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Thanks to the 2017 Ford Fusion Sport, we are now living in the age of the 300-plus-horsepower midsize sedan. And I, frankly, never want to go back.
Mid-cycle refreshes often bring small changes to ease customer pain points with certain models: applying the latest styling updates, tweaking some technology and packaging issues, etc. Ford, however, has thrown out the rulebook and decided to go with power above all else, and the result is an exciting proposition.
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With the 2017 Ford Fusion Sport, we are living in the 300-plus-horsepower age, and we never want to go back.
(Joanna Tavares)
With the mighty 2.7-liter twin-turbocharged V-6 from the F-150 and Edge Sport, the new Fusion Sport is Ford’s way of saying they don’t do anything halfway. If it’s got a Sport badge on it, it damn well better act like it does.
I took the keys of the 2017 Fusion Sport for a week-long evaluation, and while there’s a lot to be excited about, don’t go thinking this is some German sports sedan slayer just yet.
If you’ve (still) got it, flaunt it
Ford got the design language of the Fusion right, with sleek details and subtle tweaks needed in this mid-cycle refresh.
(Joanna Tavares)
The first thing you may notice about the 2017 Fusion is that it doesn’t look particularly new. And that’s more than okay.
Ford’s midsize offering is still one of the best-looking sedans out there, maybe even of the past few decades, so only subtle tweaks were needed to keep it fresh. The exterior of the Sport gets inverted check-mark LED headlights, a unique black mesh grille, some fantastic-looking 20-inch gray wheels, a rear decklid spoiler and quad exhaust pipes to broadcast your devilish driving intentions to the world around you.
The result is a sleek and seductive design, and one that will undoubtedly continue to look good for years to come. If I’ve got one piece of advice, it’s this: buy the Fusion Sport in an actual color. Gray on gray with the gray wheels (and a gray interior) is horribly drab, and the sleek curves and sharp lines of the Fusion beg to be highlighted in an interesting hue.
My test car was finished in the lovely Burgundy Velvet Metallic paint, but if deep colors (or red wine) aren’t really your thing, there are a few other lovely reds and an awesome blue to choose from. You just bought a 325 horsepower midsize sedan, live a little, won’t you?
The age of the midsize sports sedan is nigh
Ford's response to Japanese competitors in the midsize sedan segment: more power.
(Joanna Tavares)
Anyone who’s driven a V-6 Honda Accord or Toyota Camry will tell you that they’re not exactly slums in the driving dynamics department. The Accord still remains one of the best V-6-powered cars you can buy, and having two extra cylinders actually makes the Camry fun. Shocking, I know.
Ford, however, was not content to let the Japanese brands sit atop the performance heap, especially not when midsize sedans have got to do more than ever to appeal to customers that are leaving in droves for crossovers.
So what’s the solution? As always: more power.
And the 2.7-liter twin-turbo V-6 definitely delivers in that department, churning out 325 horsepower and 380 lb.-ft. of torque with a deep, bass-heavy thrum and a wave of pure acceleration. No other midsize sedan comes particularly close to 300, but Ford has busted through one of those glass ceilings we’ve been hearing so much about this year and is never looking back.
Power comes on almost immediately, and thanks to a clever all-wheel drive system with a heavy-duty 6-speed automatic transmission and an additional automated clutch at the rear differential, you won’t have to worry about replacing your front tires every three months because of vigorous stop light launches.
This sedan is seriously quick, and builds velocity with much more fervor than you first notice. When ditching the automatic mode to shift for your own via the steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters, things can get a bit sluggish, especially when downshifting, but it’s easy to predict the delay so that you can time your downshifts and turn in perfectly after a few tries.
A magic ‘S’ button for all occasions
The Sync 3 infotainment system is a step up from the debacle that was MyFordTouch, but it's nothing to write home about.
(Joanna Tavares)
A glance down at the Fusion Sport’s dial-like gear selector and things seem pretty straightforward: one position each for park, reverse, neutral, drive and a little circular S button in the middle to make things a bit more exciting.
But that little S button has a big impact on how the Fusion Sport drives, and after you’ve tasted what it has to offer, it’s hard to want to go back.
Ford has borrowed from Lincoln’s tech pool to incorporate adaptive damping into the Sport’s suspension, and it changes the character of the car completely. Believe it or not, it was actually often more comfortable to drive in Sport mode than anything else, because the system was working so hard to sort out blemishes in the road.
Pushing “S” also sharpens up throttle response and transmission mapping, turning the sluggish 6-speed into a fresh spring chicken, eager to jump through gears with fervor and help prove that this sedan is more than horsepower figures and some gimmicky trim pieces.
Besides in a straight line, the Fusion Sport handles corners nicely as well, with minimal drama and loads of grip from the all-wheel drive system. There’s a modicum of understeer, but you likely won’t ever notice, and the steering is definitely on the lighter side, to the point where it’s sometimes hard to gauge the connection between what the driver and the car are doing.
If I’ve got one additional quibble, it’s that the steering wheel is too thin. Ford’s designers have essentially kept the standard Fusion wheel in there, and while it’s perfectly fine, this car begs to have a thicker, perhaps flat bottom wheel to really emphasize how serious it is about going fast.
Lots to write home about, but not entirely without compromise
The interior of the Ford Fusion is drab, but it sure is comfortable.
(Joanna Tavares)
Above it all, though, this is still a Fusion, and that still makes it a comfortable, smart and sensible midsize sedan. The only upholstery available in the Fusion Sport is a gray leatherette and imitation suede trim – hence my warning to triple-up on gray – and Ford must have taken some tips from Volvo before cutting them loose a few years ago, because the seats are divine to spend time in.
Cushioning is incredibly supportive, and there’s just enough bolstering to keep you in place in the turns without giving you a Charlie horse like some of the Recaro seats in other sporty Ford models. Rear seat passengers will find themselves pleased, too, with the option for heated thrones in the back.
Unfortunately, while the new Sync 3 system is a vast improvement over the debacle that was MyFordTouch, it’s still not without problems. More than a few times, the GPS had immense trouble locating the car, even on a clear day in the middle of New Jersey, and the satellite radio feed would cut in and out every few seconds no matter what the conditions. The system also froze up more than once, which is likely an issue that can be fixed with a software update, but is less than ideal when attempting to navigate to a destination or simply change the radio station.
Gas mileage leaves a lot to be desired, too, especially if you’ve got a right foot made of lead. Over the course of the week, I averaged just around 20 mpg, which is something many pickup trucks – including Ford’s own F-150 with the same engine – are starting to come close to.
So, is it the affordable Audi S4-slayer we’ve all been hoping it is? Unfortunately, not quite.
But the Fusion Sport does set the bar impossibly high for its midsize sedan contemporaries, and that alone is reason enough to consider it, especially with a starting price of just over $32,000. The Fusion Sport you want will likely push closer to $40,000 – my tester rang in at about $39,220, and with some trim pieces that feel like they could be ten years old already on the doors and center console, this doesn’t quite feel like an entry luxury car, even in the driving dynamics department.
But hey, 325 horsepower is still 325 horsepower, no matter what it comes wrapped in.
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