Well, that was a wild week. The L200 was finally replaced. After a weeks worth of prayer, stress, searching,prayer, stress, and more stress, we were able to drive home in a 2013 Fusion Saturday afternoon. It's silver, with the appearance pack (chrome handles & mirrors, 5 spoke 18" wheels, spoiler) and the MFT setup (no nav, though). Less than 12k on the odometer, so it's almost new. Even with the warranty plan I got talked into (thanks to the finance guy and my wife) and taxes, we still rolled out the door over $10k less than the original sticker. Quick thoughts:

- While both cars are classified as mid-size, this Fusion feels a lot bigger than my Saturn. It may be something that I don't notice after some time, but right now I feel like I'm driving my mothers Five Hundred, which is a full size car.

- I realize there's a 12 year gap between the two cars, but suspension tech has come a loooooong way. Even with 45 series "18 wheels (which I'm going to hate to replace the tires on) the ride is worlds better than 60 series 15" wheels I've rolled on for over a decade. Very smooth, very quiet, nicely damped. Bumps that would rattle my teeth, even on new struts and tires, in the Saturn barely register in this thing

- The My Ford Touch is nice, but SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW

- Switchblade keys are stupid. I like mine, but it's still stupid

- I'm actually going to have to read the manual for this thing to figure out where everything is, which is almost embarrassing. Fortunately the .PDF is out there, so flipping through it on my tablet is the way to go.

Now that I think about it, I actually think every car maker should do that. Have a reader with an e-ink display with the owner's manual in the glove box. If you want to get fancy you can have an actual tablet (I think Hyundai does that with the Equus and maybe the Genesis)

More thoughts as the day goes on. Questions, comments and whatever else, add on.

I drove one for a week before we ended up getting our Jetta, and it felt way too "floaty" on tight turns for my liking.

Jetta and Fusion are 2 different class of car, so it's a harder comparison. Jetta is a bit smaller and likely more grounded. VWs (well, the majority of the Teutonic fleet) are set up to be a bit sportier than most cars done here in the US. While the Fusion sits a bit higher befitting a midsize car, the tuning does have a pretty sporty feel to it, relative to most cars in its class anyway.

A better comparison may have been the last gen Passat

>- The My Ford Touch is nice, but SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW

reminds me of my first in-dash nav system w/response time. I got used to it, though.

it also choked on The People's iPod (might have been a 2013 version)

I think it may have got stuck once on Sunday, but there was so much other stuff going on. Still, as long as the search feature is better than the Kenwoood head unit I had in the Saturn I'll be grateful.

But yeah, slooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow

i haven't done any reading into this or anything, just what i've observed.

for example, corollas now seem the size camrys used to be, and camrys are bigger. highlanders now seem the size 4runners used to be, and 4runners seems as big as old sequoias.

That may be because I see more of them. We get deep discounts on Lexus, Toyota, Scion...so the parking lot is littered with them. Someone here has a 15 4runner and it's monstrous in size.

but for example a modern-day Civic is the size of the original Accord

Had one as a rental over the weekend. It had definitely grown in size. It felt like a 90's Accord sized.

Even in rental spec it still had a decent touchscreen radio and bluetooth connectivity (which was faster than the MFT, which is ridiculous). It was about all the car that a person that would need or want. I still wouldn't buy one though (but was happier in that than in the Versa Note)

it was purchased for my wife initially, but then we got a sienna and i started driving the corolla after trading in my older camry. i definitely would prefer to drive a camry, but the size and features of the newer corollas are, like you said, about all i would want or need, but still, i think i'd go with a camry on the next purchase.

I shot my brother and my buddy a pic of the car before I left the lot. Both asked the exact same thing: Did you get the hybrid? Not the cost. Not how much HP. Not what kind of system it had, all of which would have been more important in our younger days. No, gas mileage is paramount. Changing priorities, I tell you...

And I didn't go hybrid because I wanted to keep my trunk space. The battery pack takes up more room than I like, and the car's design already makes fitting stuff in the trunk an interesting exercise. Had they released the car as a hatch (like the Mondeo is in Europe) it would work much better, but they probably wouldn't sell them at all

them Michelin Fuel Saver tires???

>I shot my brother and my buddy a pic of the car before I left
>the lot. Both asked the exact same thing: Did you get the
>hybrid? Not the cost. Not how much HP. Not what kind of system
>it had, all of which would have been more important in our
>younger days. No, gas mileage is paramount. Changing
>priorities, I tell you...

This is awesome. Too funny.


>And I didn't go hybrid because I wanted to keep my trunk
>space.

I never realized or thought about space with hybrids before, interesting.

>
>>And I didn't go hybrid because I wanted to keep my trunk
>>space.
>
>I never realized or thought about space with hybrids before,
>interesting.

The battery pack has to go somewhere. On a car designed specifically as a hybrid, like a Tesla, the batteries are laid out on the floorpan, which works for space and lowering the center of gravity. Other cars, like the Fusioni, generally stash them in the trunk. Here's a comparison of the Fusion's trunk on a hybrid and on a regular car:

http://www.cars.com/crp/vp/images/13ford_fusion_hybrid/cargo_2up.jpg

>And I didn't go hybrid because I wanted to keep my trunk
>space. The battery pack takes up more room than I like, and
>the car's design already makes fitting stuff in the trunk an
>interesting exercise. Had they released the car as a hatch
>(like the Mondeo is in Europe) it would work much better, but
>they probably wouldn't sell them at all

was a fine piece of engineering.
it looked just like the sedan, but with this HUGE trunk aperture.

I was like, "THAT would sell here"

This is the Fusion
http://image.motortrend.com/f/roadtests/sedans/1201_2013_ford_fusion_first_look/36109669/2013-ford-fusion-side.jpg

This is the Mondeo
http://img2.netcarshow.com/Ford-Mondeo_2015_800x600_wallpaper_22.jpg

Looks a bit more like a Passat CC, but

Fusion's trunk:
http://www.automotiveaddicts.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/2015-ford-fusion-se-dashboard-trunk.jpg

Mondeo's hatch:
http://img2.netcarshow.com/Ford-Mondeo_2015_800x600_wallpaper_5d.jpg

Much easier to access the space back there, as the struts are on the side, rather than the hinges being inside the trunk

- The car is a looker, even in stock trim. But the 5 spoke wheels are like the icing on the cake. My wife things the chrome painted handles and mirror give the car class. The jury is out on that, but it does work with the color of the car and makes it stand out even more from the pack.

- At 40 I'm not sure if I need a spoiler on the trunk of any car I own that's not a 2-seater. That said, between the color and the spoiler it does feel like something I'd drive, considering my first car ('96 Saturn SL2) had the same setup. I'm grown, and so is the car. Or something like that

- The whole 'fast back' or '4 door coupe' thing does look good, but it's not without its drawbacks. I could care less about rear headroom (I'm not going to sit back there much, if ever), but the shape does affect the trunk. Since the rear glass and the body cover what would be the trunk, it makes the trunk opening much smaller and more difficult to get stuff in and out. in addition, the hinges for the trunk take up a lot of room and are covered to keep from damaging your cargo, but it also makes the space weirdly shaped.

- The seats are covered in what Ford calls EcoCloth, which is supposed to be fabric made from some recycled materials. It almost looks and feels like a track suit. My big concern is how it will stand up to daily use. I can just see it getting snagged on something and looking terrible in a matter of months

- Standard car stereos have come a long way in the 11 years since I last had a new set of keys. Then again, with everything integrated, it better sound good. Still, I could see replacing the speakers at some point, just because (assuming they aren't set up like a Bose system anyway...)

- I really want to put some tint on this thing, but I can't tell if the car comes with any kind of tint from the factory already

- On a whole, this is easily the nicest car I've owned, or has been in my family. That's not hard to do considering I've owned 2 Saturns in 19 years. And yet, part of me would almost prefer driving my wife's Focus. It's size and chuckability remind me of that SL2. First cars and first loves tend to stay with you I suppose

_ My Ford Touch is still slooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow

this is an amazing car......head and shoulders better than my 99 Golf, don't know how to compare it to the same year GTI, but the whole experience is way better, and I LOVED that car.
cabin seems much bigger than the 99, but the trunk seems about 50% smaller.

car. And Im not a fan of Fords. But that 2015 has me reconsidering my G37s.

Nicer than a 69-70 Mustang? Hard to say (and it's not like I'd ever have a chance at owning one). But the '15 is definitely the nicest looking since the OPEC crisis

>Nicer than a 69-70 Mustang? Hard to say (and it's not like
>I'd ever have a chance at owning one). But the '15 is
>definitely the nicest looking since the OPEC crisis

>- Switchblade keys are stupid. I like mine, but it's still
>stupid

I always love playing with these but hate the space they take up. I want my key small as possible. My pocket space is a premium, took off the key chain, took off the wireless fob, house key even lives in the car when I'm out. I do tie a piece of string to keys for ease of grabbing. Going for swims and long runs means keys need to be submerged at times. Not sure what this all means the next time I shop for a car. Guess like everyone else parked at the beach my keys will live on one of the tires.

It really is the end of an era which I'm still processing. I drove a Saturn for 19 years. Now it's done. Moved to something better, yes. But it's something else. Can't quite put my finger on it.