<p>It looks like Ford will be producing a great fuel efficient automobile that is large enough for American families to use. The Toyota prius a great hybrid but it simply is not big enough for many American families. The Ford Fusion is not as big as an SUV but it should have appeal to those wanting a larger car. I hope the Ford Fusion will make it good to buy American again.</p>
<p>We bought a Prius. Ordered it in August. Were told to expect it in January 09. Dealer call us just before Halloween and said they had 3 units we could choose from (we were #40 on waiting list in August). Today they have a few units on the lot unsold.</p>
<p>^Runs on battery more than gas. Freeway driving, it runs on gas. Our Prius gets a 47mpg consisting of 75% highway, 25% city driving. If we do more city driving, I would expect the mpg would go up .</p>
<p>LongPrime - is that your cold weather mileage for the Prius? I get about 52MPG with my Prius on the highway - mostly on I95 between Baltimore and Richmond. In winter, I get slightly less. In the city, I get closer to 60 MPG. </p>
<p>The Fusion and the Prius are about the same size and the Prius has more headroom. The Fusion wheelbase is one inch longer. The Prius is also a midsize and is deceptively roomy. I’m surprised the Fusion gets such poor highway mileage for the few extra inches.</p>
<p>EPA estimates got a bit more conservative lately, so I assume a careful driver will beat them. A review of the Fusion in the Seattle Times stated that one of the reviewers got 52 mpg out of the car he test drove.</p>
<p>The Camry hybrid is a lot bigger than the Prius and probably the Focus too. The mileage on the Camry sounds similar to what the Focus is rated at. It’s a lot of money over the base car though.</p>
<p>The point of my previous post was to say “I’ll believe it when I see it.” Unless Ford gets some Hollywood stars to drive the Fusion to give it Prius status it will die on the vine. JMO. </p>
<p>A lot of this hybrid hype, I’d compare to folks clamoring for better TV and then watching Home Beggars, the latest ManWhore, and Dancing With the Has-Beens. (Just having fun. ;)) </p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong , the truly committed may buy them without the “cool” but… as to everybody else? Nah.</p>
<p>The Camry is not a lot bigger than the Prius. You cannot judge the interior room of the Prius from the outside. More head room and leg room in the Prius than the Camry and 3 inches difference in the wheelbase. </p>
<p>I bought a Prius in '03 and then traded it in in '05 for a Prius with the hatch. We had horses so we needed more room and we never had trouble getting all the gear in the Prius. I have been really pleased with mine - have over 80k miles on the newer one. My only complaint has been the crappy OEM tires. I am shopping for new tires now, and if I get better tires, I know I will lose a few mpgs. </p>
<p>I hope the Fusion does well too, but it doesn’t seem superior to the Prius to me.</p>
<p>We’ll look at the Fusion. We know folks with the Escape Hybrid and they love it. We do not want (or need) any size SUV…we too hope that this smaller Ford Hybrid can break into the market share.</p>
<p>When the two kids are out of college (and we feel like we won the lottery because we are NOT paying college bills)…we WILL be in the market for a car. We’ll look at the Civic Hybrid, Prius, and now the Fusion Hybrid…and maybe the Altima too.</p>
<p>I also am a new Prius owner. Ordered it in June, received it early October. Probably would not have spent the $$ had the economy tanked before I ordered it!</p>
<p>I had not expected the huge decrease in fuel economy that comes with cold weather. I was getting around 46 mpg when I first got it. (It is a touring model, which has slightly worse fuel economy than the base model, I think because the tires are one inch larger.)</p>
<p>This month, I’m getting 35 mpg! Please note, I live in Minnesota, where cold means COLD. Nonetheless, I hadn’t expected this large of a drop.</p>
<p>“The Camry is not a lot bigger than the Prius. You cannot judge the interior room of the Prius from the outside. More head room and leg room in the Prius than the Camry and 3 inches difference in the wheelbase.”</p>
<p>Can you put three adults in the back seat of the Prius comfortably?</p>
<p>My Avalon (basically a Camry Clone) has seating for six.</p>
<p>I put 3 in the back seat of the Prius with no complaints. The specs are really very close between the Prius and the Camry. My taller friends prefer the Prius because of the extra head room. There is about the same difference between the Prius and Camry as there is between the Camry and the Avalon. I have owned the Camry, the Avalon and the Prius. The Avalon has a couple inches on the Camry and the Camry has a couple of inches on the Prius. </p>
<p>ChiSquare - that 46 mpg sounds low. I’ll bet a slight change in the way you drive would bump that up quite a bit.</p>
<h1>8, C45. Probably not the one to ask. It’s wife’s car. We have been pretty much iced in for the last 2 weeks and when she was able to get out she drove the car with studs. The Prius is too new to risk rock and collision damage. Western OR, winter temps typically in the 40’s, so we really don’t get much cold until this really rare cold and snow spell.</h1>
<p>cartera - I’ve been learning hyper-mileage techniques, and have been trying to use them. However, I think the biggest factor in my lower-than-expected mileage is the fact that I drive almost exclusively short trips in city conditions. On the occasion that I actually got on a highway and was in my car for more than 10 minutes, the mileage went up. Also, since I got the car in the fall, I haven’t had any warm weather experience with it yet.</p>
<p>ChiSquare - you should be getting the opposite results - better mileage in stop and go city driving and lower on the highway. Having the heat on all the time is a factor though. One of the main ways people tend to kill mileage though is starting off too fast from a stop - that is the case in regular non-hybrid cars too though. Hopefully, you’ll see much better MPG in warmer weather. I would be upset with those numbers too. It took some time for me to adjust my driving to get better mileage, but now I don’t notice the different things I do - they come naturally. When I am riding with other people though, I find it hard to keep my mouth shut when they race off from a stop - especially when there’s another stop light within sight. Grippy snow tires will reduce MPG too.</p>