Canada's Green Car: 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid

In April 2013, the 2013 Ford Fusion won the first Canadian Green Car Award, presented at the Green Living Show in Toronto. To be honest, Ford doesn't immediately come to mind when I think of hybrid technology so I was curious about the Fusion Hybrid and jumped at the chance to drive it from Ottawa back to Toronto.

 

According to the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC), the award “...not only emphasized fuel economy and emissions, but also considered other environmental features within each vehicle – for example, use of recycled or naturally sourced materials — and steps each manufacturer has taken to green its operations. Equally important, it assessed market potential — factors such as build quality, driving experience, overall features, availability, general consumer appeal and price.”

 

 

Finalists this year included Ford's C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid, Hyundai's Sonata Hybrid, Mazda's Mazda3 and the Volkswagen Jetta Turbocharged Hybrid. 

 

Esthetically-speaking, the Ford Fusion is a nice car with sporty look and sleek design. The centre console appears to be one piece due to the electronic parking brake — which also adds to the seamless feel of the design. The drive was quiet and smooth, but gave me enough road feel so I didn't totally feel disconnected with the road. 

 

 

At first glance it may seem a bit much — if you're not familiar with cars, it may be overwhelming. However, to those familiar with what they're looking at it's well laid out for most (if not all) of us to do basic maintenance. The coolant reservoir, washer fluid bottle neck and engine oil level dipstick are all very accessible.

 

 

If you're trying to install a rear facing child car seat, you'll likely need to use pool noodles or towels to get the angle right due to the 'bucket-style' seats. Because of the roomy interior, chances are you'll still have enough room to sit in the centre rear seat even if you have two child car seats installed in the rear. 

 

 

For every 100km of driving, the 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid has fuel efficiency ratings of 4L city and 4.1L highway. In comparison, the 2013 Toyota Camry Hybrid reports ratings of 4.5L city and 4.9L highway while the 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Turbo Hybrid notes ratings of 4.5L city and 4.2L highway. 

 

Overall, the Fusion Hybrid was a nice drive. Keep in mind that because the vehicle is a hybrid, you'll lose some trunk space. Though I didn't particularly like the car's seat design, it was definitely comfortable. The Fusion is loaded with airbags including, interestingly, driver and front-passenger knee airbags.

 

 

The 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid starts at $29,999.