Claiming to be the cheapest or the fastest have been staple boasts of car manufacturers for decades – but now there is a new claim they all seek: to be the most fuel efficient.
The Ford Fusion Hybrid has established those bragging rights as it will be the most fuel-efficient midsize saloon on the market at 41mpg according to the data Ford has supplied to the Environmental Protection Agency. Indeed the Fusion hybrid will be the second most fuel efficient vehicle on US roads – leaping ahead of the Honda Civic Hybrid and falling only narrowly behind the Toyota Prius.
The Fusion is capable of 41mpg in the city and 36mpg on the highway – the boost for city driving comes from the hybrid’s ability to use the electric motor at low speeds. One of the key factors behind the vehicle’s economy rates is its air conditioners – in the Fusion, the air conditioner is electric-powered.
It’s a neat boost for the Fusion Hybrid which needed a hook given its heftier price tag compared to the conventional model – the Fusion Hybrid costs $27,000 compared to $24,000 for the regular Fusion.
With few people convinced that low petrol prices are here to stay – despite them slumping from $4 a gallon to roughly $1.61 a gallon – fuel efficiency remains one of the leading factors when people determine which vehicle is right for them.
For one of the US car manufacturers to have a market-leading vehicle is a tremendous coup as they battle back against a flagging public image after pleading their case for a bailout in front of Congress.�
