Jan 01, 2007 08:42 PM
6694 Views
I bought the Ford Fusion after fair bit of research and that included all the comments and ratings from the others on this forum. I got delivery of the vehicle end October 2006. The Dealer Chennai Ford has been very pro-active in making the experience a pleasurable one. The follow-up to ensure that post-purchase comfort levels are maintained has been exceptional.
I have already completed the first free service and quite unlike my experience with my previous cars and service centers(I had a Hyundai Accent and then a Mahindra Scorpio), the car came back spotless.
I have been driving around within Chennai city and have been plesantly surprised to consistently get 10km/litre of petrol in the City with the a/c on. The dealer recommended that I use Bharath Petroleum normal unleaded petrol with the petrol additive. It costs Rs.200 for 200ml but supposedly helps maintain the engine smooth and ensures better mileage. I have put in about 1ml per litre of petrol.
Power wise - this one is a killer - Having driven the Accent and the Scorpio and having enjoyed both the vehicles, I am happy that the Fusion has not been a dis-appointment.
My first long drive trip happened over the New Year weekend. I drove from Chennai to Salem and then onto Yercaud. The Golden Quadrilateral which is coming to completion down South was the right place to put the car to its true paces. I pushed 110km/hr without the engine even giving any impression of racing up. After dodging some traffic beyond Sriperumbudur, I opened up the throttle some more and soon was coasting along at 130km/hr without a sweat. I managed to push a mx of 145km/hr on the highway.
Then, I made the mistake of taking a shortcut - in-fact most shortcuts in life turn out to be mistakes:-)
My wife saw - 160km to Salem through Krishnagiri and saw 130km through Thirupathur. Now, this 130km road was a real test to the car's shock absorbers, the tyres and most of all my patience. Out of the 130km, about 70km does not have any road worth the name. The car took the entire battering without complaint - quite unlike the driver(me).
Yercaud road is about 26km from the base to the top and is a fairly easy drive with about 20 hair pin bends. The car took this with no struggle - however, I had to push the car mostly in the 3rd gear even on slight gradients - possibly I was going too slow in the up-curves.
We started off this morning from Yercaud - landed up in Salem - had breakfast and started off through the long route this time. The stretch between Salem and Krishnagiri is going to be 4 laned only by 2008 - so, 110km takes 2hrs almost due to the traffic - lot of bullock carts, tractors, overloaded trucks in your way - so, it was accelerate, gear-up and then decelerate to a crawl - on and off.
Then, I hit the Krishnagiri - Chennai highway - 255km out of which 230km is a bliss to drive on. I hit 155km/hr on this stretch with the car looking and feeling confident to push more if required. I do believe 170km/hr is imminently do-able. I did this 230km stretch till the Hyundai factory in an hour and 50 minutes. Then, the traffic helped me take about 45minutes for the last 25 km.
And, surprise - surprise, I did 792 km on 70litres of petrol - 11.31km/litre - I am very very impressed.
I have done about 160km/hr on the Scorpio - feels great - but, I had to switch off the A/c in order to push that speed and also had my heart somewhere near my throat when I was pushing that speed. The Fusion was steady and stable at that speed and there is great confidence in order to slow down fast even at that speed.
I am glad I bought the Ford Fusion. Thank you all those who helped me make this decision.
