Is Ford Fusion a Direct Competitor to the Volt?

[larry4pyro]

Recently Ford announced that their Fusion Energy plug-in hybrid will go 20 miles on a charge which is similar, but a bit further than the plug-in Prius. What was surprising is that fact the Ford will be able to go up to 85 MPH, which is probably close to its top speed. Until now I had assumed the Ford plug-in hybrid powertrain is a variant of the Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive. As I understand it the traction motor on the HSD is powerful enough to handle highway speeds but the single mode nature of this design makes it inefficient to use the electric motor at highway speeds, so it depends primarily on its ICE. This is not ment to be a put down of the HSD as it is incredible efficient overall. If the Fusion Energy is capable of doing its entire performance envelope in electric only, this would imply that it's drivetrain is different than then the HSD, and perhaps more similar to the Voltec drivetrain found in the Volt. So when driven will this car feel like an ICE driven Prius, or an EV like Volt?

As such, this begs the question, is the Ford Fusion Energy a competitor to the Volt? Of course the range is less, but it is larger and the shorter range may work for a lot of people. I think it will come down to two things, price and driving experience.

Here's an article from Green Car Reports:

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/...olt-competitor

[agggilli]

Unless the Fusion hybrid is larger than a standard Fusion, it is not larger than a Volt, unless you are talkng about the fact you can seat five in the rear. I rented a Fusion a month or so ago and felt it was smaller inside than my Volt. Also i felt the interior in the rental was cheap, and it was fully loaded. The 20 mile range to me is not acceptable after averaging more than twice that with my Volt. Of course I'm not much of a FORD GUY ANYWAY.^!

[Fulgerite]

I would trade a 5th seat for the hatchback design of the Volt any day. I find that I can haul all sorts of objects that can't fit in a Fusion.

Still... The Fusion hybrids are another fine choice for some people. More EV's and hybrids are a good thing for everyone.

[DonC]

I'd say no. One is a nice parallel hybrid and one is a serial hybrid. The "20 mile range" is somewhat misleading since it requires that you not accelerate or go fast enough to force the engine to kick in. Not really the same at all. I personally would have no interest in a parallel hybrid at this point but it's all good. Hope Ford sells gazillions of them.

[CarZin]

well, I happen to think it is competing with the Volt, but doesn't hold up too well when put under scrutiny.

[realdb2]

Could someone point me to an article or press release where Ford says the Fusion (not C-Max) Energi will go 20 miles on battery alone?

[larry4pyro]

Could someone point me to an article or press release where Ford says the Fusion (not C-Max) Energi will go 20 miles on battery alone?

Here's the announcement from Ford:

http://media.ford.com/article_displa...ticle_id=36892

[Whatstreet]

I think most people would prefer a series hybrid if cost were not a consideration. Series hybrid will no doubt bring a better proce. The Focus and Fusion hybrids should be the choice over the Prius as they have more electric range and are priced to beat Toyota.

[saghost]

A competitor? Yes, certainly. The same as? Not so much.

As far as I can tell, it is still using an expanded version of the HSD architecture - but it's on serious steroids, with gearing/motor rev limits to allow the engine to stay put (assumed, not 100% certain) up to 85 mph, and a battery/inverter structure that can feed over 60kW in EV (the HSD MG1 has always had that kind of power in all the HSD cars, and is directly and permenantly connected to the wheels. The battery and up converter (current Priuses use 650V at the motors but 200 at the battery, using a ~20 kW booster to move power onto the high bus,) have been the reason none of the others including the PiP have any EV muscle.)

So it's not the same - it goes faster on gas than electricity, and will turn on the engine if floored, but it has most everyday driving firmly in the EV sphere. The market will have to decide what they prefer in a plug in hybrid. If it had been available when I got my Volt, and if the 20 miles was just a hair longer (my commute is 20 miles, so I likely need a nominal 30 to manage in winter or with errands,) I don't know which one I would have picked. It'll be interesting to see how the market responds.

[Ladogaboy]

I think that it is only a competitor due to the fact that there is so much con-Fusion with the general public. Trying to explain the differences between a parallel and series hybrid to the average Joe is just painful, but the numbers don't lie. It is more well-suited to compete with the Plug-in Prius directly, and the Prius is something that the masses can relate to.

Regardless, the more BEVs and plug-in hybrids the better. Public charging is still a PIA, even in bigger cities, so the more of these vehicles there are on the road, the better it is for everyone who owns one.