I am looking at the newer Fusions. Does anyone have experience with the gas engines offered in these vehicles? What is the most dependable option offered, the 1.5L EB, 2.0L EB or 2.5L I-4? Fuel economy doesn't appear to be significantly different. The 1.5L EB looks to be a little more expensive compared to the others. I am just wanting something my wife can rely on. Thanks!

 

My son is a salesman for the local Ford dealership and he would tell you that they are all about the same in dependability and fuel economy, but would recommend the 2.0 EB just for the performance. He has driven one for almost a year now and really likes it and has had no problems.

We have a couple of the 2.0 EB's and three of the I-4's in our fleet at work and all are good drivers but it seems everyone uses the EB's if they have a choice just for performance.

Not much help I know, just my experience with the Fusion.

 

The least complicated one is the base 2.5, and performance is adequate. The 2.5 has been around forever.

 

Wife drives a 2014 Fusion with the 2.5 engine. We both are in our 60's so we're not fond of all of the gadgets in any of the new cars. Her SE is loaded with all kinds of gadgets but once set it's pretty much painless. At 6"4" it's hard for me to get into. The door too damn short and I have to back in to get enough head clearance. Once in it's fine and comfy. The engine was a major plus for us. We're not race car drivers anymore. Fuel mileage and comfort is king when it comes our car buying. As the wife says, I have enough toys as it is. The reason we looked for the 2.5 was several reasons. It's a basic 4 banger. No tricks, no big/expensive technology to keep it running, just a simple 4 banger. It has more than enough power to pass most trucks on the hiway yet can get real great fuel mileage. If I'm driving with the Scangauge hooked up, I can keep it over 40 mpgs up to 75mph. The best mileage I've gotten with it was 44 on a 250 mile trip during the summer running the A/C and keeping the speedometer at 65. She gets 22-25mpgs town driving and that's zero expressway- all stop and go morning and evening. She drives 12 miles to work and sometimes it takes an hour for the trip and still gets that kind of gas mileage. About the only issue she's had with it is the cell phone Blue Tooth won't hook up, then it does, then it loses the phone book, then it finds it. Neither of us have a clue about it so it's something she's gotten accustomed to working or not. Otherwise, it's one hellava value. There's a lot of content in the Fusion and we consider it a fabulous car. It's quiet on the road and rides better than our Lincoln. She has had the windows turned dark with a 97% heat reducing film and IT WORKS! It also looks great on her white Fusion.

 

Thanks for the opinions, guys. I appreciate it. We just need something reasonably priced, dependable and easier to maintain. We don't need a ton of options... just more things that can go wrong. I like to do as much of the maintenance myself, so the simpler the better.

 

Then you probably want a SE with a 2.5. The SE is worth the upgrade over the base S.

 

My wife and I test drove a Fusion about 6 weeks ago and we liked it but we decided against it for the single reason that it uses a rubber band instead of a timing CHAIN. I've had three bands slip and cause major damage in three different cars and I will NEVER buy a vehicle that uses one again. Other than that we really liked the car. Ford needs to get off their A88 and use a more reliable engine design instead of something that's cheap to build.

FWIW

 

AND STAY OFF OF MY GRASS......!!!!!

 

Then you made a bad decision based on bad info. The Fusion 2.5 engine hasn't had a belt since YM 2006. My wifes car has a chain as does the 2015 YM.

 

I have a 2013 2.0 EB and I love it.

 

Two different Ford dealers both told us that they used a belt and not a chain. I tired to look up the specs but I found conflicting information. I do know that that line of engines started out using belts. One of Ford's ads even raved about their "Award winning engine design that used a timing belt running in an oil bath".

Bad decision or not, I'm not taking a chance on anything else that MAY or MAY NOT have a belt!

 

My mom's 2010 Fusion had transmission rebuilt under warranty around 58k. Also had a bad throttle body around the same time. Ford had a recall campaign later on for the throttle body.

We kept the car through about 120k.

Last year she picked up a new 2015 Fusion as a replacement.


Both were 2.5 basic cars

 

I think the Fusion SE with the 2.5L I-4 is what we will be looking at. I hope to drive a rental from NC to KS and back next week for a real test. Thanks for the replies!