EPA Certifies Ford Fusion Hybrid At 41 MPG

EPA Certifies Ford Fusion Hybrid At 41 MPG

The EPA has bested Ford's fuel economy prediction for its soon-to-be-produced Fusion Hybrid by about 2 mpg. The EPA has certified the Fusion's 41-mpg rating in the city and 36-mpg number on the highway. These numbers are slightly higher than the 39-mpg in the city that Ford had predicted last month. The EPA recently revamped its fuel economy testing regimen to include more "real-world" driving styles, which tend to lower a vehicle's average fuel economy.

Ford made the Fusion hybrid available to journalists in Southern California last month for test driving. Many of those reviewers got much better mileage than even the EPA's now-official fuel economy rating. Ford has included a series of smart gauges in the Fusion that can help the driver identify and correct behavior that tends to decrease fuel economy. The gauges could account for the difference between the reported fuel economy and the EPA's certified fuel economy ratings.

With the 41-mpg certification, the Fusion hybrid tops the Toyota Camry Hybrid by 8 mpg in the city and 2 mpg on the highway, and offers slightly better fuel economy than the Honda Civic hybrid.

The Fusion hybrid is a true dual-mode design. The car can reach 47-mph on electric power alone and can travel about one mile on battery power. The Fusion hybrid features a 2.4L, 4-cylinder gasoline engine. Non-hybrid versions of the Fusion are available with 4-cylinder and 6-cylinder engines.

Ford has not yet put a sticker price on the Fusion hybrid, but told journalists last month that it expected to price the car somewhere in the mid-$20K range. The base model non-hybrid Fusion starts at about $19K.

Ford expects to have the new vehicle in the dealer showrooms in March 2009. The company is still gauging demand for the new Fusion, but in a communication to Ford employees last week, Mark Fields, Ford's Executive Vice President and President of the Americas, indicated that battery supplies will constrain production of the Fusion hybrid and Ford's other hybrid vehicles. The Fusion hybrid uses less-expensive nickel-metal-hydride batteries.

Photo: Courtesy of the Ford Motor Company