What would you pick?

[Crash Bandicoot]

I had the Fusion, very very reliable for me, quiet inside and no rattles. It’s a very boring appliance though. The focus hatch nicely equipped without that powershit transmission is a great car, corners very well and seems to get 40mpg regardless of how you drive it. If your choice is Titanium Focus Hatch Vs SE Fusion I’d get the Focus. These are very different cars though. The flex is excellent as well but totally different financial ball park and the interior is showing it’s age/Ford’s lack of investment.

 

[Crash Bandicoot]

Two things I'd check for first does it have a dipstick for the oil and the transmission fluid. If not mark that off the list!

Why? My wife’s car’s trans charge pipe is not occupied with a dip stick, it is still easy as hell to drain the trans fluid and you still want to measure what you take out as good practice anyways (heck my truck has a dipstick and with new fluid it’s a harder to to read than the polish language anyways).

 

[rocky8314]

we have 2 fusions in my family a 2014 and 2017...both 2.5L

one has 114k, other 65k

Both have been great cars...oil, tires and brakes...1 purge valve that i replaced for 20 bucks

 

[vwmaniaman]

You need to check out Mazda. Same 2.5L engine as Ford since Mazda designed it. Most mechanical parts have FoMoCo stamped on them. We have 2 in our family and our are very reliable.

 

[Creekside]

The wife and I own a Flex, we love it. Great vehicle for a family. As stated a downside is the fuel economy. I was hoping for more, not the greatest. Also, the seats are a little hard after a couple hours of driving. We had a Fusion previous to that (the last body style) and loved that as well. It got descent mileage, still seemed a little shy of what I felt it should do, and was better on long trips, just too small for a family. If you want room, Flex, don't need so much, Fusion.

What kind of mileage are you seeing out of the Flex?

 

[Ws6]

I wouldn't pick any of those, cause Ford, and do you really need AWD?
What's your budget?

AWD is always the answer for a daily driver unless you live where rain doesn't happen, gravel doesn't exist, and ice never forms. In which case I'd probably enjoy walking/biking!

 

[Ws6]

You need to check out Mazda. Same 2.5L engine as Ford since Mazda designed it. Most mechanical parts have FoMoCo stamped on them. We have 2 in our family and our are very reliable.

No it's not. Mazda's engine doesn't have any of the issues Ford's does. Mazda currently makes designed, machines, and assembles their engines in-house, 100% independent from FoMoCo. Literally NOTHING under my hood says "Ford" or "Hecho En Mexico" on it.

 

[dcd]

No it's not. Mazda's engine doesn't have any of the issues Ford's does. Mazda currently makes designed, machines, and assembles their engines in-house, 100% independent from FoMoCo. Literally NOTHING under my hood says "Ford" or "Hecho En Mexico" on it.

I think he’s talking about the older Mazda’s (pre-2013 Sky-active).

 

[IndyIan]

The Focus hatch would probably be the cheapest to buy and run for 10 years. I know the manual is reliable enough but if you have to get the auto do some research if they fixed its problems in the later years. It might be a little behind the others listed in NVH but its pretty darn good compared to the 2000-2011 Foci. I suspect its as nice of a highway car as the lower trimmed Fusions.
The 2018+ Outback is supposed to be a big improvement in road noise over the previous ones which is why we bought ours. Its a good highway cruiser and get nearly the same mileage at 60mph as our Focus. Its also rated to tow 2700lbs which may be useful for you?
Here a 2018 Outback is almost double the price of a 2018 Focus though, and on the highway fwd and awd are equal in the winter IMO as long as you have snow tires. For long camping trips the size and ride of the Outback is nice though and we explore the odd logging road as well, just because we can.

 

[LubeFiner]

I’m going to be in the market for a newer car soon. I’ve been considering a newer Ford Flex, Focus or a Fusion. I really like the Flex but in my opinion the mileage is poor for what it is. Like the look of the Focus hatchback too. This would be an occasional commuter car(closest big city is an hour away and go weekly) as well as a road trip vehicle. I like the looks of a Subaru Outback too but don’t know anything about them. Would like to stay with front wheel drive instead of AWD. Anyone have any advice as far as reliability, user serviceability, or anything at all to add?

Purchase the one you feel the most comfortable driving As you’re the one paying the car note.

 

[supton]

AWD is always the answer for a daily driver unless you live where rain doesn't happen, gravel doesn't exist, and ice never forms. In which case I'd probably enjoy walking/biking!

Rain? I guess I've never had a powerful enough car to spin a tire in rain.

 

[Ws6]

Rain? I guess I've never had a powerful enough car to spin a tire in rain.

No, just trash roads (I-220). Car bounced so hard it lost traction.