DavidWhy

I have a 2017 Fusion Energi SE. I find that it gets great mileage - around 35-45 mpg - even when it's just in hybrid mode. The Energi has 3 modes: Hybrid mode (uses both battery and gas), Full electric and Electric off (for when you want to save your battery power for later). My work commute is around 13 miles one way, so I get there on a single charge. My company provides a charger, so I get back home on that charge. BUT... even when I go somewhere that uses the entire battery and I have no battery for my return trip, I still get 35 - 45 mpg. It's a good looking car with a lot of nice bells and whistles. I had whittled my final 3 choices down to the Lincoln MKZ hybrid, the Audi TT and the Fusion Energi. In the end, my practical side won out and I have not regretted my decision. As a matter of fact, as gas prices go UP this summer, I'm likely to be even MORE happy that I went with the Fusion Energi. Oh... and don't forget about that handy $4000 credit that you'll get on your taxes next year.

I went new with my 2017 Energi because they gave me 0% for 4 years. I love my Energi. Combined overall mileage hovers around 100MPG. That's, of course, considering that I commute to work in EV Mode every day. Your mileage could be different. Another reason I bought new was to get the newest tech. They have updated Bluetooth, and GPS on the car in the last couple years. I found that my Ford salesman didn't know much about the Energi. I did the research myself. I was teetering between the Energi and the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid. The plug-in was what tipped the scale. I got a cool $4000 credit on my taxes this year. That's a REAL $4K, not just "I didn't get taxed on $4K". That was huge. Hybrids don't get a tax incentive unless they are Plug-ins. The money that I saved with 0% and the tax credit more than covered the difference of new and a year old. Also, my company installed two charging stations at my office and they don't charge employees to charge their EVs. I'm the only one with an EV out of 350 employees, but I get the best parking space in the lot. EVs are still a niche market, but the smart people are getting on board before the incentives stop and before they have to fight for charging stations. I don't have any regrets.

I've had my 2017 Fusion Energi since September 2016. Here are a few tips that I picked up: - Get the MyFordMobile app if you have a smartphone. You can use it to set up "Go Times" that will use your configured times to warm up or cool down your car just before you get ready to drive it. This really only works if you are plugged in to a charger, but it uses the power from the charger to condition your car's temperature so you're not depleting the battery to cool or heat the car. This is most useful for commutes that you do on a regular schedule, but they can be altered on the fly 30 minutes or so ahead of when you plan to drive. - Read the manual twice. There are details and tips that I picked up the second time around - If you are driving in EV mode in heat over 80 degrees, your Energi may kick over to Auto EV because the battery is getting too hot. If this happens, close all the windows and moonroof and turn your AC on as high as you can stand it. The battery pulls cool air mostly from the cabin, not outside. Cooling the interior helps the car kick back over to full EV sooner. - If I'm driving a distance longer than the 22 mile battery range, I don't use EV mode on the Expressway. Highway driving kills the battery quicker than city driving, so I choose to go to EV Later mode and save my battery for when I exit the expressway. I generally want the acceleration power of the gas motor on the highway anyways, so it's a win/win - invest a few minutes to install mobile apps for as many EV charging networks as possible. I set up WattStation and ChargePoint. This gives me more options when the battery is depleted and I am looking to charge remotely while eating, shopping, etc. - Don't fill your trunk with unnecessary items. The extra weight reduces your battery range. Only carry what you need. - You may want to get the windows tinted to help keep the cabin cooler and reduce the use of AC. Any accessories that you use like stereo, AC, GPS, reduce battery range. - Holding the "lock" button on your remote closes your windows and moon roof. Comes in handy if you left your windows open and it looks like its going to rain. - You can lock your car by touching the sensor under the door handle OR you can just take your thumb and hold the bottom two numbers on the touch pad on the door pillar. For example, I just shut the door and hold my thumb on the 7-8 and 9-0 numbers and the car locks. That way, I never have to take the keys out of my pocket if I'm carrying something. - The car likes to brake slowly and over a long distance, so pay attention and plan your stops so that you have your foot on the brake as long as possible and you don't stop quickly. This helps reclaim battery energy from the braking system. - The car kicks over to AutoEV mode if you hit 85 MPH, so keep it under 85 on the expressway if you want to stay on full EV. - This probably won't apply to you in Daytona, but the battery looses range in very cold weather. The coldest its gotten with mine is 9 degrees Celsius. That cut the battery range in half (to about 11 miles). Using the GoTimes to heat up the car before leaving for work in the morning is a big help for this. I don't have to use as much battery to heat the car. - Don't top off (keep pumping to the next round dollar) your gas when you're filling up. Just pull out the gas handle when it shuts off. The car stops taking gas when it is full. Adding more gas is bad for the car. Hope this helps.

First post, so please excuse any protocol errors... I have a 2017 Fusion Energi and I love the Go Times feature because I live in Michigan and the winters are cold. Here's my question: I have already set up my regular Go Times for when I leave for and return from work. I'm wondering, however, if there is a way to do a spontaneous, unscheduled Go Time and leave the regularly scheduled ones intact. e.g. if I leave work for lunch, can I set up a Go Time 15 minutes before I leave? I tried warming up the car by remote start, but it drained the battery 13% even though it was plugged in to a 240V charging station at the time. So I don't really want to go to that option.