New 2017 Ford Fusion Sport - 325hp / 380tq

[BoostBumps]

2017 Ford Fusion Sport earns its badge with 380 lb-ft

6/9/2016 - Autoblog



It used to be that heavy horsepower and torque figures demanded an absurd premium. The days of 350-horsepower Chevrolet Corvette and Porsche 911s are long gone, and the new Ford Fusion Sport is the latest example of that fact. Stats? 325 horsepower and 380 pound-feet of torque (on 93 octane). From a Fusion.

Yes, the Fusion is finally worthy of its Sport badging, thanks to its 2.7 liter, twin-turbo V6 .

That's five more horsepower and 50 more pound-feet than a BMW340i. And it's a hell of a lot more than the naturally aspirated V6 from the Toyota Camry SE or turbocharged fours of the Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima. Unlike its mainstream competition, Ford paired the Fusion's six-speed automatic transmission to a standard all-wheel-drive system, so it should be easy to put all that power down. Ford hasn't published performance figures yet, but if the Fusion Sport takes more than around five seconds to hit 60, it'd shock us.

But power isn't the Fusion Sport's only trump card ? there's also the price. At just $34,350, it's a staggering performance bargain. It's not a BMW, but the starting figure is just a smidge more than the $34,145 320i ? that's the base 180-hp model ? and it's $12,445 less than the 340i. Things are even better when you start ticking option boxes, because a well-equipped Fusion Sport ? navigation, adaptive cruise control, vented seats, 19-inch wheels, and dual-zone climate control ? is available for less than $40,000 ($39,855, according to the online configurator). Now, let's not be silly ? we don't realistically expect the Fusion Sport to match the 340i in every dynamic metric. But if all you care about is straight-line grunt (and that's probably enough for most Americans), the Ford is a hilarious bargain.

So yes, the Fusion Sport is set to cause all manner of headaches for both premium and mainstream competitors. But it's also going to cause problems for Ford. After all, when you can snag a 325-hp, 380 lb-ft Fusion for under $35,000, is there really an incentive to buy the all-wheel-drive, 400-horsepower Lincoln MKZ for $43,575? We'd argue not really, especially since you can load out the Fusion and still save a few thousand bucks compared to the hot-rod Lincoln. It's a similar story with the aging Ford Taurus SHO. The Fusion is more affordable than the $41,150 Taurus, and the power sacrifice is even smaller than it is with the MKZ.

Oh, and if you're still having a hard time wrapping your head around the 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6's power output, think about it like this ? the last Fusion Sport, from 2012, had a naturally aspirated V6 with just 263 hp and 249 lb-ft of torque. What's more, with ratings of 17 mpg in the city and 26 on the highway, the new turbo Sport is slightly more fuel efficient. It is a wonderful time to be alive.

The 2017 Fusion Sport will arrive in dealers at the end of this summer.

 

[Turbo65]

I might have to take a look at that next year looks promising

 

[Cichlid]

its a shame that it probably wont get a manual transmission because it looks good, auto no matter what kind makes me sleepy to drive them.

 

[frankiefiesta]

its a shame that it probably wont get a manual transmission because it looks good, auto no matter what kind makes me sleepy to drive them.

Not many would buy a manual version. I think is going to give BMW a good run for the money. They really are overrated vehicles

 

[Turbo65]

Agreed I'll give one a drive when they come in just to see but I think either a RS or track pack 5.0 is in my future depending on how long they build the RS

 

[eglove]

Dang, good job Ford for actually going through with an uprated Fusion

 

[Cichlid]

Agreed I'll give one a drive when they come in just to see but I think either a RS or track pack 5.0 is in my future depending on how long they build the RS

I have my eye on 5.0 track pack too RS looks good but I feel its too expensive this is just my opinion, its 50k+ in canada ontario $47,969 according to ford.ca so that would be +13% gst and whatever dealer adds on top of that.

 

[Turbo65]

That's a lot of money, I'm going to drive a RS tomorrow hopefully Ford a event going on in town and have them to drive

 

[Zerodameaon]

I see this as a potential A4 killer.

 

[Waterfan]

325/380, 2.7LTT, 3700lbs, AWD midsize sedan for ~34k? (That's Audi S4 ($50k) power level/sizing)

Not bad.

 

[DP03]

I have the Titanium AWD Fusion, and I like it a lot. But I'd like it a lot more with this motor in it!!

 

[BoostBumps]

2017 Ford Fusion V-6 Sport - First Drive Review

August 31, 2016 - MotorTrend

http://www.motortrend.com/cars/ford...=10153988348401312&adbpl=fb&adbpr=18332466311

The Most Powerful Affordable Midsize Sedan



Pssst. Over here. Wanna see if you can get head-snapping acceleration in a Ford Fusion? Big power in a practical Fusion midsize sedan?

Turns out that is what Ford has done with the latest addition to the Fusion family: The V-6 Sport with a 2.7-liter, twin-turbo V-6 EcoBoost engine delivers 325 horsepower and an impressive 380 lb-ft of torque.

On some back roads near Detroit, we got a chance to drive the powerful new Fusion. The new model is in dealerships now with a starting price of $34,350, which is less than a top-of-the-line Platinum Fusion and comparable to what you would pay for a base BMW 3 Series with only 180 horsepower. Power-wise, the Fusion delivers more grunt than a pricier 340i and has more torque than an Audi S4 starting around $50,000.

Adding the Sport to the 2017 lineup augments the growing number of trim levels and powertrain options in the Fusion family. There was already a 2.5-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine; 1.5- and 2.0-liter, turbocharged EcoBoost four-cylinder engines; and a hybrid and plug-in hybrid available in the U.S. Ford adds the 2.7-liter EcoBoost V-6 to the arsenal in the war to prevent customers from migrating from sedans to crossovers and to keep the Fusion fresh because of its importance to the Ford brand and the company as a whole.

And it is fresh. A lot of power springs to the fore from tip-in. Switch to Sport mode to adjust throttle response and steering and for a more robust engine sound from the way the in-cabin noise cancellation is tuned.

The suspension has new shocks and springs and offers continuously controlled damping?something that had been reserved for Lincoln in the U.S. and Mondeo in Europe. It also made it possible to offer 19-inch wheels, said Ford vehicle integration engineer Chris Murray.

The six-speed transmission has been programed to automatically downshift one gear in Sport mode and not upshift in a corner for more torque. The car has rev-matching, and the paddle shifters do not time out, providing complete control of manual shifting until you disengage them.

The power is packaged in a car engineered to be quiet and to offer a more comfortable ride over potholes while still getting 17/26/20 mpg in city/highway/combined driving. It has adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go technology to follow traffic, and it also features pedestrian safety systems and park assist.

All-wheel drive is standard, but it contributes to a new curb weight of 3,982 pounds?up 512 pounds.

The Sport is in response to customer demand for a V-6 and more power, said Todd Soderquist, chief program engineer for Fusion and Mondeo globally. Customers said they still wanted their practical Fusion but sought something sportier than the 2.0-liter four-cylinder, which produces 245 hp and 275 lb-ft of torque. They weren?t looking for an all-out performance vehicle, somewhat to Soderquist?s chagrin: His personal preference would be a Fusion with a rollcage and V-8.

Upgrading to a V-6 was not as simple as swapping out engines. A bigger and more powerful engine requires more cooling, which led to a new front end. The decision was made to give the car a bit of an overall makeover, with a new fascia, mesh grille, LED foglamps, unique 19-inch tarnished dark wheels, and a quad-tip exhaust. Inside are Miko suede seats with leather trim, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, and other touches to distinguish the Sport from the rest of the lineup.

Fusions for the U.S. market are built in Hermosillo, Mexico.

The Fusion created a stir with its new look for the 2013 model year. Since then, ?a lot of people have been gunning for us,? Soderquist said, ?so we continue to offer more powertrains and features.?

Executives are not sure how much of the mix the new Sport will be. The Ford Explorer and Edge have Sport models that account for 5 to 10 percent of total sales, but the take rate could be higher with the Fusion, Fusion marketing manager Wade Jackson said, if there is an appetite for a sport sedan.

 

[Truth in Ruin]

^^^ At 4,000 lbs the power would be a bit underwhelming, but with a TUNED twin-turbo V-6; AWD, and Auto, it'd be a great 1/4 mile runner.

 

[jmrtsus]

And you can expect Mountune to add another warranty friendly 40-50 Hp........for a grand or so.

 

[M-Sport fan]

It would not even need a regular, clutched, manual gearbox, just give it a REAL SMG/DSG on par with the ones in the Teutonmobiles, and it would be a world class kickass!

 

[BobMaxed]

Way to big.

 

[Joker328]

That MotorTrend article is basically a press release. Jalopnik seemed less impressed: http://jalopnik.com/the-325-horsepower-2017-ford-fusion-sport-is-not-the-au-1785980191

I think this thing will really need a tune to feel fast. Will be interesting to see how well the other components of the car stand up to 50-100 extra horses. The gas mileage is already horrendous though. I assume Ford has done their research and there is a market out there for this car, but I couldn't ever see myself dropping basically FoRS money on a sportier Fusion.