Ecoboost

Our Week with the Ford Fusion EcoBoost

August 18, 2013

A couple of weeks ago we had the opportunity to test out the Ford Fusion EcoBoost for a week. Please excuse my iPhone pictures as they truly don’t do this amazing vehicle justice, however, I was working all week shooting an event and the few days that I got to drive the car (yes it was a fight in our house on who got to drive it each day) my proper camera was already packed away. Don’t despair though as we will be testing out the Ford Fusion Hybrid next week and we will have lots more opportunities to capture the beauty of these vehicles.

I realized after Hubby had the opportunity to drive it that we enjoy very different aspects of the vehicle. For me, comfort and efficiency on the highway were much more important and forefront in my mind. I love, love, love the comfort of the seats. As I mentioned above, I was shooting for a full week which means I was on my feet carrying many pounds of gear for long hours during the day and sometimes into the evening. Sliding into the comfort of the seats was not missed. I love how the drivers seat contours to my neck and back and that I could adjust the lumbar to relieve pressure on my back. We drive a lot with our trips to Delaware and quite often we take different vehicles and none of them have compared to the seats in the Fusion. Add to that the fact that I could turn on the seat warmers with a slight touch of my finger on the console meant I was in heaven. I know you are asking why I would need that in the summer? Well it just happened that the week we had the Fusion we also had some cool evenings and I would rather ride with the windows down and the sunroof open using the seat warmers to keep me toasty rather than not feel the summer breezes. That and I had to test them out for efficiency in the winter.

I loved how the car rode on the highway. I call it efficiency but truly it is the ability to pass a semi and know that I could do it without losing any power. I felt like I had total control over the vehicle and it handles very smoothly on the highway as well as on country roads. Some of the other fancy features I truly enjoy and now miss (not going to lie here, I do miss it… a lot) is the SYNC system by Microsoft. I could set my destination before I left or in the case where you are lost in Richmond looking for a farm, you can use the voice controls while driving and find your destination with very little interruption to your actual drive. Using Bluetooth I was able to listen to my favorite music or call up a phone number with just a touch of a button. I know that if I had this car longer, I would have learned just a wee bit more about all that SYNC has to offer but it was very easy to just get in and drive and use the maps, phone, or radio.

I have to make note of the EcoBoost engine. From the Ford website, “Better fuel efficiency and reduced CO2 emissions. All without sacrificing power and performance. That’s what you get with the state-of-the-art technology behind EcoBoost™. I couldn’t agree more. Between the two of us we made multiple trips back and forth across Ottawa and I went out to Richmond and Russell all on one tank of gas, with plenty to spare. A full tank started by telling us we had 745km before empty and although we didn’t actually finish driving all of that before I had to fill up the car and return it, I came pretty close. There is a graph on the side of the dash that tells you your fuel efficiency for each 30 minute interval (this can be changed to different intervals if you like, but most of our trips were of that length). Hubby was quick to point out that I am not as efficient with my gas usage as he was, and it is true, I am heavier on the foot than he is. I have tried to change over the years, but it just doesn’t seem to happen. I am not saying that I am a speed demon, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t putt around going 5km under the speed limit. I enjoy a car with kick and the Fusion gave me exactly what I love in a car.

Hubby’s experience was a bit different. From the start he was concerned that the console was too big in between the drivers seat and the passengers. It took him only one day to turn that around and say that he understood why it was a bit higher, for better comfort in his drive. While I loved the seats, he loved the side mirrors. Yes, you read that right, the side mirrors! They have the regular mirror and then an extra one up in the corner that provides a better view of what is around you. He felt that he could see more and had less of a blind spot so he could see motorcycles in the lane next to him that were riding in what would be a normal blind spot.

The other thing he truly loved about the Fusion was the quiet ride. He couldn’t believe how quiet the car is. He felt like that made his ride smoother and much more enjoyable as he didn’t have any interference to his concentration or discussion with our son in the back seat. We often have trouble hearing the kids and we just thought it was them, but perhaps it is our car?! And the truth behind it is Ford spent a lot of research using thermal imaging technology to get that ride quieter. This quote from William Dedecker, noise, vibration and harshness engineering supervisor, Ford Motor Company “We are using thermal imaging to further improve quietness so customers can enjoy the other features our vehicles offer, such as audio systems…and even the sounds of silence.” says it all. Hubby loves to drive in silence and he was able to in the Fusion.

My review wouldn’t be complete without some input from the smaller people in the family. Our son, J, who is almost 5’3″ loved the leg room in the back seat. I think out of all of us he was the most disappointed that the car had to be returned. He was able to stretch out behind Hubby or I which is not entirely common as we are long legged people and take up more room than most when we adjust our seat to drive. Sweet Apple loved that she was able to roll down the window and feel the air blowing on her face, most rear windows only roll down halfway which when you are five doesn’t seem all that fair.

We are looking forward to our week with the Fusion Hybrid and I must be honest here, there has been lots of discussion the past two weeks on how much we loved the Ford Fusion and if we need to change things up here. This week will be a great adventure.

Thank you to Thornley Fallis for making it possible for us to test out the Ford Vehicles.

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Categories: Cars

Tags: Ecoboost, ford, ford canada, ford fusion, Ford Fusion EcoBoost, ford ottawa, Ford Vehicles, Fusion, Fusion EcoBoost, thornley fallis

Escape Sandy our adventure with Ford

November 27, 2012

I left you all hanging, but knowing we were in a good place. After a week of wondering if our little beach house was really ok, Hubby and I packed up and headed down to the beach. That week I was scheduled to try out a new Ford Escape. I was looking forward to trying out a car around town for once, but when we got word that the beach was no longer flooded and that the roads were clear, I asked if they wouldn’t mind me taking the Escape down to the beach. Usually my girlfriends are the ones who get to try out the Ford cars that I borrow but this time Hubby was a willing participant. On a regular day he drives a very small car and on a nice Summer’s day he rides the bike, we keep talking about switching up the smaller car as it isn’t the most comfy for 8.5 hours of driving even though both Hubby and I did it this Summer, but not with the kids in the back. The Escape was quite a treat.

I am not going to lie, the Ford cars that they give us to test drive are fully LOADED! Something that I truly love because I do drive a vehicle that is fully loaded and although I may be a bit spoiled, when you drive as much as I do you appreciate the comforts that come with that. I am no longer in my twenties when driving a Chevette from Winnipeg to Ottawa was considered fun I am in my forties and appreciate all the extras that come with the luxuries. The single most important thing for me is seat comfort. And I noticed in the Flex in August and again in the Escape that the seats are so comfy that I can just sit molded into the drivers seat and drive. It takes a few minutes of adjusting but then I can lean my head back on the headrest and enjoy. I don’t get tired at all, which is why I was able to drive New York City – Ottawa- Delaware in one day last summer after driving the Flex. Add to that the fact that the Escape had heated seats and I was in heaven and it wasn’t just high and low, there were five (5) settings of amazing.

After the seats, my next favorite part is the SYNC system by Microsoft. Hubby just could not figure it out, but since this is my fourth time riding in a car with SYNC I was doing pretty good. We had my phone hooked up to play music through Bluetooth, the Satellite stations were set up and we settled on some old ’80s tunes for fun. The maps were fully up-to-date and gave us gas stops and exact mileage (something not all GPS’s do) door to door. We loved the construction alerts that would pop up so we knew what was up ahead and why. I love it! I know there is a lot with the SYNC that I don’t know how to do, but if we owned one it would be a hotspot and we would make good use of all the tools, one week just isn’t enough time to fully figure that out.

Last of all, LEG ROOM! I am all leg at 5’10” and Hubby is not too bad at 6′ once we get into the seats there is usually not much room to spare in the back seat for anyone but Apple since she is still in the carseat. J was able to sit comfortably (bear in mind they didn’t go to Delaware, but they did drive around the city with me a bit) and he loved the curve of the seat in the back, something he complains about a lot in our other vehicles.

Hubby insists that I include the gas mileage. With the EcoBoost we should have been getting 6.3L/100km according to their handbook, but I think we weren’t driving 90km/hr the whole time, so we got 8.5L/100km which is about 4L better than the vehicle I drive now. The end result is that we spent $80 less on gas on the trip than we do normally. The Escape is a 4 cylinder and we drive a massive 6 with a high performance engine, but the only time you could tell the difference was when you were first starting from a stop position. The Escape was just as quick on the highway when passing as our current vehicle but it used less gas. Hubby was quite impressed and now understood why I say yes whenever I am offered a Ford for a Road Trip.

What did we find at the Beach? Well thanks to some misunderstood directions and amazing neighbours we had almost no damage to the beach house at all, we had one roof leak because our handy man had sealed the roof two weeks before and none of our chairs or tables floated away because our neighbours put them in the porch. Our flag was in the porch as well, so it wouldn’t blow away in the storm. We had some minor electrical problems that we had to fix while there, but that was something we were going to have to do by next summer anyway, and this way it was easier to do without the kids with us. All in all most of our time was spent raking and cleaning up debris on the lawn, then checking out neighboring towns and the main beach. There was an air of quiet jubilation since we were supposed to get a direct hit, but the storm moved a few hours before landfall and hit further up the coast. Everyone was thankful, but also thoughtful of others that weren’t as fortunate. You take a chance when you live on the ocean, not something we have taken for granted in the past having been in a few Hurricanes and Tropical Storms, but this was the first time we had to worry about our own property and if it would have been floating out in The Bay. We feel very Blessed to have met so many amazing people at the Beach and knowing they were looking out for us Canadians from afar was quite touching. We received phone calls and notes and feel like part of the community after only one summer. We just returned from celebrating Thanksgiving as we felt it was most appropriate to be there this year as we have so much to be Thankful for.

A HUGE Thank you to Ford Canada and Kristine at Thornley Fallis for making our post Sandy trip a little more fun and exciting with the Escape. Here is one of my fave pictures of the Escape. This is Surf Avenue at the north end of the Boardwalk, CNN was reporting from this spot several times as this is one of the areas where the waves breached the dunes and as you can see, the sand on the road had just been plowed, only three days before we took this picture the road had been flooded out.

This is looking at the same spot from the beach side. The photo above, the Escape was parked on the right side of this photo just where I cut the picture off (we weren’t parked there when I took this photo as there is no parking, but that is where we stopped to get the shot). The gentleman in the house with the porch wouldn’t evacuate as he is in his 70’s and his wife couldn’t travel well. They made out just fine.

The boardwalk got a lot of sand, but the dunes and the new beach did it’s work and the breaches only happened at walkways like at this one, they pushed all the sand to the side so people could walk, and brought the benches back out so we could sit and survey. It was strange to see the rocks up on the beach, but they came up the walkways as well.

The beach was still wide, which is a blessing since the replenishment only happened last summer, the one good thing is that the Jetty’s were once again visible, they were buried in the replenishment last year and it was a little disconcerting to be allowed to swim everywhere but to not know exactly if you were standing on a jetty that could reappear at any time. Here’s hoping they get to stay!

If you would like to look at more photos of the beach, I have a flickr set with more here.

Some images I tweeted out @Beach_Mama. I got to drive!!! The Escape in Rehoboth Bay, which was under water three days before we got there, The Escape packed for the ride home and one last stop at the Boardwalk, Driving through some snow on the way home.