It's perplexing how long Ford has been able to keep its Taurus in production. For twenty years now, the Taurus has been notorious for being a mechanical nightmare, offered some of the lowest quality in its class, and carried a resale value that made purchasing one about as lucrative as buying stock in Enron. For 2006 Ford has built a brand new mid-sized sedan and instead of deeming it the 5th generation Taurus, Ford calls it the Fusion; a smart move as the Taurus nameplate was becoming more of a scare tactic than an incentive to buy.

The Fusion is available in three trim levels; the base S, the SE, and the top of the line SEL. Each trim level can be had with either a 2.3 liter 4-cylinder producing 160 horses or a 3.0 liter DOHC V6 producing a more acceptable 221 horsepower. If you are opting for the 4-cylinder, Ford offers it with either a 5-speed manual or a 5-speed automatic, however the V6 equipped Fusion’s only come with a 6-speed automatic (without a manual shift mode). One should note that the Fusion comes in only one body style; a 4 door sedan.

Driving Impressions - SEL 3.0 V6:

Like the Mazda6S, Mercury Milan, and a host of other cars built by FOMOCO, the new Fusion SEL gets Ford’s 24-valve Duratec V6. A bad engine? Not exactly, but it’s far from being as refined or as gutsy as the V6 in the Accord or the V6 in the new Hyundai Sonata. According to Car and Driver Magazine (2005), the new Fusion is capable of scooting from 0-60 MPH in just 7.5 seconds. Not bad, but the Fusion doesn't feel nearly that fast. While the 10-year old Duratec V6 offers enough guts to keep up with everyday traffic, if Ford plans on impressing a younger audience with the Fusion's performance it's going to need a beefier powertrain.

Ford has given the Fusion's automatic transmission 6 gears; 1 more gear than most cars in this class and 2 more gears than the Taurus’s automatic. While this new 6-speed isn’t a horrible transmission, I do have my gripes with it. First, the Fusion's automatic has a tendency to hunt between 5th and 6th gears at freeway speeds. Also, when flooring the throttle anywhere between 60-80 MPH it's takes too long for the transmission to kick-down into lower gears, making passing maneuvers not as instantaneous as they could be. Nonetheless, under normal driving conditions the new Fusion's 6-speed auto gets the job done, just not as well as the automatics in the Accord and Camry.

The 2006 Fusion may not be that much faster than the dull Taurus that it replaces, though the Fusion is a much more capable highway cruiser. Other than some mild engine noise on take-off, general road noises on the highway are all kept isolated outside of the cabin. The Fusion also absorbs bumps and general road imperfections extremely well. Unlike the Taurus/Mercury Sable, nothing in the cabin rattles and harsh jolts are only felt on extremely rough surfaces.

What the Fusion lacks in outright performance it makes up for it in the handling department. The Fusion rolls only minimally through turns, the steering is responsive, and overall is a fun mid-size sedan to take on twisty roads. If you opt for the SEL trim, you get upgraded with 17" wheels wrapped in sticky all season rubber. In comparison to the Accord EX and Camry XLE the Fusion has the upper hand in the handling department. If you are looking for an even better handling family sedan for not much more cash, I highly suggest checking out the '06 Mazda6s.

Usually when I don't recommend a vehicle to those living in mountainous terrain, it's because of engine power, or lack thereof. In the Fusion's case it's not because of its engine power, in fact it has plenty for hill climbing, but because of this new 6-speed transmission. Since you can't manually select lower gears on the Fusion’s auto gear shifter, you have to rely on the transmission to know exactly what gear it should be in. Sadly, the Fusion’s 6-speed transmission feels too clumsy on the steep terrain to not have manually selectable gears. It would have been nice if Ford gave its customers the option to manually select lower gears, instead there is only the option of "D" and "L."

Most of the time an increase in horsepower and torque means reduced fuel economy; this isn't so with the '06 Fusion. Despite having 20 more ponies and 5 more lb-ft of torque than last year's Taurus, the EPA rates the new Fusion SEL at 21/29; 2 MPG better than the Taurus. This improved EPA number gives the new Fusion nearly equal fuel numbers as the Accord EX V6, Camry V6, and the Mazda6S.

Interior:

Interior quality seems to always be on the bottom of Ford's to do list. The new Fusion doesn't feel upscale by any stretch of the imagination, however its interior is totally devoid of exposed screws, overly cheap plastics, and other major interior flaws that were so prevalent in the Taurus.

The styling of the Fusion’s interior is a mixed bag. While Ford advertises the Fusion as if were a car built exclusively for the driving enthusiast, it's interior is no more exciting than, say, a Toyota Camry's. My SEL had a two-tone dash (gray and tan) with a black shiny swath of black plastic separating the two color schemes. While a two-tone theme looks great in some cars, this gray on tan theme just doesn't bode well in the Fusion.

The Fusion isn’t quite the ergonomic nightmare that the Taurus was, however Ford still could have done a better job in this department. Most of the Fusion’s gadgetry is logically placed, however the HVAC controls are located far too low on the center stack for easy access.

Despite being almost $1,000 less than the Ford Taurus SEL, standard equipment with the new Fusion SEL remains about the same. Unfortunately this really isn't saying much as Ford has never been too generous with standard amenities. Standard with every SEL comes a good sounding 6-disc in-dash CD player with 6-speakers (upgraded stereo with 8-speakers optional for $400 extra), power everything, an analog clock, telescoping steering with tilt, two air bags, and automatic air conditioning. Note: Side and curtain air bags are only optional.

Seating in the Fusion is available in either cloth or leather, my test vehicle came with the latter for an additional $900. The optional leather bucket seats feel comfortable, however upper body and lower body support is lacking big time for those interested in any type of aggressive driving.

From an outside perspective the Fusion looks like a small sedan; not the case on the inside. Occupants up to 6' should not have a problem with head or legroom; whether they are sitting in the front or the rear of the Fusion. The Fusion seats up to 5 occupants and does so much better than most cars in this class. Trunk space is about average (about the size of the Accord's), as is stowage throughout the cabin.

Price/Warranty:

The Fusion starts out at just over 17 grand for the “S” trim while the SEL tips the scales just over 21 grand; not bad considering a comparably equipped Accord LX V6 is nearly 2 grand more as is the Camry SE V6. My SEL, with the optional sunroof ($800), leather interior ($900), and anti lock brakes ($600) came to just under 24,000 dollars; not quite the bargain anymore. If anything goes wrong with your '06 Fusion, Ford offers a measly 3 year/36,000 mile bumper to bumper and powertrain coverage.


Final Thoughts:

Although the Fusion is a fun car to drive and is vast improvement over the Taurus, it still doesn't stack up to the likes of the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, or even the Mazda Mazda6S. With a starting sticker price of only $21,700, the V6 SEL might seem like a great deal in comparison to its competition. However, if you want the safety features that come standard on those other cars or even a sunroof for that matter, that great deal quickly turns into highway robbery. For now I suggest avoiding the Fusion, there are simply better cars out there for your money.

Note: Looking for larger family sedan? Check out my review on the 2008 Honda Accord


Thanks for reading!




Condition: Used
Model Year: 2006
Model and Options: Auto & 5-speed