Tony Gets to Drive the Fusion Hybrid

It's long been a running joke on What Drives Us that I never drive my wife's Fusion Hybrid.
Well, as the saying goes, "when the cat's away, the mouse will driver her car."
While she's out of town for the week, I'll be driving my regular commute in her 2011 Fusion Hybrid. I'll be able to have relatively accurate side-by-side comparisons.

I've attached a picture I took after an hour of interstate driving between 65 - 70mph. After dropping her off at the airport, I realized that I had an hour to get to work before a meeting and more than an hour drive. I was pretty pleased with the car's ability to show minute-by-minute bars consistently above 40mpg and more than half above 50mpg. This is coming close to Prius mileage.

My plan is to record daily commutes to see how they compare to the same drive in my Prius. I'll try to report in each day.

 

We got the Fusion last summer. So far, she really likes it. We got the upper package, called Quick Spec 501a I think, along with the moon and tune package. She's loving the satellite radio though she uses about 1/4 of all the techie stuff the car will do.

Here's this evening's check-in.
I had some errands to run on the way home and didn't figure out how to reset the trip until I was into it so it's not completely accurate as far as distance. There were spots where I was really trying and other spots where I had no choice but to keep up with traffic. But for most of it, this was my normal evening commute.

Distance: 15.8 miles
MPG: 55.6
Compared to EPA: 142% (EPA is 39mpg combined)

[Edit: for those unfamiliar with the Fusion dash: the MPG is in the upper-right; distance is in the lower-left.]

 

My morning commutes are almost always better than my evening commutes due to a 600 foot elevation difference. I just hope it's warm enough next week for me to get some good runs.

This car is quick to slip into stealth. I'm accustomed to having to get to 35mph before I could stealth. The Fusion doesn't hesitate at any speed below ~45. The stealth is strong which makes me think that it's got a good electric motor.

I rally can tell the difference during acceleration. This car feels heavier and the ICE really does work to get speed. But once up to speed, it rolls very well.

 

Saturday late morning, driving in to get some work done. Temperature was dropping from 55ºF when I left to 51º when I arrived. It was raining most of the time from sprinkles to full-on rain.

I think I was able to find the glide in the Fusion. I don't think you can tell from the dash but rather have to pay attention to the Information Screen MFD to see it. And if you're paying that much attention to the screen which is way down there it's a good bet that you're not paying enough attention to the road. There were no cars around when I was testing it.

Distance: 22.8 miles
Mileage: 48.1
Compared to EPA: 123%

Here's the picture:

 

I'm attached a picture I took showing the Lifetime Mileage at 44.1. My wife is no hypermiler but I know that being always aware of her mileage makes her want to get better results. I know she can work the stealth and has gotten pretty good with the car. But I think her lifetime average is pretty indicative of an average - non-hypermiler - driver. I've always said that it's a very capable car.

Bisco, I think one of the big differences between the Camry and Fusion is the type of feedback you want. The Camry is supposed to come out rated higher than the Fusion and Sonata. Having driven the new HyCam, I know that it's a very nice car. But in terms of showing you advanced tech it just doesn't. Some of us had a discussion about this and decided that while the Fusion Hybrid plays up the hybrid features, the HyCam simply does not. I'm not saying whether one is better than the other; just that this is what I've perceived.

I've attached my evening results. The rain had stopped and it had warmed up. I'm starting to take back what I said about the strong electric motor. There are a few stretches of road where I know I can stealth farther in the Prius. Of course, there are many factors involved here. All the same, I think I'll look up the Fusion's battery and motor size.

Distance: 23.6 miles
Mileage: 55.0 mpg
Compared to EPA: 141%

 

It's been raining relatively steady for the last few days. Perhaps a hint that I shouldn't be driving my wife's car. But today I decided to drive it. This time, rather than taking the longer, more hypermiler-friendly route, I used the direct route, the one with multiple lanes of hurry-up-and-go traffic.

Once again, the FFH performed very well. And again, I acredit it to the car's ability to shut off the ICE and roll or stealth for distances. Because I've driven this route many times over the last several years, I know the lights and the terrain. But I was not trying really hard; in fact, a friend called and I was on the phone literally the entire time (thanks to bluetooth) which means that I was not paying complete attention to mileage. Even so, impressive results.

Distance: 17.5 miles
Mileage: 52.4
Compared to EPA: 134%

 

Driving home is always a worse commute, mileage-wise. And today was no difference. Though I was trying when I could, the traffic wouldn't allow much. So here are the results:

Distance: 20.0 miles (ran some errands)
Mileage: 46.3
Compared to EPA: 118%

 

Ya know, I've thought about that and it might be as much a factor of the aero as it is weight and tires. I haven't pumped up my wife's tires as much as mine.

 

I measured it once. I used TrailGuru.com (actually, the iPhone app) to map the distance and elevation of my drive.

Dangit. Now I'll have to do it again just to be sure.
OK, just googled the info:
- Home suburb : 679 ft.
- Work suburb : 719 ft (?!)
OK, now I'm really confused. Won't be the first time.

Dangit, Nerfer! I'm going to have to download the TrailGuru app again and do it all over again to figure this out.

All the same, for one reason or another, my morning commute is almost always a better mileage drive than my evening commute. This is even though it's warmer in the evening than the morning. And also considering that the really bad stoplight is right next to my house and I sometimes have to sit there and idle in the morning.

 

That part I can't tell you. At least not at this time. I only have the car for one more day and not long enough to do a full-tank mileage comparison.