Once upon a time, Ford Motor loved its cars. And back then, nothing embodied that affection like the Taurus.
For years, the Taurus was America’s best-selling car. Ford sold more than 200,000 Taurus models in its first year, 1986, and by the middle of 1989, Ford had sold a million Taurus cars.
Fusion interior.
Of course, nothing breeds failure like success at Ford. And so, the 1996 remake of the Taurus was one of the great catastrophes.
How bad was that car? During a walk-through of the “new” Taurus at the 1996 Detroit auto show, Ford’s then-chief designer, Jack Telnack, suffered microphone failure. A legion of Ford operatives toed the carpet as their top designer and corporate vice-president shouted out the design story to a craning crowd of some 5,000 straining-to-hear journalists.
Apparently, they felt it would be impossible for Telnack to explain away the abomination of the ’96 Taurus, the Mr. Potato of car designs. Gentlemanly Telnack likened that Taurus to a “pair of slippers,” but that wasn’t a particularly robust image for a workhorse family car. Ugh.
Taurus sales went into a tailspin from which the car never recovered. Ford eventually killed the nameplate altogether for a time.
Ford’s next midsize car, the Taurus replacement, was given a new name – Fusion – to distance it from the debased Taurus. Some time later, the Taurus was re-born as a low-volume, near-luxury sedan sold to a handful of undemanding buyers.
I was thinking of the Taurus when I set out to test a very racy version of the 2018 Ford Fusion, the Sport model with all-wheel drive and a high-zoot compact V-6 (2.7-litre, twin turbocharged) that Ford would like you to measure against German sedans like the Audi S4, BMW 340i xDrive and Mercedes-Benz CLA 45 4MATIC.
Fusion V6 Sport is a performance sedan. Really.
Really? These three Germans start in the low- to mid-$50,000s, while the Sport starts at $43,288 and includes a head-spinning array of standard driver assist and convenience features — – from electronically controlled damping to the outstanding Sync 3 infotainment system.
Now just as I collected this Fusion, Ford Motor again pointed its blunderbuss at this car and all other cars in Ford’s current North American lineup, save the Mustang and a likely crossover wagon called the Focus Active. Ford plans to sell only trucks, utilities and commercial vehicles to Canadians and Americans. The Taurus and the Fusion will be gone, along with the Focus hatchback and sedan and anything else that smacks of a “car.”
So, this very lively Fusion Sport is a collector model even as it is new and interesting in 2018. Every actual car Ford builds and sells going forward is a discontinued model, a relic.
Ford’s new CEO, the former furniture salesman and college athletic director Jim Hackett, may be proven right here. His lack of personal historical perspective might prove a boon for this once proud “car” company.
I, however, think this decision is as stupid as Ford’s choice two decades ago to turn the Taurus – America’s best-selling car – into either a potato or a pair of slippers. If nothing else, Ford should have kept the planned car killing to itself until it was a fait accompli.
Imagine you’re a Ford dealer, trying to explain to a Fusion or a Focus buyer that the car you’re looking at today is a discontinued model. What do you say? And if I were that shopper, I’d ask for a very rich discount.
And if I were looking specifically at the Fusion Sport – a clean exterior design — I’d ask for better seats to replace the mushy, undersized buckets. That said, the instrument array is excellent and rich in information, the eight-inch infotainment and navigation colour touchscreen in the centre stack is useful and clear, and I applaud the two USB ports (permitting Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity), and a pair of accessory outlets. The 12-speaker Sony sound system is fine.
What we can all agree on is the drive. The 2.7-litre V-6 is wonderfully responsive (325 hp/380 lb-ft torque). Power goes to the four wheels through a decent if not electrifying six-speed autobox.
The standout performance piece is the continuously controlled damping system. It self-adjusts constantly to match the road surface and your driving. The car stays composed even as the pavement deteriorates and your enthusiasm jumps. The car isn’t as refined as the Germans, but it’s good.
Alas, we’re talking about a discontinued model. What a shame.
2017 Ford Fusion Fact Sheet
2018 Ford Fusion Sport
Price: $43,288. Delivery: $1,750. As tested: $45,138.
Power: 2.7-litre turbocharged V-6 (325 hp/380 lb-ft torque).
Transmission: six-speed automatic.
Fuel economy (litre/100 km): 13.8 city/9.1 hwy using premium fuel.
Comparables: Ford argues for the Audi S4, BMW 340i xDrive and Mercedes-Benz CLA 45 4MATIC. But the sportiest versions of the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Mazda6, Chevrolet Malibu should also be considered, though none come with AWD.
