Hi, Guest
Lemme sum it up in point-form, and these are my opinions... YMMV:
Focus: great handling, Duratec makes for snappy performance (esp. over SPI), great brakes, excellent fuel economy, good re-fresh of the 1st gen. body, heated seats/mirrors, traction control and ABS standard, 50-series tires standard, classic Focus dash (good), better roadside (5 year)
Fusion (2.3L): decent performance, droning engine noise, ugly-sounding intake, squishy suspension, overly-firm anti-sways, ugly rear end, no heated seats or mirrors (for decent price), good dash cluster, horrid seats, numb brakes, lack of gear selection in auto, no T/C, had to get 2006 to get incentives.
In a nutshell, we felt coddled in the Fusion and not encouraged to drive. In the Focus, the 16" 50-series tires and excellent suspension enable you to drive more enthusiastically, right off the lot.
The Fusion has more highway pull, but you can't select gears hardly. I know they're slushboxen, but if I want to pick a gear... let me!
Plus, it's either a Fusion with no TCS, no heated seats / mirrors and s***tier seats or a loaded Focus with a weaker sound system. Seriously, the weakest part of the Focus is the sound system. That's easily fixed with 300-500 dollars' worth of speakers for the doors, a proper 4-channel amp and a new headunit. You could arguably do the same to the Fusion, but then you still have a car that handles like a newborn calf AND has no TCS.
Plus, if I wanted the "handling" setup of the SEL 2.3L, it's at least 27Gs before the auto. No thanks, my Focus was $20Gs off the lot with the auto, and that's before my extra rebates and bonuses.
Plus, I still think the ass of the car looks hideous. Every time I catch myself wondering about the Fusion, I just say, "Could you really live with yourself when you have to wake up next to that ass every morning?" :blink:
That's like saying would I be happy if I had stayed with my ex. But not as bad. Nowhere near as bad.
The Fusion will do well for lots of folks who want to have a decent amount of room in a car, more than a Focus, who want to look trendy and who are ready to leave the stock performance handling arena.
Thankfully I don't really fit that demographic.
Focus: great handling, Duratec makes for snappy performance (esp. over SPI), great brakes, excellent fuel economy, good re-fresh of the 1st gen. body, heated seats/mirrors, traction control and ABS standard, 50-series tires standard, classic Focus dash (good), better roadside (5 year)
Fusion (2.3L): decent performance, droning engine noise, ugly-sounding intake, squishy suspension, overly-firm anti-sways, ugly rear end, no heated seats or mirrors (for decent price), good dash cluster, horrid seats, numb brakes, lack of gear selection in auto, no T/C, had to get 2006 to get incentives.
In a nutshell, we felt coddled in the Fusion and not encouraged to drive. In the Focus, the 16" 50-series tires and excellent suspension enable you to drive more enthusiastically, right off the lot.
The Fusion has more highway pull, but you can't select gears hardly. I know they're slushboxen, but if I want to pick a gear... let me!
Plus, it's either a Fusion with no TCS, no heated seats / mirrors and s***tier seats or a loaded Focus with a weaker sound system. Seriously, the weakest part of the Focus is the sound system. That's easily fixed with 300-500 dollars' worth of speakers for the doors, a proper 4-channel amp and a new headunit. You could arguably do the same to the Fusion, but then you still have a car that handles like a newborn calf AND has no TCS.
Plus, if I wanted the "handling" setup of the SEL 2.3L, it's at least 27Gs before the auto. No thanks, my Focus was $20Gs off the lot with the auto, and that's before my extra rebates and bonuses.
Plus, I still think the ass of the car looks hideous. Every time I catch myself wondering about the Fusion, I just say, "Could you really live with yourself when you have to wake up next to that ass every morning?" :blink:
That's like saying would I be happy if I had stayed with my ex. But not as bad. Nowhere near as bad.
The Fusion will do well for lots of folks who want to have a decent amount of room in a car, more than a Focus, who want to look trendy and who are ready to leave the stock performance handling arena.
Thankfully I don't really fit that demographic.
Daily driver 1: 2007 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport "S"
33" BFG Mud-Terrain KM2s, lots of Rough Country gear - bumper, 2.5" lift, swaybar disconnects, Superwinch 10,000lb winch, Detroit Locker in rear D44 axle, custom exhaust, K+N filtercharger, Superchips-tuned.
Daily driver 2: 2006 Subaru Legacy GT
COBB Stage 1+ package - AccessPort tuner, COBB intake and airbox. Stage 2 coming shortly - COBB 3" AT stainless DP and race cat, custom 3" Magnaflow-based exhaust and Stage 2 COBB tune.
33" BFG Mud-Terrain KM2s, lots of Rough Country gear - bumper, 2.5" lift, swaybar disconnects, Superwinch 10,000lb winch, Detroit Locker in rear D44 axle, custom exhaust, K+N filtercharger, Superchips-tuned.
Daily driver 2: 2006 Subaru Legacy GT
COBB Stage 1+ package - AccessPort tuner, COBB intake and airbox. Stage 2 coming shortly - COBB 3" AT stainless DP and race cat, custom 3" Magnaflow-based exhaust and Stage 2 COBB tune.