Ford Fusion AWD system

Traction is a function of oned tires, not the type of drive system.


"car crash" wrote in message

>I was reading an article on Canadiandriver.com and another site that
> states that the Fusion AWD system is a not very good. In fact, it
> stated that on wet roads, it's barely even noticeable that it's even
> working as traction is not that improved.
>
> Does anyone own a fusion AWD and how good is the AWD system on wet
> roads and on snow covered roads?
>
> Thanks.
>
> D.
 >> Stay informed about: Ford Fusion AWD system 

We just purchased one. And it handles great. On snow covered roads you don't
even feel the slip, but I never really punched it.And I must add, I've
punched it off the line ( on dry winter pavement ) and felt no torque steer,
normal in front wheel drive vehicles. So it must be working, and very well I
must say. It also has a by pass for traction control.
"Mike hunt" wrote in message

> Traction is a function of oned tires, not the type of drive system.
>
>
> "car crash" wrote in message
>
> >I was reading an article on Canadiandriver.com and another site that
> > states that the Fusion AWD system is a not very good. In fact, it
> > stated that on wet roads, it's barely even noticeable that it's even
> > working as traction is not that improved.
> >
> > Does anyone own a fusion AWD and how good is the AWD system on wet
> > roads and on snow covered roads?
> >
> > Thanks.
> >
> > D.
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: Ford Fusion AWD system 

I've only ever driven a couple briefly.... There is a 6 foot plus pile of
snow in my front yard as I write so I guess I might qualify for the
"slippery road" part....

In normal operation, I felt that traction was very good... certainly none of
the wheelspin that other FWDs we experiencing when pulling away from one
very busy intersect near our shop... "Pushing" a little bit showed the same
near seamless operation... If I had gotten rambunctious, I could see
overwhelming the tires and/or having traction control step in.

These systems can only ever help "normal" drivers stay out of trouble....
Wieners are going to have trouble no matter what they drive...
 >> Stay informed about: Ford Fusion AWD system 

On Jan 18, 8:51 am, "C. E. White" wrote:
> "car crash" wrote in message
>
>
>
> >I was reading an article on Canadiandriver.com and another site that
> > states that the Fusion AWD system is a not very good. In fact, it
> > stated that on wet roads, it's barely even noticeable that it's even
> > working as traction is not that improved.
>
> > Does anyone own a fusion AWD and how good is the AWD system on wet
> > roads and on snow covered roads?
>
> I have an AWD Fusion. I have not had to deal with snow since I purchased it.
> On wet roads it seems OK, but, I am not one to push things. There is one
> particular driveway I regularly use that is a good indicator of how well
> anAWD or traction control system works - it is farily step uphill driveway
> with a metal grate part way up. Everythime it rains, my Frontier kicks in
> the electronic traction control when I go up the diveway and across the
> grate. Other cars I have owned with traction control do as well. The Fusion
> never reacts. I consider this to be a good sign.
>
> I looked up the Fusion Road Test at Canadiandriver.com (http://www.canadiandriver.com/testdrives/07fusion_awd.htm) and it seemed to
> me that it had positive things to say about the Fusion AWD system. Are you
> looking at a different article? Here is what I saw that seemed positive:
>
> "On a snow packed parking lot with temperatures hovering around minus
> five-degrees Celsius, I performed some standing start acceleration runs,
> quick S-turns, and sudden stops to see how much better the AWD model is than
> the front-wheel drive Fusion. My test car was equipped with standard
> Michelin Pilot MXV4 P225/50VR-17-inch all-season radials, so I wasn't
> expecting great grip in the white stuff. Still, I was pleasantly surprised
> by the car's traction and stability while cornering. Entering a corner,
> there was some 'ploughing' or understeer, but I found better steering
> control and improved traction and stability through the corner, and less
> oversteer when exiting a corner.
>
> "Under acceleration, the front wheels don't spin like they do in a
> front-wheel drive Fusion (with the traction control turned off), nor
> hesitate (as they would with the traction control turned on). In everyday
> winter driving, the main benefits of AWD appear to be improved traction and
> stability when accelerating and cornering. However, I found no improvement
> when braking in a straight line, notwithstanding the fact that the Fusion's
> standard anti-lock brakes and powerful four-wheel disc brakes do provide
> improved steering control when braking on slippery surfaces. Since my car
> had all-season tires, I can comfortably give all of the credit for the
> increased traction and performance to the AWD system. "
>
> Ed

No that's not the right article. Here is the article below that I
found on Canadian Driver.
Driving impressions.

********************************
2007 Ford Fusion SEL AWD. Click image to enlarge
Here in Vancouver, my first few days with Fusion AWD were the
typically 'wet coast' winter kind. The AWD traction advantage over its
front-drive counterpart was only barely noticeable.
********************************
That's why I was asking.
 >> Stay informed about: Ford Fusion AWD system 

On Jan 21, 5:36 pm, car crash wrote:
> On Jan 18, 8:51 am, "C. E. White" wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > "car crash" wrote in message
>
> >
>
> > >I was reading an article on Canadiandriver.com and another site that
> > > states that the Fusion AWD system is a not very good.  In fact, it
> > > stated that on wet roads, it's barely even noticeable that it's even
> > > working as traction is not that improved.
>
> > > Does anyone own a fusion AWD and how good is the AWD system on wet
> > > roads and on snow covered roads?
>
> > I have an AWD Fusion. I have not had to deal with snow since I purchased it.
> > On wet roads it seems OK, but, I am not one to push things. There is one
> > particular driveway I regularly use that is a good indicator of how well
> > anAWD or traction control system works - it is farily step uphill driveway
> > with a metal grate part way up. Everythime it rains, my Frontier kicks in
> > the electronic traction control when I go up the diveway and across the
> > grate. Other cars I have owned with traction control do as well. The Fusion
> > never reacts. I consider this to be a good sign.
>
> > I looked up the Fusion Road Test at Canadiandriver.com (http://www.canadiandriver.com/testdrives/07fusion_awd.htm) and it seemed to
> > me that it had positive things to say about the Fusion AWD system. Are you
> > looking at a different article? Here is what I saw that seemed positive:
>
> > "On a snow packed parking lot with temperatures hovering around minus
> > five-degrees Celsius, I performed some standing start acceleration runs,
> > quick S-turns, and sudden stops to see how much better the AWD model is than
> > the front-wheel drive Fusion. My test car was equipped with standard
> > Michelin Pilot MXV4 P225/50VR-17-inch all-season radials, so I wasn't
> > expecting great grip in the white stuff. Still, I was pleasantly surprised
> > by the car's traction and stability while cornering. Entering a corner,
> > there was some 'ploughing' or understeer, but I found better steering
> > control and improved traction and stability through the corner, and less
> > oversteer when exiting a corner.
>
> > "Under acceleration, the front wheels don't spin like they do in a
> > front-wheel drive Fusion (with the traction control turned off), nor
> > hesitate (as they would with the traction control turned on). In everyday
> > winter driving, the main benefits of AWD appear to be improved traction and
> > stability when accelerating and cornering. However, I found no improvement
> > when braking in a straight line, notwithstanding the fact that the Fusion's
> > standard anti-lock brakes and powerful four-wheel disc brakes do provide
> > improved steering control when braking on slippery surfaces. Since my car
> > had all-season tires, I can comfortably give all of the credit for the
> > increased traction and performance to the AWD system. "
>
> > Ed
>
> No that's not the right article.  Here is the article below that I
> found on Canadian Driver.
> Driving impressions.
>
> ********************************
> 2007 Ford Fusion SEL AWD. Click image to enlarge
> Here in Vancouver, my first few days with Fusion AWD were the
> typically 'wet coast' winter kind. The AWD traction advantage over its
> front-drive counterpart was only barely noticeable.
> ********************************
> That's why I was asking.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -


Whichever, the Ford Fusion AWD is quite a good package and an
exceptional bargain with the low Ford finance interest rates/
discounts.


" The most important revelation was that Ford's AWD system, which can
split torque 50/50 front and rear..."

http://www.auto123.com/en/info/news/news,view.spy?artid=64485&pg=1
[Ford Fusion AWD ( dated June 30, 2006 )]

"In between corners the Fusion[SEL AWD] could be held at full throttle
from the turn exit until the next turns entrance, without the front
end running wide. Trying the same tactic in the FWD car resulted in
the car understeering dismally, eventually putting the power down
easily 50 feet outside where the AWD car did.
"

http://car-reviews.automobile.com/Ford/review/2007-ford-fusion-sel-awd...ack-tes


In our usual electronic acceleration measures, the top-of-the-line
Fusion SEL with AWD netted a 0-100 km/h time of 7.97 seconds and a ¼
mile time of 15.78 seconds, with a peak of 146.2 km/h. A front-wheel
drive SEL we tested earlier had turned in identical times of 7.97 and
15.78 seconds (quite a rare occurrence), but reached a slightly higher
peak of 148.5 km/h at the end of the quarter-mile. The performance
penalty vs the added security and surefootedness of all-wheel drive is
thus negligible.

The Fusion SEL and SEL AWD we ran through our usual simulated
emergency braking tests, from 100 km/h [62.14 mph], stopped over
respective distances of 43.75 and 42.8 metres [difference of 3.1
feet] , both weighted averages.


http://en.autos.sympatico.msn.ca/guides_and_advice/article.aspx?cp-doc...ntid=52


2006 ford Fusion V6 SEL (FWD):

STANDING-START ACCELERATION
0-60 mph: 7.5 sec
0-100 km/h (62.1 mph): 8.01 sec
0-quarter-mile: 15.7 sec @ 91.2 mph

BRAKING
60 mph-0: 132 ft


http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070411/FREE/30411...1/-1/mm


" An active, on-demand coupler can deliver the precise amount of
torque to the rear wheels up to 100 percent "

http://www.mazdausamedia.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=23516


"...shifting power to the individual wheel that has traction..."[ what
percentage of side to side power?]*

"...If necessary, the system can even change the engine speed if it's
too fast for the situation..."[ applies to the AWD models only?]*


*According to the Ford Fusion 2007 brochure AWD section ( Canadian
edition )


"Every Fusion model is a worthy competitor for others in its class,
but the AWD version is in a class by itself. Nicely done."

http://www.cars.com/go/crp/research.jsp?section=reviews&makeid=14&mode...=7831&y

Unit conversion:

1 foot = 0.3048 meters(or metres), 1 miles = 1.609344 kilometers,
100 km/h = 62.14 Miles/hour (mph) , 1 km/h = 0.621371192 mph

Illustration of Ford Fusion AWD from Ford:

http://www.fordvehicles.com/cars/fusion/awd/

Ford Fusion AWD Sel "Driving (Too Fast) on gravel"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6bSXtzJLy0

Note: 225/50R-17 Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 on both the FWD and AWD SEL
models.
 >> Stay informed about: Ford Fusion AWD system 

Last winter I was parked on a sheet of ice with the Fusion. You wouldn't
know the ice was there as I left the space. The next guy to park there had a
minivan. It took him an hour of
spinning tires and shoveling to get out.

wrote in message

On Jan 21, 5:36 pm, car crash wrote:
> On Jan 18, 8:51 am, "C. E. White" wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > "car crash" wrote in message
>
> >
>
> > >I was reading an article on Canadiandriver.com and another site that
> > > states that the Fusion AWD system is a not very good. In fact, it
> > > stated that on wet roads, it's barely even noticeable that it's even
> > > working as traction is not that improved.
>
> > > Does anyone own a fusion AWD and how good is the AWD system on wet
> > > roads and on snow covered roads?
>
> > I have an AWD Fusion. I have not had to deal with snow since I purchased
> > it.
> > On wet roads it seems OK, but, I am not one to push things. There is one
> > particular driveway I regularly use that is a good indicator of how well
> > anAWD or traction control system works - it is farily step uphill
> > driveway
> > with a metal grate part way up. Everythime it rains, my Frontier kicks
> > in
> > the electronic traction control when I go up the diveway and across the
> > grate. Other cars I have owned with traction control do as well. The
> > Fusion
> > never reacts. I consider this to be a good sign.
>
> > I looked up the Fusion Road Test at Canadiandriver.com
> > (http://www.canadiandriver.com/testdrives/07fusion_awd.htm) and it
> > seemed to
> > me that it had positive things to say about the Fusion AWD system. Are
> > you
> > looking at a different article? Here is what I saw that seemed positive:
>
> > "On a snow packed parking lot with temperatures hovering around minus
> > five-degrees Celsius, I performed some standing start acceleration runs,
> > quick S-turns, and sudden stops to see how much better the AWD model is
> > than
> > the front-wheel drive Fusion. My test car was equipped with standard
> > Michelin Pilot MXV4 P225/50VR-17-inch all-season radials, so I wasn't
> > expecting great grip in the white stuff. Still, I was pleasantly
> > surprised
> > by the car's traction and stability while cornering. Entering a corner,
> > there was some 'ploughing' or understeer, but I found better steering
> > control and improved traction and stability through the corner, and less
> > oversteer when exiting a corner.
>
> > "Under acceleration, the front wheels don't spin like they do in a
> > front-wheel drive Fusion (with the traction control turned off), nor
> > hesitate (as they would with the traction control turned on). In
> > everyday
> > winter driving, the main benefits of AWD appear to be improved traction
> > and
> > stability when accelerating and cornering. However, I found no
> > improvement
> > when braking in a straight line, notwithstanding the fact that the
> > Fusion's
> > standard anti-lock brakes and powerful four-wheel disc brakes do provide
> > improved steering control when braking on slippery surfaces. Since my
> > car
> > had all-season tires, I can comfortably give all of the credit for the
> > increased traction and performance to the AWD system. "
>
> > Ed
>
> No that's not the right article. Here is the article below that I
> found on Canadian Driver.
> Driving impressions.
>
> ********************************
> 2007 Ford Fusion SEL AWD. Click image to enlarge
> Here in Vancouver, my first few days with Fusion AWD were the
> typically 'wet coast' winter kind. The AWD traction advantage over its
> front-drive counterpart was only barely noticeable.
> ********************************
> That's why I was asking.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -


Whichever, the Ford Fusion AWD is quite a good package and an
exceptional bargain with the low Ford finance interest rates/
discounts.


" The most important revelation was that Ford's AWD system, which can
split torque 50/50 front and rear..."

http://www.auto123.com/en/info/news/news,view.spy?artid=64485&pg=1
[Ford Fusion AWD ( dated June 30, 2006 )]

"In between corners the Fusion[SEL AWD] could be held at full throttle
from the turn exit until the next turns entrance, without the front
end running wide. Trying the same tactic in the FWD car resulted in
the car understeering dismally, eventually putting the power down
easily 50 feet outside where the AWD car did.
"

http://car-reviews.automobile.com/Ford/review/2007-ford-fusion-sel-awd...ack-tes


In our usual electronic acceleration measures, the top-of-the-line
Fusion SEL with AWD netted a 0-100 km/h time of 7.97 seconds and a ¼
mile time of 15.78 seconds, with a peak of 146.2 km/h. A front-wheel
drive SEL we tested earlier had turned in identical times of 7.97 and
15.78 seconds (quite a rare occurrence), but reached a slightly higher
peak of 148.5 km/h at the end of the quarter-mile. The performance
penalty vs the added security and surefootedness of all-wheel drive is
thus negligible.

The Fusion SEL and SEL AWD we ran through our usual simulated
emergency braking tests, from 100 km/h [62.14 mph], stopped over
respective distances of 43.75 and 42.8 metres [difference of 3.1
feet] , both weighted averages.


http://en.autos.sympatico.msn.ca/guides_and_advice/article.aspx?cp-doc...ntid=52


2006 ford Fusion V6 SEL (FWD):

STANDING-START ACCELERATION
0-60 mph: 7.5 sec
0-100 km/h (62.1 mph): 8.01 sec
0-quarter-mile: 15.7 sec @ 91.2 mph

BRAKING
60 mph-0: 132 ft


http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070411/FREE/30411...1/-1/mm


" An active, on-demand coupler can deliver the precise amount of
torque to the rear wheels up to 100 percent "

http://www.mazdausamedia.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=23516


"...shifting power to the individual wheel that has traction..."[ what
percentage of side to side power?]*

"...If necessary, the system can even change the engine speed if it's
too fast for the situation..."[ applies to the AWD models only?]*


*According to the Ford Fusion 2007 brochure AWD section ( Canadian
edition )


"Every Fusion model is a worthy competitor for others in its class,
but the AWD version is in a class by itself. Nicely done."

http://www.cars.com/go/crp/research.jsp?section=reviews&makeid=14&mode...=7831&y

Unit conversion:

1 foot = 0.3048 meters(or metres), 1 miles = 1.609344 kilometers,
100 km/h = 62.14 Miles/hour (mph) , 1 km/h = 0.621371192 mph

Illustration of Ford Fusion AWD from Ford:

http://www.fordvehicles.com/cars/fusion/awd/

Ford Fusion AWD Sel "Driving (Too Fast) on gravel"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6bSXtzJLy0

Note: 225/50R-17 Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 on both the FWD and AWD SEL
models.
 >> Stay informed about: Ford Fusion AWD system 

"Fred" wrote in message
> Last winter I was parked on a sheet of ice with the Fusion. You wouldn't know the ice was there as I left the space. The next guy
> to park there had a minivan. It took him an hour of
> spinning tires and shoveling to get out.

Some brake pedal usage may have cut down the time to a minute or two.
 >> Stay informed about: Ford Fusion AWD system