When the Fusion first came out last year, it was on my list of midsized sedans to check out as I sought to buy my first car as a member of the real world. Many factors, most notably that green stuff I don't have enough of, led me to buy a used car instead. However, I was rear-ended last week and as fate would have it, I have been driving a Fusion S (base model, 4 cylinder automatic) for about a week.

I recall a pretty favorable impression of the sleek new Fusion I test drove back in December; I thought the driving experience was comparable to that of the Accord's and Camry's many of us are more familiar with. Sadly, after a longer experience in a not-brand new Fusion, I have to say I am extremely thankful I didn't buy this car.

To be fair, I test drove a higher trim line than I have been driving, as will many of you be. So take my opinions regarding this base model with a grain of salt...

~~ Interior/Comfort: ~~

The drivers seat is comfortable enough, the front and back seat leg room is quite impressive (I'm 6'1") , as is the trunk capacity. The trunk lid and closing mechanism is pretty awful and feels extremely cheap. That's about where my compliments end. The center console and other controls are not very intuitively laid out for my tastes, especially the CD player and side mirror controls.

The design of the car body and driver's position somehow though just make for a thoroughly frustrating driving experience for me. Even with the seat at its highest setting, I feel like I am sitting too low. I find the visibility out the rear unacceptable, especially in terms of cars quite near to the rear of my car and around my blind spots. I've never felt that was in any other car in this size class.

Sadly, I think the feature I like the best in this category is the fact that your radio or CD keeps playing after you turn off the car, stopping only when you open the door. A nice way to enjoy the end of your favorite song or talk-radio rant without wasting this precious $3.15 gasoline. I also appreciate the safety feature of the doors automatically locking when you start driving (over 10 MPH I think).

~~ Driving Experience: ~~

The Fusion, even in a four cylinder model, has ample power for my needs, consisting of a mix of city, semi-highway (speed limit 45-50) and interstate driving. Gas mileage seems to be about as advertised (24 city, 32 highway), and the braking is quite good in the limited experience I've had with it so far.

However, my biggest complaint is the fact that, while I never feel as though the car is struggling for power, every time I start up from a stop light (and I am NOT an aggressive driver by any stretch of the imagination), you would think I was going 0-60 rather than 0-40 judging from listening to the engine. It has the roughest path from first to third gear of any car I've ever driven, and the up and down shifting while driving could never be mistaken for smooth.

~~ Summary ~~

I won't pretend to be an expert on this vehicle, but I honestly have been quite disappointed with my experience thus far with the 2006 Ford Fusion S. Hopefully future revisions will fix the many flaws pointed out by reviewers (Epinions and others) and better uncover the potential that I think exists with this car for Ford.