The Ford Fusion has worked its way up from an eager new face to a mainstay of a resurgent American brand. The 2013 Ford Fusion improves on the old design, and reviewers agree it has finally come into its own.
"The second-generation Fusion, with its rakish style and engaging performance, belongs on any midsize sedan shopping list," writes Lawrence Ulrich in the New York Times. "Judged strictly on performance, the Ford is a marvel. It is a bona fide driver's car, the rare family sedan that loves a curve-chucking detour on the way to work. The chassis, suspension, brakes and steering all rank at the top of the class, or near it. The Fusion sets the sporty sedan standard over formidable new rivals like the Nissan Altima and Volkswagen Passat, leaving the Honda Accord as its closest competitor."
Forbes' Matthew de Paula agrees the Fusion is one of the top vehicles in its class. "The 2013 Ford Fusion is one of the best family sedans I've driven," he writes, comparing it favorably to the Honda Accord and the Nissan Altima. "The ride is impressively smooth, supple and well controlled. It feels more settled and substantial than the lithe Accord, yet more responsive and controlled than the Altima."
"The Ford Fusion has better steering feel than either the Accord or the Altima; it is thankfully devoid of the disconnected video-game-controller quality that most electric power-steering systems exhibit these days," de Paula added.
Car and Driver is more ambivalent. "The all-new car is easily the best looking mid-size four-door the company has ever built and maybe the best looking mainstream sedan yet from an American company," writes John Pearley Huffman.
But then come the caveats. "Under the stunning sheetmetal, the 2013 Fusion is a strictly conventional front- or all-wheel-drive, transverse engine, mid-size family car. Peel back the Fusion's sultry shell and its insides are cold, and we're not talking about the HVAC system. The interior is almost antiseptic in its stark decoration-it's all textured black plastic, silvery trim, and electronic displays, and things look even more sterile with the MyFord Touch system aboard, when the knobs and buttons that control the climate-control and sound systems are swapped for a single rubberized membrane on the center stack."
But Edmunds extols the virtues of the line, offering the 2013 version a "B" grade overall. "In reviews, we've been very impressed by the latest Ford Fusion. The European-flavored driving experience we enjoyed in the previous version is fully intact, meaning the current Fusion boasts a comfortable ride along with engaging, composed handling. The steering furthers this impression with its sharp, communicative nature. Furthermore, it's hard to go wrong with any of the Fusion's three engine choices (not to mention the hybrid), but as expected the turbocharged ones deserve extra credit for their ability to blend spirited performance with impressive fuel efficiency."