Eco-Efficient Intelligence
These new features on the 2017 Fusion will make you feel good.
- Fusion Energi has an EPA estimated 610-mile range2
- SmartGauge® with EcoGuide can help enhance efficiency
- Ford is America’s best-selling plug-in hybrid brand6
2017 Ford Fusion hybrid & Energi
with innovative and efficient hybrid and electric vehicles
These new features on the 2017 Fusion will make you feel good.
The Ford carbon-reduction strategy includes a remarkable pollution-reducing transformation. Here’s how it may work.
from factory emissions to a waste recycling facility, instead of being fully released into the air.
CO2 is polymerized and combined with additives to produce high-quality plastics.
The plastic is then molded by injection into whatever shape Ford engineers require.
These durable plastic parts—including cupholders, shifters and seats—will be installed in new Ford cars in the near future.
Private Cash Offer toward a new Ford now1
Fusion Energi drives the scenic Cascade Loop wholly on plug-in power
The sea of Douglas firs is getting thicker and thicker. The peaks of the North Cascades mountain range are no longer a snow-capped horizon glimpsed through the windshield of our Ford Fusion Energi. We’re in the wilderness, and yet we’re just two hours away from downtown Seattle; an hour away from a desert lake; and less than 30 minutes from an electric charging station. Such is the uniqueness of the Cascade Loop, a 440-mile scenic byway in Washington State. The highway passes through multiple climates and terrains, from coastal towns and beaches to mountain passes, rolling desert roads to glacial lakes. The scenery puts it on a par with some of the most stunning road trips in the continental United States. But what sets it apart might not be its evergreen foliage and glacial lakes but the fact that the whole loop is now designated as “electrified,” with charging stations spaced at a maximum distance of 60 miles apart.
The green-thinking attitude of locals in this part of the world, along with the presence of a multitude of hydroelectric plants, makes this one of the most electric-vehicle-friendly parts of the U.S.—and one of the most logical places for America’s first fully electrified, continuous-loop byway. A perfect vehicle to take advantage of the loop’s plug-in stations, mountain-hugging hairpins and long stretches of open desert road? Easy. We ’re in it: The Fusion Energi, with an EPA-estimated total driving range of 610 miles7 on one full charge and a tank of gas, was almost purpose-built for a trip like this. With the benefit of the EV Mode button, which allows drivers to switch from electric to gas or combination, there is no vehicle better equipped for the challenge of a 440-mile loop of road. We can plug in at all the attractions along the way—or have the option to use gas if needed.
From Seattle, we drive east, heading out along Highway 2, taking in the evergreens and snowy tips of the Cascade Mountains before dropping down into old-timey Winthrop. The four-and-a-half-hour drive highlights the most appealing part of this trip as a family outing: You can be hiking to glaciers in the morning and swimming in desert lakes in the afternoon. From Winthrop, the loop crosses back into the North Cascades, taking on the hairpin turns and exhilarating inclines of the Washington Pass, which the Fusion Energi eats up with glee. Next we take in the final step, Whidbey Island, a drive that offers beach towns and views along with a quintessential Northwest experience: a ride on board the Washington car ferry.
With sweeping views of Puget Sound, the ferry offers a great chance to reflect upon the Cascade Loop and what its newly electrified status means for the future. Traditionally, we think of plug-in vehicles as the perfect cars to get around town. You charge them up at home, commute to work or to the shops in the morning, then charge up again when you return home that evening. But infrastructure innovations like the Cascade Loop shatter that stereotype. They show that the boundary of where we can take our electric vehicles is changing, growing farther and farther away every day.
By Sam Martin
Photography by Daniel Byrne
DISCLAIMER
(1) 2015/2016/2017 vehicles: $750 on Fiesta and Focus. $1,250 on most Ford or Lincoln vehicles.
Not available on Ford GT, F-150 Raptor, Focus RS, Mustang Shelby GT350®. May not combine with other private, conquest or commercial offers.
A/Z/D Plan ineligible. Nontransferable out of household. Limit one per household. U.S. residents. Must redeem using original offer; no duplicates accepted.
Prior purchases not eligible. Take new retail delivery from dealer stock within 60 days of the registration of the offer. See dealer for details.
Note to dealer: Claim in VINCENT using #35782 and customer ID.
(2) Actual mileage will vary. Range calculation based on fueleconomy.gov. Actual range varies with conditions such as external elements, driving behaviors, vehicle maintenance and lithium-ion battery age.
(3) Class is Midsize Sedans based on Ford segmentation.
(4) Continuously controlled damping with pothole detection can provide some protection against jarring impact and costly wheel and tire repairs from road imperfections.
(5) Driver-assist features are supplemental and do not replace the driver’s attention, judgment and the need to control the vehicle.
Pre-Collision Assist with Pedestrian Detection can detect pedestrians, but not in all conditions and does not replace safe driving. See owner’s manual for system limitations.
(6) Based on calendar year 2015 sales.
(7) EPA-estimated rating of 43 city/41 hwy/42 combined MPG, a 14 gallon tank and 21 miles all-electric range.
Actual mileage will vary. Range calculation based on fueleconomy.gov. Actual range varies with conditions such as external elements, driving behaviors,
vehicle maintenance and lithium-ion battery age.
(8) Don’t drive while distracted. Use voice-operated systems when possible; don’t use handheld devices while driving.
Some features may be locked out while the vehicle is in gear. Not all features are compatible with all phones. Message and data rates may apply.