2013 Ford Fusion:
An Aston for the Masses?
Forget the joke car that is the Aston Martin Cygnet; this is the real “economy Aston.”
An alternate subtitle for this post could be, “If you’re going to crib styling details from another brand, pick the automaker known for making arguably the best-looking cars in the world.” Ford’s 2013 Fusion is a masterstroke, really, and a key it’s-so-obvious-why-didn’t-we-do-that moment for Ford’s rivals. The challenge for the Detroit giant, perhaps, was to design a car that hewed closely enough to the sultry Aston look without being an outright photocopy of the big British GTs, and I think they’ve pulled it off. Out of necessity, the Fusion’s proportions diverge from those of their vastly more expensive inspiration, and the grille shape, while familiar, isn’t pinched in the corners in the classic Aston tradition, so it’s different enough to be distinct.
Even the rest of the car’s styling has Aston overtones, from the chrome strip surrounding the window area to the cohesive shape to the high-mounted, monoblock taillights. It’s a design that will still look fresh in 20 years time, which is more than can be said for most luxury cars, let alone econoboxes, which usually age very rapidly.
Unfortunately for we enthusiasts, the good news—and Aston similarities—mostly end with the styling. The engines offered will be a triplet of 4-bangers, the lowliest one naturally-aspirated and the other two turbo’d, with power outputs from the mid-100s to the mid-200s. A manual transmission won’t be mated to the top-shelf engine (it will be available for the other two), although AWD will be an option. A couple of hybrids (one closer to a pure electric) round out the powerplant choices. All that is fine and good, and no doubt covers the waterfront of popular demand, but the absence of a sport package or stickshift option with the hot engine means, at the very least, that the Fusion won’t initially cater to the enthusiast crowd. We can hope, then, that Ford chooses to offer a Fusion SHO or SVT or some such a year or two out—a number of spicier packages would nicely complement the wide range that’s available for the Mustang. At least the car is built on the European Ford Mondeo plaform and has that Euro “tautness” built in. That’s something.
