Went on a test driving spree today

[renegade_987]

Well, moms in the market for a new car so I went along to see. Hers's what I thought of them:

2008 Ford Escape 3.0L 4x4- This one I really liked, had good power and felt safe. Not extreamly comfy, but it would do. Good stereo and responded very good, but not sure about the size, while it did feel safe, it also felt small.

2011 Kia Forte- Small car, big power. I'm not sure of the HP of this car, but [censored], did it have powwer. YOu could hit the gas pedal and it took off really good. I would have bought it myself had the interior been a little bigger, but all in all, not a bad car and the motor was super quiet. Small, though

2011 Chevy Malibu- By far my favorite car. Very comfy, felt extreamly safe, and the 2.4 under the hood had excellent power. Does anyone have experiance with these cars and can let me know how they are after a while, because I have no experiance with chevy. Very quiet, gas mileage is rated at around 26-33 so I like that alot. Mom really liked this one to, talking my dad into a Chevy is a different story. It was an LT model with cloth seats and complete black interior. But again, my favorite.

2009 Fusion 2.3L- Didn't like this one. Motor was noisy and rough sounding, seat was very bad feeling, and all around not good, but I wont get into it

2011 Fusion 3.5 Sport- Much better! Motor was quiet, responded good, and very comfortable. Gas mileage was 26, so lower then the malibu, but did have a little more power. It seemed like a good car but all in all I think the Malibu is the best choice. Let me know what you guys think!

 

[callbay]

I have a 2011 Fusion 2.5 litre 4 cyl. Not a single problem in 14 months. Really, zero! I really love the car. The ride is great.

 

[Old Mustang Guy]

I'm a Ford guy but I think the Malibu would be a perfectly good choice. I spoke to a guy that had bought a new Honda, then had a wreck in it. The insurance company gave him a Malibu to drive while his car was being repaired. He said he wished he had bought the Malibu.

 

[pbm]

While I like both the 2012 Malibu and the 2012 Fusion if I were spending my own money, I'd buy the Fusion 2.5.
The 2012 Focus is really nice and the mpg's are great if the car is big enough for her.

 

[cchase]

I was not a fan of the Fusion at all.

Many people like them, however.

 

[dishdude]

I had a Saturn Aura 2.4 (Same as Malibu) and it was a great car for the few years I had it. I trade often - life is too short to drive one car!

The Fusion 3.5 Sport sounds really nice too!

I'd have a tough time choosing between those two.

 

[Nick R]

Not a fan of the fusion,, after driving my uncles the other week. My grandmother has a Malibu she bought in May, she has 12,000 miles on it, and has had zero problems. She loves it, it's comfortable, quiet, smooth, and powerful enough for her. I like it a lot myself. She also got 35mpg when she drives up here and back.

 

[crinkles]

12000 miles and no problems? We need to pace ourselves here.

 

[Hokiefyd]

We have two 2011 Fusion Hybrids at work, and I drive them a lot. I'm not completely won-over by them, but they're nice cars. They have a little too much isolation for me. They still handle very good for a midsize sedan, but there's a little too much gelatin between my hands and the road. Some may like that, I don't care for it.

Ergonomically, I think the interior is a mess. At least on the version with automatic climate control like we have. The HVAC control panel must have 15 different buttons, and the radio at least 20. And they all look the same. It's very difficult to find what you want in the sea of buttons.

Ford, that's way too many buttons. It has some challenging blind spots to the rear when you're trying to back up. The rear window is pretty short; it has a high rear deck line. The steering wheel also has 8 buttons, and many of them are rockers, so there are at least 2 functions on many of them. Contrary to how everyone else does it, the cruise control is on the left side of the wheel and the volume is on the right.

Reliability has been okay. One of them has needed some replacement parts, like a fuel tank sensor and it's had a few check engine lights. The other one has been good as far as repairs go. Both have some rattles in them. Neither has more than 10,000 miles yet.

The chassis is definitely the Fusion's strong suit. I said back when I owned my 2011 Camry, if they could build a car with the Fusion's chassis and the Camry's interior, I'd be a happy camper.

 

[Klutch9]

We have a 2011 Fusion non-hybrid, and I must say that all of the buttons on the steering wheel, HVAC, and radio took me a long time to get used to. It is very complicated. But I've since gotten used to it. The high rear decklid does make it hard to back up, though.

 

[addyguy]

Just putting in my 2 cents worth....

Ford Escape all the way.

...biased 2 cents...but there it is. Love mine!

 

[kkreit01]

You liked the seats on the Escape better than Fusion? The Escape/Mariner has the worst/smallest seats I've ever had (I've had 2 Mariners, and 1 Fusion). I'm shorter, and the Escape's seat bottom was still way too small for me. Also, the 2008 still have 200 HP and CD4E. I'd look for a '09+ in Escape/Mariner/Tribute (240 hp + 6spd auto). The Fusion Sport has a "little more" power than 2.4 Malibu? +94 is more than "a little" IMO.

I'd picked the newest one...with least mileage, best warranty, and the one YOU like best.