In fact, after mentioning my surprise at the interior of my tester (the SEL V6 AWD), I should now possibly eat a little humble pie, because after spending a while in the car, and having a better opportunity to study the interior up close, it actually grows on you. The highlighted stitching on the leather seats makes a real statement for the vehicle, and the feature list is rather long for the Fusion, so there appears to be plenty of value in the car.

Speaking of that, the Fusion SE (base model) starts around the $24k mark, which makes it sound rather tempting to me. Moving on up, the top-of-the-line SEL pulls away at around the $30k. Mind you, my tester, which had all the toys, topped out at just shy of $36k, which places it in competition with some real Euro models. The Saturn Aura pops to mind straight away, but then again, I think that most loyal Ford buyers might look elsewhere before they ventured into a Saturn dealership.

I found the Fusion to be a nice car to drive.

The sticker price on my tester, the AWD SEL, also puts it rather close to a few real European manufacturers' products. Mind you, somehow I don't see many companies offering you the same incentive packages which Ford are famous for, so the final bottom line would almost certainly prove in favor of the blue oval.

All in all, I found the Fusion to be a nice car to drive. It is a very comfortable vehicle on the road, especially at highway speeds. Now I'm not going to tell you that it handles like a sports car, after all, it's designed to be a family car, but I'd call it a family ride with a good dollop of flair.

It also carries some very useful features, such as Ford's wonderful Sync System, that you won't find on other manufacturer's offerings.

Of course, the Fusion isn't quite as big as the old Taurus family car of the past, but as anyone will tell you...Downsizing is now in fashion.

I'd say that if you're in the market for a nice family four door, then you should do yourself a favor and check out the Ford Fusion. I truly think that it is a stylish family vehicle that anyone would be proud to have parked in their driveway.


Photo Credit : Kevin Corrigan