 2013 Ford Fusion Energi PHEV. Click image to enlarge |
Review and photos by Simon Hill
Thanks to government fuel economy regulations, auto manufacturers are embracing hybrid and electric powertrains at a pace that might surprise the average new car shopper. And while hybrids are indeed beginning to get some real traction and acceptance out there – witness the popularity of the iconic Toyota Prius – the truth is that most car buyers still settle for cars with conventional fossil-fuel powered drivetrains, and only a minority has ever driven a hybrid or electric vehicle.
The limited market for these vehicles hasn’t dissuaded manufacturers from introducing new hybrid and electric models however, because they know that eventually they’re going to have to sell at least some proportion of alternative-powered vehicles if they’re going to have any hope of meeting increasing government demands for fuel efficiency. But it’s not cheap to build low-volume niche models, so for now we’re mostly seeing alternative-powered versions of existing models (I know, I know, the Toyota Prius, Nissan Leaf, Mitsubishi i-Miev, and upcoming BMW i3 are all notable exceptions).
   2013 Ford Fusion Energi PHEV. Click image to enlarge |
Ford has seen reasonable success with it Fusion Hybrid, partly because the regular Fusion is itself popular for all the right reasons: it’s roomy inside without being big outside, it combines refined driving dynamics with a comfortable ride, it has a well-finished interior with plenty of available high-tech features and, following its 2013 redesign, it has eye-catching new styling that brings to mind Aston Martin’s luxury sport coupes.
In addition to the all-new sheet metal, Ford introduced an all-new new model to the Fusion lineup for 2013, in the form of the Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). Actually, let’s revise that statement, because in reality the Fusion Energi is short of being all-new and is in fact based heavily on the Fusion Hybrid, except with a larger 7.6 kWh lithium ion battery pack and a charging socket to allow it to be charged from either a standard 120-volt source (which takes about eight hours to deliver a full charge) or a dedicated 240-volt source (which can fully charge the car in about 2.5 hours). The Energi’s charging socket is pretty sophisticated, with a glowing ring around it that lights up to show you how much charge is currently in the battery.
Because the Fusion Energi is based on the Fusion Hybrid, this means it gets the same new-for-2013 2.0L, four-cylinder Atkinson cycle gasoline engine as the Fusion Hybrid (2012 Fusion Hybrids had a less efficient 2.5L engine), hooked up to the same continuously variable transmission, and assisted by the same electric drive motor to produce a total of 188 available horsepower in hybrid mode (same as the Fusion Hybrid) and a peak maximum of 195 hp in charge depletion mode (a feature that the Fusion Hybrid doesn’t share).
Even with the raised peak power, the Fusion Energi’s gasoline engine will kick in during electric operation if you really put your foot into the throttle, but generally if you drive at all conservatively, then a fully charged Fusion Energi will allow you to glide quietly around on purely electric power for up to about 33 kilometres and at speeds up to 137 km/h (which is 37 km/h more than the Prius PHEV).
    2013 Ford Fusion Energi PHEV. Click image to enlarge |
This makes for a very serene, smooth driving experience, and in fact the Fusion Energi was so quiet in electric mode that I could hear the air conditioning system gurgling when stopped at traffic lights. Living in the city, I found the 33 km range plenty enough for my typical errands, up to and including (just barely) a couple of longer return trips to neighbouring municipalities. Range anxiety is never a problem though, because when the battery is depleted the gasoline engine starts up, drawing fuel from a reasonably sized 53L tank. Given that the average Canadian commute distance according to Stats Canada is 7.6 km, one could easily see being able to commute to and from work in the Fusion Energi without ever using any fuel.
