Fusion all about economy

Ford’s just unveiled the new Fusion over at the Detroit auto show, and the Blue Oval says it’s the first saloon to offer petrol, hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrain options. The new Fusion boasts of class-leading fuel economy figures, mainly due to the fact that the old V6 engine has disappeared off the specs list, making way for an all-four-pot line-up. In addition, Ford’s loaded the next Fusion with technologies such as Lane Keeping System, adaptive cruise control, active park assist and MyFord Touch, while the oily bits benefit from Ecoboost turbocharging, and auto start stop. For our market, Ford will either leave it be, or badge it as the next Mondeo. We don’t really mind what they call it, as long as we get to play with the new Fusion Hybrid boasting 47mpg fuel economy thanks to a downsized 2.0-litre motor (from 2.5-litres). More than that, we’re looking forward to the Fusion Energi plug-in, which claims an astonishing 100mpge (a mile per gallon equivalency metric for electrified vehicles). In case the GCC market doesn’t get lucky, we’ll still get the option of a 1.6 or 2.0-litre engine with at least 26mpg urban capability.