Video: 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid

Be sure to check that one out too. Here we're gonna talk about what makes the Fusion Hybrid different from the regular Fusion as well as how it compares to its rival, the Toyota Camry Hybrid. The drive train combines a 2.5 liter, four cylinder with an electric motor. Total output is 191 horsepower. That's about midway between the base four-cylinder Fusion and the Fusion with a three liter V6. Being a full hybrid, the car can run on electric power at low speeds or gasoline power or any combination of the two. You don't have to pull any switches or anything. Just drive it like a normal car and it manages everything automatically. Ford says electric power is possible up to 47 miles per hour. That's pretty impressive. Most hybrids can only do you know, 20 or 30 miles per hour in electric mode, but you'll have to decide if the car rides a little bit too harsh for you. It did for me, especially considering this is a family car, the suspension doesn't damp out those bumps, really all that well. You get into a lot of hybrids and apart from a couple of gauges that maybe show how efficiently you're driving, as well as you know, gas mileage. There's not a lot to really show you that you're in a hybrid. Not the case here. It starts out when you get in with what Ford calls smart gauge with eco guide. These are basically two LCD screens on either side of the speedometer here. They show a whole lot of information and they start in four different levels which have ascending arrays of complexity, depending on how much you want to know. I actually like the final one, empower, the most because it's got this cool gauge here that shows where you're gonna meet the threshold to stop using electric mode and need your engine to kick in. Very useful if you're trying to manage, you know, how much you're really goosing the gas pedal to kind of get up and go. Finally on the right side of the display is what Ford calls efficiency leaves. I call it hybrid shrubbery. Drive more efficiently, more leaves appear. Drive less efficiently and the shrubbery goes bare. I'd watch out 'cause I doubt the Knights who say Ni would accept bare shrubbery. Not sure how much shrubbery you're gonna fit in the trunk. It's only about 12 cubic feet versus 16 and a half for the regular fusion. There's also no folding back seat. And that's all because there's a battery pack that sits here behind the rear seat. Same situation with the Camry Hybrid. That trunk is actually even a little bit smaller than this one. Although there is a small path through there with the backseat folded. The Camry hybrid gets about 34 miles per gallon in overall city highway EPA ratings. The Fusion Hybrid is supposed to get 39. That's significantly better. Ford charges about 27 grand for the Fusion Hybrid for 2010. It's about a thousand dollars more than the 2009 Camry Hybrid, but Ford still qualifies for hybrid tax credits. Toyota doesn't cause they've sold more than the federal cap on those. That means you can knock off about $1,700 from the Fusion Hybrid in tax credits through September of this year. That's 2009. Potentially that makes the Fusion Hybrid less expensive than the Camry Hybrid. Less money, better gas mileage, definitely a car worth checking out. And the ball is now in Toyota's court. <v Narrator>For more car related news, go to cars.com or our blog KickingTires.net.