[bonyclayd]

My mom's 2008 Mercury Sable was in an accident recently, so while it was in the shop she got a 2010 Ford Fusion SE 4-cylinder as a rental, and of course I got to drive it!



First impressions: well, the Fusion is a sharp-looking car. I've seen the 2010 model driving around for a while of course so I'd pretty much made my mind up already; the rental was in a really pretty black (Tuxedo Black according to Ford's site) and it just looked great up close, with little metallic sparkles in it. The front end has a ton of chrome, and while I suppose it's over the top it somehow looks really good. The rear end isn't quite as nice; I always thought it was a bit fussy and seeing it up close didn't change my mind. I do like the honeycomb taillight graphics though (borrowed from the Mondeo).

The interior isn't quite as impressive. While the soft-touch parts are nice enough, I found the hard plastic used on the lower dash to be a bit iffy. It has a strange texture and reminded me of something you might find in, say, a 2005 Focus. The hard plastic trim on the lower half of my Mazda3's dash has a much more appealing graining pattern and shows how it should be done.

Two other low points: the door of the little storage bin on top of the dash feels cheap, as does the useful little drawer to the left of the steering wheel.

On the other hand, I like the gauges with their teal backlighting, the aluminum-look trim on the center stack is nice and all the controls work well enough, though they're not as simple as I would like. The doors make a nice "thunk" when you close them, and the start-up chime is amusingly Nintendo-esque (some people might find it annoying though). I was also glad to see that the Fusion has damped grab handles; it's a minor feature, but grab handles that bang back into place really grind my gears.

It's very nice to drive. The steering is surprisingly light, at least at parking-lot speeds, but out on the road it works quite well, with good weighting and decent feel. Despite the six-speed auto the powertrain doesn't have quite the pickup of my Mazda3, which only weighs a few hundred pounds less and is down by about 15 horsepower (and two gears). Overall, though, I found the Fusion an enjoyable steer; not too far off, in fact, from the 3.

I was pretty impressed by overall refinement; the ride is firm but compliant and it's pretty quiet inside. It's not quite as hushed as my mom's '08 Sable, whose NVH levels continually impress me, but for a midsize sedan it's very good; road trips would be pretty easy in this car.

Overall, then, I found the Fusion to be a very nice car. I could definitely see myself driving it, and if I were in the market for a midsize sedan it would be up there on my list. Interior fit and finish is a bit underwhelming in places, but a smooth ride and enjoyable handling more than compensate. Combine that with the Fusion's stellar reliability record, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this car to anyone.

[DeronBoltonRen]

I've seen these type of threads at other forums.


What car have you driven today (that isn't yours)?

[DeronBoltonRen]

From the past month or so:

08' Mitsu Lancer DE CVT (only 8K on the clock, 2.0L)

+ Handling, driving position, ergonomics

- Junky interior (fit and finish was appaling!), I don't like the CVT performance

07' Mazda 3 (2.0L, 5MT, 127K!!!)

+ Driving position, handling, fit and finish

- Touchy throttle, odd clutch, strange shifter (it felt spring loaded)

11' Toyota Yaris 3-door(5MT).

+ Eager engine, loads of space, lovely driving position

- Chintzy interior, dead steering, lifeless shifter

11' Honda Fit Sport (5MT)

+ Loads of space, steering feel, shifting quality

- Slow, expensive (the Fit I drove was more than $5K USD more than the Yaris, but I don't see where the $$$ went

Fiesta SES Sedan (6AT, no MT on the lot)

+ Everything. I loved almost everything about this car. AT unit is also a very good tranny.

- Price. (Model I drove had every box checked and it came just south of 21K) I could live with a Sedan, but the hatch is the better looker (and is expensive), not that quick.


Maybe I was exaggerating about the tight back seat, it's really pretty OK back there. Fit and Yaris beat it out, but it's not a penalty box.

08? Mitsubishi Eclipse 4cyl (5MT)

+ Awesome car to look at, pretty quick. Like the driving position and ergonomics.

- Cramped. Steering feel is artificially heavy. Rear seat is useless. Cheap(ish) inside.

[bonyclayd]

How did the Fiesta compare to the Fit?

Some of the more recent reviews of the Fiesta have been complaining that the handling is too soft, and while this goes against the 100+ earlier reviews that say it's really fun to drive, it still has me concerned.

[DeronBoltonRen]

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[DeronBoltonRen]

11' Mazda 2(5MT)

+ Awesome shifter, great clutch, good throttle, great steering. A real treat to drive. Good ergonomics (love the shifter placement), pretty good space. It essentially combines everything I liked about the Yaris, Fiesta, and Fit into one package. It also is a lot quicker than it's 100HP suggest.

- Roofline made entering and exiting the rear a bit tricky (I hit my head), I almost thought it was a bit too quiet. It also isn't quite as planted at freeway speeds as the Fiesta. However, the Mazda 2 felt more tossable.

09' Chevy Aveo (4AT)

+ Good ergonomics, plastics are ok (although fit and finish was not that great), quicker than AT+4cyl suggest, transmission isn't too busy gear hunting (Fiesta), pretty quiet (at low speeds), good and high driving position, great visibility (Yaris= not that great, Fit=too many pillars)

- Engine drone at freeway speeds, a bit of a rattle at a complete stop (it was a used car, however. But with only 5K on the clock, that shouldn't matter), tight rear seat (however, it makes up for it somewhat by being high mounted and well padded)



Almost got into a Versa, but the salesman looked at my license and saw I was under 18.

[bonyclayd]

I need to test drive the Fiesta and the 2. I've pretty much set my mind on the Fiesta as my next car (unless something happens that enables me to afford the Mk3 Focus, or, through some impossibly unlikely turn of events, the ST) but I'm intrigued by the 2. The Europeans don't seem to favor its dynamics over the Fiesta's at all but it appears to be quite the opposite in the US.

I'm just a bit intimidated by, or wary of (I'll go with that one), the dealership experience. Did you go by yourself 2o6, or with a parent/generally older person?

[DeronBoltonRen]

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[Intockatt]

2011 Camaro V6.

+Engine response, appearance (+++), color, design, feel, brakes

-Engine sound, ergonomics, interior quality, visibility (---), weight

For such a hefty car, it moves nicely but you pay for that slick "chopped" appearance with incredibly poor visibility. Great product, GM deserves to sell every single one of them at MSRP.

[DeronBoltonRen]

00' Subaru Legacy Outback (H6, 5MT)

+ Well equipped, easy to drive......that's about it. It was pretty mundane.

- Cramped. Really nothing special to drive. Never quite understand why people like this car so much.


08' Scion xB (2.4L, 5MT)

+ Incredibly spacious and airy. 2.4L means that there's plenty of power.

- Boxy shape means it's really succeptable to crosswinds. Uninspiring handling. Shifter is OK, but cluch is pretty unremarkable. Hard to see out of. At 60MPH and in 5th gear, it's at 3K rpm. It needs taller gearing.

07' Dodge Caliber (1.8, MT)

+ It's not as bad as people make it out to be.
- Slow, handling isn't good (LEAN!!!), frisky on the freeway, shifter sucks. Clutch sucks. Absurdly cheap interior.....

06' Mazda 3 (2.0, MT)

+ Still handles very well. Still plenty quick with the 2.0L and MT shift.
- Although it's a used car, bits of interior trim were falling off and missing. Not good. I still also don't really like the shifter.

[abOfU9nJ]

I havent driven since August (college). I miss it

[Queueftof]

I took a few GM vehicles for a test at a GM ride & drive event at the Auto-Expo at Nassau Coliseum, L.I., NY, which took place in mid October, 2010, here is what I drove, and what I had time for:

Chevrolet Silverado hybrid pickup
Chevrolet Cruze 1.4L turbo
GMC Arcadia
GMC Terrain V6
Buick LaCrosse V6
Chevrolet Camaro, both the V6 and the SS V8 - WOW!

I didn't have time for the Cadillacs, and I wanted to try a CTS-V, too.

[Sanremogirl]

Let me get this straight. You could've driven a CTS-V...and opted for an Acadia, instead.

[Queueftof]

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[Unrersvar]

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[Shemker394]

The two most recent cars I've driven. Not too exciting...

2009 Ford Mondeo 1.8 TDCi Estate
+ Very spacious, good to drive, well built
- Dreary spec, could have done with more power

2006 Mazda5 2.0 D (143 PS)
+ Good looking inside and out, plenty of power, van-like practicality
- Slightly utilitarian interior

I was very impressed by the Mazda, but underwhelmed by the base-spec Mondeo. I drove a 2.3 or 2.5 (can't remember which) 5-door Ghia a couple of years ago and I loved it.

[CealialactBek]

new Jetta...Niiiiiiice

[enactolaelant]

2011 VW Jetta
+ Improved styling, firm/sporty German ride and handling, user friendly radio/navi, well laid out dashboard, 2.5l is addequate, Sport Package
- Wasn't too impressed with the sound quality of the radio, ride height somewhat high

2010 Suzuki Kizashi
+ Fit and finish, sporty handling and solid ride, sound system, power addequate, 18' inche rims look amazing
- CVT felt somewhat unrefined at times

LOVED both and would recommend them to anyone in the market.

[Vikonbarius]

I test drove a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited this afternoon. We're in the market for an SUV/CUV, and my wife insisted we look at the new Grand Cherokee. When I stepped inside I was EXTREMELY impressed at ChryslerCo's effort with this vehicle. The interior fit and finish seemed to be pretty good, materials were good, and the Pentastar V6 was extremely smooth. Definitely keeping the Grand Cherokee Limited on our list.

I also drove my friend's 2011 Lexus RX350, which I was very pleased with. This one is a fully loaded AWD model, and I particularly liked the automatic high-beam feature, I drove mostly on back roads in the dark and the auto feature worked faster than I would have been able to react to another driver. After a little while with the RX, we added it to our shopping list as well.

[Intockatt]

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