2007 Ford FusionAs this is being written, the last Taurus is rolling out of Ford. The Taurus is dead. But let's not be too quick to say 'long live the Fusion.
Not because it's a bad car. On the contrary, there are many things in its favor. Our test model, with the four-cylinder 2.3-liter engine and five-speed manual transmission is comfortable, quiet, and as unwilling to visit a gas station as Al Gore. For pounding the highways on a daily basis, there are hundreds of worse choices.
Its looks are the equivalent of Pam Beesly from The Office: plain and inoffensive, yet pleasant nonetheless. The quality of materials seems just one or two degrees better than you might expect for this price bracket. And apart from having the controls for the cruise control and audio systems on the wrong sides of the steering wheel, the Fusion is ergonomically on the button.
You see where we're going with this? It's too easy to damn the Fusion with faint praise. While the chassis is safe, grippy and pliant, any kind of fun seems to have been dialed out. There's a feeling that this car is the result of market research focus groups and committees and therefore unfocused in its appeal-trying to be many things to many people.
It's tough, because if Ford had produced something more polarizing, it would get criticized for that too. So let's just say that if you want to haul people, but not ass, then by all means get a Fusion. Just make sure it's a really good deal.
Originally the plan was to take the Fusion to Mexico in search of fish tacos and the stolen TEIN Civic Si (long story). But when those plans fell through, we took it racing instead. The Fusion served as our race transportation for the 24 Hours of LeMons (page 86) and shuttled two drivers and a ton of gear over 800 miles in three days. Though filled to the headliner with a full set of race tires and wheels, one EZ UP, two tables, eight beach chairs, three helmets, a race gas filler, and luggage for two--the car still managed the 330-mile journey back, and a roundtrip to the office the next day, on a single tank of gas (about 420 miles). It may not be good for sporty driving, but there is no question that the Fusion is good at what it does.-Ed.