electric motor system. The Fusion Hybrid was able to run on electric power at up to 47 mph and achieved an outstanding city rating of 41 mpg, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Changes were minimal from then on, until the Fusion was replaced for 2013.