2017 Ford Fusion

[kevm14]

http://www.motortrend.com/news/2017-for ... 178A559854

Still looks good. Volume seller 2.5L gets worst in class fuel economy. Heavier than average.

But let's talk about the upcoming 2.7L Sport model with 325 hp. Which will start at $34k and go up from there.

While I applaud Ford as well, I highly doubt this will force anyone to make a true "sports" midsized family sedan. Ford may be in this one on their own. I can't imagine Toyota or Honda or Mazda or Chevy saying "hey that's a great idea, lets AWD our bread and butter sedans, make them heavier and less efficient and sell them to sports car enthusiast". To me there's already a segment for that. They have BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Cadillac, and Lexus written on their grilles. Not that people won't buy the Fusion sport, but I know for a fact that I wouldn't. The regular "non sport" version works just fine for me.

My thoughts exactly. The market for the Sport is probably folks for whom the Taurus SHO is a little too big and expensive. And the SHO market is already a niche. I guess as a consumer more options are good, but I don't really see the business case for this. The Fusion is compelling as a regular family car, but not really as a "sports sedan," in my opinion.

[Bob]

Sadly, I will probably never get to try out the sporty model in a rental fleet. I think it is interesting considering there are few options in that category with over 300 HP. This ups the ante a little on the V6 Accord, Malibu 2.0t and maybe even the Maxima.

[bill25]

Isn't the V6 Camaro like 26K? For sportiness, it is way better in every way. What makes this start at 34K? That to me is the problem. If this was even 28K that would actually be decent. I think the high price tag, and lack of real performance will kill this. I support the idea, and like options, but will this even perform better than a V6 Accord, or Maxima? Probably not.

[kevm14]

Exactly. And it'll probably get worse MPG than those, too.

[Bob]

The Camaro isn't a sedan though. When you look at performance sedans, I guess the Hemi Charger is going to be one of the fastest (certainly the most powerful) in that mid-$30k range.

[kevm14]

Bill doesn't see numbers of doors. He would just put his daughter in the trunk so he can drive his manly Camaro.

I think Bill should get a used Charger R/T. They are cheap. And even the first gen will be in the ballpark of what this new Fusion Sport has for acceleration.

[bill25]

I have to say, I hate the 300, handling and drivability. I don't think I would like the charger at all. I also don't like the charger styling. Honestly, I really don't like the styling. I like the styling of the Challenger, not even because of the number of doors, it just looks better. At the end of the day, I will never buy a Dodge/Chrysler.

Camaro it is. If GM made a nice affordable 2 or 4 door RWD car with a V8 other than the Camaro, I would potentially be interested, but they don't. The SS isn't in the affordable range. Styling wise, the SS or the Caprice PPV don't really stack up against the Camaro in my mind either. I would rather wait until my daughter is forward facing (< 1 year) and get the Camaro than settle on something way less than what I actually want.

Maybe that is weird. People drove G-Bodies in the 80's with families. I don't really see the big deal.

[kevm14]

All I can say is I could never see how any Camaro could be reasonably considered a family vehicle. However, if you can pull it off, more power to you.

[Bob]

Agreed - The back seat in the Camaro is way worse than an 80s G-Body.

[kevm14]

http://autoweek.com/article/car-news/20 ... dailydrive

At January’s 2016 Detroit auto show, Ford showed the Fusion Sport, but offered few details. Now it has: Ford says the $33,475 Sport is going directly at the Germans with its 2.7-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 producing 325 hp, 380 lb-ft, and standard all-wheel drive.

Uh, going directly at the Germans? I don't think so.