by Chris Olliff, Senior Editor
Ahhh…the open road. There is nothing quite like taking your first trip in a new car. It is sort of like meeting that guy or girl before the first date….you think you know what to expect, but surprises arise the more you spend time with them. And so it is with a new car, as once you get past the smell and the radio channel programming, you can never “become one” with the car until your first trip. When you say “I Do” and sign the papers, its yours now. There are no give backs, take-aways, or retreats of any kind.
This is well and good, but there is one problem here. There are things about every new car that you find out after ownership, as if the short test drive was just a tease….
I had the opportunity to drive a 2006 Ford Fusion on a 2,200 mile trip. Now, those of you that know me well..you can breathe easily now as I did not buy this car. The car was a loaner, as I decided to let my 1986 BMW rest and sit this one out. During this 6 day adventure, I got to know this Fusion SE well and would like to share some observations with you. I will do a more formal review of this car another time…
The vehicle in question was a 2006, Ford Fusion SE with the 2.3 liter 4 cylinder engine. The main options on this car were a 6 in-dash CD changer, and that’s it. It was gold in color, and did not attract ANY looks at all, not even from Ford Taurus or late 1990s Chevy Lumina owners. I won’t say the car is not modern looking and handsome, it just does not stand out al all. That’s right single Gents….you won’t be picking up ladies with this car!
Here are some things that I noticed over time driving this vehicle:
1) The back window is very small and the third brake light obscures the view of vehicles behind you. Not a very good speeding car, this one, as you can never make out if the car behind you is a cop or not.
2) The chemicals in the rear shelf seemed to evaporate and cause the back window to develop a film over it. I have borrowed this car before, and have to clean this window to see out.
3) The side view mirrors are set low, so they line up ½ half with the door body and the other ½ with the lower part of the side window. Its as if the car was dropped as a baby and things never came back to normal. This creates a weird feeling in the driver’s seat, as if something was left undone.
4) There is no temperature gauge for the outside, as most vehicles offer today. Yes, there is a tidy computer display that tells fuel range, two trip meters, average speed, and two useless timers. Get rid of a timer and provide a proper outside temperature reading. Also, as is the problem in most US made cars, you have to toggle between the trip meter and the odometer…why not just have both displayed on the same screen?
5) The upper storage door in the dash is hard to close. It has a nice rubberized lining to keep things from making noise, but the lining gets caught up around the latch too easily. They should have cut the lining as to not interfere with the latch. My experience with this was so bad; I thought the storage useless…
What did I like? The car has a very large trunk, and it has a long fuel range. You can drive from Atlanta to Jacksonville on one tank! I also liked the seats, as I had no back
or leg pains after 10 hours of driving. And, finally, the stereo
sounded great and had good bass.
So, there is my list of observations that came about during my 2,200 mile trip with the Ford Fusion SE. Are these issues enough for me to phone my divorce lawyer?... no…but they never would have been seen as loud and clear on the initial test drive….
I wonder what it would be like if we could all drive our best new car pick 2000 miles before purchasing. Would we still say “I DO”…. ?
- Chris Olliff
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