Ford hasn’t told us when we’ll see the 2017 Fusion Sport on dealer lots, but it does want us to know how the 325-horsepower sedan alters its personality.
The top-shelf performance variant of Ford’s midsize family hauler lets its hair down with the press of a single button, which switches seven settings from “Jekyll” mode to “Hyde.”
Powered by a twin-turbo 2.7-liter Ecoboost V6 making 325 hp and 380 pounds-feet of torque, Ford bills the all-wheel-drive Fusion Sport as the most powerful vehicle in its class. When announced in June, some would-be buyers of certain German sedans might have seen it as a less-expensive alternative.
The automaker released an image today that shows where, and how, the magic happens. In the center of the new rotary dial shifter lies the sport mode button. When pressed, seven things happen.
First, the suspension tightens up, with continuously controlled dampers flattening the sedan during hard cornering. Cabin sound-deadening measures are designed to be defeated by the Ecoboost motor (Ford promises an “entertaining” engine note). The steering feedback responds to match the performance settings, while the sedan’s paddle shifters become fully enabled, leaving the driver in full control of gear changes.
The real news lies in the drivetrain. When in sport mode, the engine quickens throttle response, while the transmission does everything it can to hold lower gears, especially during cornering and braking. Downshifts while braking are rev-matched for smoothness, and the tranny will hold a gear after the driver lifts off the accelerator. Overall, the transmission is “aggressively” programmed to hold lower gears for maximum torque.
To top it all off, a sport mode icon also appears in the gauge cluster, which is hardly a setting worth mentioning, Ford. Okay, six vehicle functions that actually matter will see important changes when in sport mode.
The Fusion Sport carries a MSRP of $33,475, and is clearly positioned as a performance bargain. Ford hasn’t released a full list of specifications for the model, which goes on sale sometime this fall.
[Image: Ford Motor Company]
The one video review I saw, the Fusion Sport was “only” able to pull a 5.6 0-60. Maybe some better driving and break in could lower the number? Hopefully it isn’t a bit slower than the overweight SHO.
5.6 in a video probably translates to 5.1 in Car and Driver or Motortrend after they hit it with their condition adjustment formulas.
Really, I’d love a publication to go to an airport runway and run the Fusion Sport, Charger R/T, Accord V6, and 328i against each other head-to-head for 0-100-0.
Make it happen TTAC! I’ll lend my Charger to the cause.
Add a GTI PP in there too.
Why the 328i? Surely a 335i would have a more comparable engine.
Probably price. All are mid-30s. Look up what a base 335I costs if you want to puke.
Sad thing is, even a 328i with Xdrive would be slightly faster than this 5.6 number if true. It cant be, though–it would only be slightly faster than a FWD V-6 camry.
…on a wet runway too!
Unless they couldnt get traction (even WITH AWD???) or did a street launch (5-60 in C&D, MT, whatever) 5.6 is wayyy to slow a 0-60 time. The porky Edge, with the same engine, does 0-60 in 5.6-5.7.
I’m guessing C&D/MT/AW get in the 4s, easy. If this car, with its beast motor cant get near S3 levels, there is seriously something wrong.
its true. Torrie from UnleashedTuning tracked it and he got very similar numbers.
I deeply suspect it’s more detuned then normal to keep it out of the SHO and mustang sandbox.
Butm have no fear, Torrie and or Livernois will fix that and well see 13s 1/4-miles and 4.9 and 5.0 second 60’s
Wow, if they cant do better than 5.6, this is a massive fail on Ford’s end IMHO. 5.6 is Audi A3 quattro (not S3) territory, and would get beaten by a FWD V6 MT Accord coupe. If memory serves, the 2.0EB Fusion would be hanging on your bumper. (very low sixes I believe)
Heck, you would be fighting off soccer moms in Edges with the same motor as mentioned before. Some “Sport” model. I’m still hoping that their test mule was dialing back boost for some reason that will get fixed, or the intercooler was heatsoaked.
It is not a “can’t” but a won’t. the Execs don’t want this to be competitive with the SHO or the Mustang.
From what I’ve read on the intrawebs, the issue seems to be torque-limiting in the first few gears to preserve a driveline that is apparently at or near its limit. Which also, if true, means the only power upgrades you’ll be doing will be extremely costly.
If this is all true, I’m suddenly happy I didnt wait for this car—had such high hopes with the 2.7TT being such an overachiever in heavy vehicles such as the F150 and Edge. Bleh. Luckily, I needed a new car months before these would have hit the lot.
Reminds me of the “go baby go” button in the last-gen M5.
It would be so much cooler if the light on the dash said “Jekyll/Hyde”.
Then it would be a Dodge.
The Fusion Sport has all kinds of potential to be awesome so I really hope Ford doesn’t mess this up.
Being AWD, is torque steer a problem? If it were FWD, the RevoKnuckle front suspension would definitely be a requirement.
I’d note that my XC70 has a 300HP/325lb-ft turbo 6, and no noticeable torque steer despite a 95% front bias on power.
A properly designed FWD system (or FWD-based AWD system) just shouldn’t have significant torque steer, especially in 2016 with computer control.
My experience with this platform (via driving a number of MKZs) is that the AWD almost completely banishes the awful torque steer of the FWD variants.
It’s not because of AWD, it’s because of active suspension.
(Oversimplification warning!) Torque steer is a symptom of changing front-end geometry when the front lifts under acceleration.
It’s very common with MacPherson struts because the upper steering pivot isn’t directly above the lower steering pivot, and the imaginary line joining the two doesn’t necessarily go through the center of the tire’s contact patch.
Two ways of fighting this: design a better suspension, which manufacturers have been doing; and limit acceleration lift with a stiffer suspension. Active electronic suspensions let manufacturers stiffen the suspension under heavy acceleration, while leaving it more comfortable the other 99.9% of the time.
So, what is the torque split good for then?
I can’t really speak to specifics of suspension design, I can only tell you that the 2014 3.7 FWD MKZ I rented had nasty, and I mean *nasty* torque steer that is completely absent in my 2014 3.7 AWD MKZ. If there are suspension differences, we can certainly point to those as the reason, but, if not, it *has* to be the torque split sending much of the power to the rear wheels.
It could be something as simple as wheel offset, or spring rates, or you may have experienced wheel slip. It’s also possible that the torque split hardware/software in the AWD version is a lot better at stability control. There’s so much going on that only a few engineers at Ford would know for sure.
Additional engine noise and a dedicated cluster light? YGTBSM.
The sole concern of certain German sedan drivers should be avoiding the bros and sad dads in thrall to Mitty-esque fantasies of carving up traffic because as their seat time increases, the probability of said bros and sad dads wrecking your German sedan approaches unity.
You talk prettier than a $20 whore.
Big spender.
I think we should all approach unity. Wouldn’t that be nice?
*C’mon people now, smile on your brother…*
God Bless Us Everyone!
I’d like to buy the world a Coke.
I like that paint color, anyway.
2. We still electronically alter the engine sound because #fake
Read it again, it just does away with active noise cancellation. In other words, it isn’t fake, it’s just what you would hear if Ford hadn’t tried to make the car quiet and civilized.
there are two things in play, Active Noise Control (ANC) and Engine Sound Enhancement (ESE,) both done by the same hardware. ANC works to suppress ambient noises, while ESE does some minor “shaping” of the sound you hear from the powertrain, reducing the less pleasant sounds while “enhancing” the more pleasant ones. It’s not creating an engine sound out of whole cloth.
I’ve noticed this feature on my MKZ. In sport mode at full throttle, you get a nice growl.
These are already in driveways & garages.
It is pieces like this that create a sense of ehem, bias.
Push this button and among the more useful things that happen is we pipe in more sounds of the Grand Prix through the stereo and a light comes on in the dashboard so you can feel like Michael Knight using turbo boost in KITT.
Oh, and the paddle shifters don’t “time out,” so you can use them anytime you want — so otherwise you can’t?
If GM put this exact same list of features in the Malibu or Impala there would be 100 replies of snark on the pointless features of piped in sound, light on the dashboard, and the revelation that paddle shifters are disabled.
In many (most?) flappy paddle automatics, even the dual-clutch variety, if you use the paddles in normal “Drive” modes it will set itself back to full automatic mode after X seconds. It’s an exaggerated way to call out that in Sport mode that isn’t going to happen.
The Sport mode on my MKZ does most of these things. The paddles are in full-manual mode (excepting the ability to shift into a gear that would rev beyond the redline). Steering weights up a fair bit and the ride gets much tighter. I’ve never known it to upshift in a curve and throttle response is definitely more lively.
I leave my car in Sport mode almost all the time, switching out only for the NYC pothole derby and the stretches on the superslab.
If it helps, I think most of that list is ridiculous.
I don’t care much about the sport mode … but I do really, really like the idea of the Fusion with the 2.7TT engine.
Like, “would strongly consider for next sedan”.
“If GM put this exact same list of features in the Malibu or Impala there would be 100 replies of snark on the pointless features…”
I hold GM to a higher standard because I like them more. If the Ford fans want to have a love in anytime Dearborn does something, then whatever.
In this case, I’m just glad Ford built a 325hp sedan for under $35K.
Yeah, double standards suck, don’t they?
All you can do at this point is keep calling them out as they occur.
horse-pucky. It’s clear that among the B&B, “bias” means “you said something not-bad about something I don’t like.”
And it is comments like this that create a sense of disgruntled fanboys…
In all seriousness, I thought this car was a waste of time from the get go, and based on this post, it’s apparently full of stupid gimmicks, as well. Ford’s going to need more than a hokey sport button and fake engine sounds to make an enthusiast model with actual mass market appeal. For starters, they have to actually market the thing; I couldn’t tell you the last time I saw a Fusion ad and I can’t see that changing after the barely noticeable refresh for the car’s 5th year on sale.
The Accord V6 is constantly held up as some sort of performance gold standard by which all other sub 40k sedans must be judged, yet I’m pretty sure the only reason anybody ever buys one is because it’s the only way to get any Accord with desired option combination X thanks to Honda’s hateful pricing structure. Meanwhile, I haven’t seen a new V6 Camry on the road forever, and its rare to see an Altima without barcode stickers in the windows, regardless of engine. Ditto on the turbo Sonata, less so on the Optima. So, I really can’t understand why Ford is bothering.
If General Motors produced a similar Malibu/Impala, they’d deserve every bit of snark that comes their way. Why? Because they’ve failed for so long at even pretending to look like they were trying in this segment that they’re at best ignored, and at worst a complete joke to most buyers. I actually like the new Malibu and thought the last one was pretty decent based on repeat rentals. Yet, the best GM can come up with to try and sell this car is those lame focus group ads. Thinking that a bigger motor and Nurenburgerking suspension tuning is going to improve the bottom line is…the exact mix of arrogance and idiocy I’ve come to expect from GM, so I’m shocked they haven’t done it (again) yet.
“Nurenburgerking suspension tuning” – priceless
Ford is bothering because the cost to throw the 2.7TT in this vehicle is basically nothing and they’ll sell a few more high dollar Fusions post-midcycle refresh.
you’re not going to move the needle against people who get together and argue about cars they’re never going to buy anyway.
So, you thought the car was a waste of time…because you don’t see Fusion ads and you “can’t see that changing after a barely-noticeable refresh” on a car highly praised for its good looks that sells very well with higher transaction prices than its main competition? Okay. So, you hated the car for no reason, now you’re being cynical about it to justify your opinion.
“Ford’s going to need more than a hokey sport button and fake engine sounds to make an enthusiast model with actual mass market appeal. ”
So, the “more” that they need would be all the things you neglected to mention, like more aggressive throttle response and transmission behavior in sport mode, a twin turbocharged V-6, AWD, stuff like that? I sure wish they would’ve thought of that. Its really a shame that this whole package is just a button that does nothing.
Look, I get it, you’re pissed off at everyone and everything, and you desperately want us to know that. I don’t know who hurt you, who cheated you, who pissed in your corn flakes, and frankly, I don’t care. Being angry and hateful all the time is not a healthy place to be. Most of all, its pointless, especially here. Ford builds a sport version of their highly successful and often-praised midsize car, and that gets you all in a huff? There are bigger fish to fry, dude, this isn’t worth getting all pissy and out of sorts over.
“Look, I get it, you’re pissed off at everyone and everything, and you desperately want us to know that.”
Really? You got all that from a couple of snarky comments about sport buttons on a V6 family car?
“I don’t know who hurt you, who cheated you, who pissed in your corn flakes, and frankly, I don’t care.”
Actually, I’m pretty sure you do care, or else you wouldn’t have authored this rambling tome.
“Being angry and hateful all the time is not a healthy place to be.”
Do tell. Sounds like you’re an expert.
“Most of all, its pointless, especially here.”
Oh it’s pointless alright…
“Ford builds a sport version of their highly successful and often-praised midsize car, and that gets you all in a huff?”
And the truth comes out: my bowl of cornflakes isn’t the one full of urine. For the record, I’m a Ford owner and I like the Fusion overall; Try jumping to conclusions less often.
“There are bigger fish to fry, dude, this isn’t worth getting all pissy and out of sorts over.”
The irony of you lecturing me about this, after personally attacking me for voicing a negative opinion about your sacred cow, is rich.
Lighten up, Francis.
re: “If General Motors produced a similar Malibu/Impala”
…they could call it the Celebrity Eurosport!
This isn’t an ST car. This is a higher trim Ford vehicle with a bigger engine and Sport badging. It’s exactly the same concept as the Explorer Sport and Edge Sport. I’d buy it because it is that. I wish GM would throw the 3.6TT in an Epsilon (non-XTS) or Lambda. How about a hot Cruze?
I don’t pay attention to this marketing because a 325 hp Fusion is a good thing. I don’t care about the sport mode BS. We need more of this, not less.
“I wish GM would throw the 3.6TT in an Epsilon”
Yea, I could live with a turbo 3.6L Impala/Lacrosse or *any* V6 Regal.
You’re funny, thinking the Regal deserves or needs a V6. Be happy with the 4!
But, Adam, its a Ford. Any positive news is bias, plain and simple. If it doesn’t say Toyota or Lexus on it, *OR* it doesn’t have 450 hp with no turbo or di, doesn’t get 45 mpg, doesn’t have the interior room of a 1966 Galaxie with the handling of a Miata, the build quality/materials of a Rolls, and at the price of a modestly equipped Civic, its crap.
GM hasn’t followed Ford’s lead in expanding Ecotec turbo engines. I do hanker for a LF3 3.6TT in a Theta or Lambda.
The 3.0TT MKZ still seems like a worthwhile upgrade to me, and might have attractive lease options at the end of December when the only visitors at the Lincoln sections of dealerships are the tumbleweeds.
I dont know man. In smiles per dollar a well equipped charger r/t seems like the way to go…
Wait… so all of this to say that, basically, this car has a sport mode button? This is what passes for “magic” at Ford? Please.
Where are the sexy binders from the GT350? Gotta have some sizzle on the steak even if it adds a little unsprung weight!
On a slightly more serious note since this seems like the spiritual successor to the SVT Contour and old school SHO (albeit in blown AWD guise) You would think they would share a little Brembo love with this model as well.
I know it doesn’t really make a difference in the raw numbers just pedal feel and pad wear but on the Behemouth SHO it was a bit of a let down when all I saw were plain old floating calipers fore and aft.
Then again I’m probably just misjudging the segment…
Me: Nice Fusion Sport
Mr. Fusion Sport: Yeah its turbocharged and all-wheel-drive!
Me: Nice man!
Mr. Fusion Sport: You got a Fusion?
Me: Mustang.
Mr. Fusion Sport: Those muscle cars don’t really handle like these do! What kind of Mustang is it?
Me: Shelby GT350
Mr. Fusion Sport: …
Me: …
Mr. Fusion Sport: Man that’s still got a V8 in it right, should have went for the turbocharged Mustang or a Fusion Sport, this thing will probably run circles around that muscle car of yours.
Me: …
Do you flatter yourself so blatantly in all your imaginary conversations?
Me: Hi there
Really hot chick: Hey, stud, you’re so amazing in bed. Will you PLEASE sleep with me and my twin sister tonight?
Me: Again? I suppose, but you’ll have to make me breakfast in the morning.
All the time, every once and awhile someone happens along and plays their part in my imaginary encounter.
Never the hot chick thing though that usually goes something like this;
Me: Damn, she’s pretty hot.
Me again: Hah never forget get that dude walking into the mall one time that told a pretty hot chick “she was one fine looking hoe” Those wacky kids!
Me again again: Oh yeah it sucks sitting around in intensive care.
Me again again again: Damn this is a tasty beer!
What’s a Behemouth SHO?
The D3 Taurus SHO, such a big car. I thought the SHO was kinda neat and I figured since it was the top performance trim for that car Ford would put something fancy on the car when it came to a brake package but it also used twin piston floating calipers in he front and single piston floating calipers in the rear which is kind of a head scratcher to me since the Mustang in V8 of the same vintage had access to Brembo front binders outside of the special edition cars (Shelby and Boss).
It just made the SHO package seem kind of incomplete.
Oh, okay, *behemoth.* It is a shame that the Taurus isn’t any bigger inside than the Fusion.
It isn’t? 122.3 cu.ft isn’t bigger than 118.8 cu.ft.? Seems like it is. The trunk is also like 4 cu.ft. bigger. Granted, those differences aren’t that great, but to say or imply it isn’t any bigger at all is disingenuous.
Could the Taurus be roomier? Yes, but the sooner everyone stops exaggerating about how tiny it is, the better.
The passenger volume on the Fusion is greater than the Taurus (102.8 vs 102.2).
The numbers you are citing are *total* volume which includes trunk space. The Taurus does have a huge trunk, but the places where people actually sit is slightly smaller than the Fusion.
ford.com/cars/fusion/specifications/capacities/
ford.com/cars/taurus/specifications/capacities/
the D-car knuckles can’t mount fixed calipers.
“Ford hasn’t told us when we’ll see the 2017 Fusion Sport on dealer lots…”
Hmmm…there are quite a few on lots already, at least here in CA.
Quite a few in Texas too.
For Anyone who wants to own one and eat up just about anything from light to light. Call vp racing fuels. Ask what q16 or equivalent is. Order a 55 gallon drum. Call Mike at mpt. Tell him you want data log and have a barrel of vp. Your Sundays just became race day.
Wonder how much boost the driveline will take?
These things could be beasts with a tune.
“Goes wild”? Its nothing new and hardly meaningful. God TTAC suddenly became worse than Autoblog for phony click bait subject wording. Stop it!
One button? My 89 stang once got a money spider crushed between the switch contacts of the driver’s window. Never had this happen in any other vehicle. Could see this happening to me with ovals sport switch.
Focus RS Thx.
Back in the 80’s you could get a Camry with a “sport” button, it didnt have a sporty engine or anything extra, just a button, it was silly then as it is silly now.
Not that I mind having extra buttons in a world of touch screens and constant updates.
My Cressida has a sport button too, it lets the trans shift at higher RPM, that’s all. My Lexus has an ECT Sport button that is actually useful as a ‘push-to-pass’ function. This car could be a cheaper alternative to the Lexus IS350 AWD I drove, has more power to be sure. The IS had similar changes to the paddle shifter and the blip downshift under the ultra-sport mode. I found it all kind of annoying and could go quicker with just leaving it in regular sport mode.
This a good effort for Ford. Not the chezzy electronic but the power and delivery. I think that the Fusion is on full platform remodel from being great. The new platform will allow them to address the head room issue and some of the electronic gremlins as well as overall fit and finish. With the new 10 and 9 speeds coming in the next two or three years expect them to help the Fusion with about a 200lb weight loss to be better overall.
“Ford hasn’t told us when we’ll see the 2017 Fusion Sport on dealer lots…”
I know a guy that walked into our local dealer here and bought one off the lot. The dealer near my previous home in SC had two in the showroom.
They’re out already.
They are definitely out already, and have been for several weeks. I know because I bought one. Despite some of the silly things in this ad, I can’t fathom how some of the apparent experts in this comments section can get so wound up over something they know nothing about. Just so you know, Sport mode changes the personality of the car significantly. It doesn’t pipe in fake sounds; it turns off the the noise cancellation that exists in normal drive mode. The car responds noticeably faster and handles more sharply in Sport. For those of us who are not always drag racing the car this is ideal. I don’t need the rev matched downshifts and tighter suspension when I’m loafing along in traffic. However, when you hit a nice patch of road, you hit the “S” button and the car transforms. Not only is this a good thing, it’s a feature virtually all of the higher end German sport sedans have in one form or another. But I guess they are all idiots too and are only praised because reviewers are biased against GM.
Excellent, finally a first hand review of the car! It amazes me there are no magazine reviews at all as at this date.
How does it ride in normal mode over bumps with the 19″ wheels? Can you equate the normal mode ride and quietness to some other cars for comparison? In sport mode, how is passing speed (eg: 50/60 to 80 MPH or therebouts), again compared to other cars?
Thank you for an educated retort to these “experts” who possess only ignorant opinions.
I just test-drove one a couple of weeks ago, and I’d say that you’re spot-on as far as how the Sport button affects the car’s character. These could be the performance bargain of the year.
Please submit a more detailed review, I would love to read it.
How does the exhaust sound? Hopefully Ford gave it an exhaust note fitting for quad tips.
Ford finally has a sensible family of engines and is putting it in everything.
The VW 2.0T model just….Americanized.
Ford hasn’t told you guys when it’ll be out??? It’s been available on dealer lots for over a month in both the US and Canada… The Canadian spec is just a fully loaded US model.
The enhanced throttle response is the exact opposite of what someone engaged in performance driving actually wants.
Now, instead of being able to modulate the throttle, every little sneeze triggers crazy throttle application.
Very annoying.
That depends on how good the throttle response was in the first place.
Ford, please, please, please add an optional 6-speed manual transmission to this car! It will not put sales through the roof, but I bet you will see some shoppers in your dealerships who returned their leased Audi’s, BMW’s, and Jaguars, looking for the next fun car do drive and having no stick option offered anymore.
They offered a stick shift in the pre-facelift model with the 1.6 EB. Nobody bought it. There is no manual transmission that can bolt up to the 2.7 EB.
Getrag makes a transmission that, in theory, could bolt up to the 2.7TT. It would be similar to the six speed in the Focus ST/RS. I doubt Ford would want to do that though.
I stand corrected (well, I’m sitting). Which trans is that?
Getrag-Ford MMT6. It’s used in both the ST and RS. I’m not saying that Ford has bolted it up to the 2.7TT or the Fusion Sport, but it can handle the torque of the RS, and it is the manual transmission Ford tends to use for FWD performance apllications.
http://www.fordparts.com/Commerce/PartDetail.aspx?n=%2bnAznMIYb2szYXngQKhnAA%3d%3d&id=390010225&m=44&search=true&year=2016&make=Ford&model=Focus
Oh man. A 6-speed Fusion Sport might be enough to get me back on the sport sedan train.
Let’s Frankenstein the RS’s manual transmission into the Fusion Sport!
The non-V6 2017 Fusion Titanium I rented a week ago had a sport-mode button that did all these same things save for the damping adjustment. More pointless clickbait from Stephbot.
So, aside from the fancy suspension changes, it does the exact same thing as sport mode in my Jeep Grand Cherokee.
What an accomplishment Ford. You always are on the cutting edge .
This story was quite successful and getting clicks and engagement for little work. This sport button basically does the same thing as every other sport button.
It would be nice if you had more control of what the button does; for example, maybe I want the changes to the power train but don’t want the stiffened suspension.
Why the hell aren’t there any reviews of this car if they are already in dealer lots and customer driveways? It seems like something enthusiast sites would pick up on.
I’ll be driving one tomorrow and I’ll submit a test drive review to Mark.