Ford Fusion Hybrid @ 2008 LAAS

Description

FOR MORE ABOUT THE FUSION AND MILAN HYBRIDS: www.edmunds.com With the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid presented at the Los Angeles auto show, the Dearborn-based automaker will go directly after Toyota and Honda for title of the most efficient hybrid sedan. Using an updated version of the full-hybrid system featured in the most recent Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner hybrids, the Fusion Hybrid is expected to return an impressive 39 mpg on the EPA city test cycle. If the Fusion Hybrid (and the mechanically identical Mercury Milan Hybrid) can achieve this figure, it will represent a 5-mpg improvement over the front-wheel-drive Escape/Mariner Hybrids and a 6-mpg improvement compared to the Toyota Camry Hybrid. The Honda Civic Hybrid posts 40 mpg in the EPA's city regimen. That's an impressive figure, given that the Fusion Hybrid uses the same 2.5-liter Atkinson cycle four-cylinder engine that makes up the gas-powered portion of the Escape Hybrid's powertrain. This engine incidentally makes 155 horsepower and 136 pound-feet of torque and is bolted to a continuously variable transmission, just as in the Escape Hybrid. But Ford is referring to the hybrid powertrain in the Fusion Hybrid as "system 2.0," copying computer company jargon. What that means is that the nickel-metal hydride battery is smaller, using 208 cells instead of 250. It's also more powerful by almost 20 percent. And, because of "improved chemistry," the battery can be run at a higher temperature and is cooled using cabin <b>...</b>

Keywords

Ford, Fusion, Hybrid, 2008, LAAS, LA, Los, Angeles, Auto, Show, Edmunds, Inside, Line, Mercury, Milan, car, motor

Related videos ^Experimental