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| If looks could kill, the Ford Fusion should have a 00-licence. |
WHEN you drive the Ford Fusion, you have to brace yourself for the
following typical reaction from other petrolheads: “Oooh, that’s a bit of a
looker hey! What is it? But, but, it’s just a Ford…”
Don’t bother pointing out to these people that the GT40 and the
Mustang are also Fords.
For people who can even say “it’s just a Ford” still think in terms
of Cortinas or Escorts.
They are unaware that since the humble little Fiesta became car
of the year in 1998, Ford has turned a corner. Nowadays the fine people who
assemble all those bits of metal, leather and rubber behind the blue oval
somehow manage to fuse Henry Ford’s dream of affordable cars with our dreams for
a car that will make us look sexy. And no model manages this fusion as
seamlessly as the aptly named Fusion 2.0 TDCi.
At first glance it ain’t cheap.
In standard kit the Fusion sells
for about R450k, and with all the trimmings in the upmarket Titanium finish, the
price comes to R473 100.
Make Beemer drivers cry
But the standard trim is already impressive enough to
make German car owners cry piteously in their single malts when they see how little they got in their Teutonic chariots for the same money.
These standard features include Ford’s
Sync2 with Bluetooth and Voice Control, Sony’s premium nine-speaker sound
system, an auxillary input, SD card slot and two USB ports, dual electronic air
temperature control, adaptive cruise control, keyless open and close and start,
automatic wipers, auto dip and bright LED headlamps,auto dimming rear-view
mirror, front and rear parking sensors, a rear-view camera, fatigue detection
and 17” alloy wheels.
The Titanium package replaces the 17”alloy wheels with 18” alloy
wheels and adds power folding, heated side mirrors with puddle lamps.
The driver side mirror auto dims, both side mirrors have memory,
and auto dip with a brightly lit blind spot detection. There is also active city
stop brake assist, lane departure warning, lane keeping and pull out park
assist, a flank guard and a heated windshield, as well as park assist.
This park assist is only for perpendicular parking and you still have to stop the
Fusion, as the robot only assists in turning the steering wheel.
In Titanium cladding the front seats also adjust 10 ways, with
two-way power lumbar support and three drivers can store their settings. The
rear seats are heated, (it put the kids to sleep in a jiffy!), with full leather
trim to make wiping off those sticky spills an easy job.
The 1998 cc turbo diesel makes 132 kW at 3500 rpm and 400 Newtons
between 2000 and 2500 rpm. If you are of the “just a Ford” ilk, let me put this
in bakkie terms: SA’s top selling Toyota Hilux 3,0 D-4D makes 343 Nm while
Ford’s Ranger bakkie makes 470 Nm. The Fusion plays in this stump-pulling
league, but packs the power in a head-turning sleek package.
Stirred, not shaken
Around fast corners, the firm suspension will only stir but never shake you, despite looking good enough to star in a James Bond movie.
So, the Fusion’s price packs a lot of value, its smooth diesel
packs a lot of punch, it handles and the service plan of five years or 90 000 km will
outlast the three years or 100 000 km warrantee.
Is there nothing then to
dislike in the Fusion?
There is.
Look underneath -- in front of each front wheel -- there is a
little wind skirt that scrapes over every little ridge on the road.
But these
plastic strips bolt off easily, and once that bit of DIY is done, the Fusion is perfect to compete with any
sedan from Germany.
Full disclosure: The author paid for two Fiestas and a Mondeo as company cars and had two Bantam bakkies, both of which were stolen. He never did buy that Capri, though,
