Ford Launches Fusion 1.4 TDCi Diesel in India

July 17, 2007 – 6:00 pm by Ashish Jha

Ford Fusion Diesel TDCi FrontAh, so finally after playing around for a long time about this product, Ford has finally took the veil off its diesel powered Fusion. The Ford Fusion will now have the Duratorq badge adorning its skin. And as a result, the practicality increases folds on end!

The so called state-of-the-art 1.4L Duratorq engine under the hood of the Fusion comes endowed with Ford’s proprietary TDCi nomenclature. The TDCi engine will belt out 160Nm of torque that will compliment 68PS being delivered to the front wheels. The engine makes use of a turbocharger and the injection of diesel is controlled electronically. The maximum torque rating is at 2000rpm which should make it quite a dutiful motor. The 4 cylinder in-line layout of the engine makes do with 8 valves and single overhead camshaft. A 5 speed manual transmission is made use of to transmit the power to the wheels. The Fusion’s engine meets the Bharat Stage III emission norms.

The Fusion always exuded a mini-SUV stance which is retained in its latest avatar. The “lozenge” shaped headlamps and the audacious mesh grille (another beard shape!) gives the Fusion an intimidating look.

The latest from Ford runs on 15″ wheels and boasts of a high ground clearance. Keeping in mind the SUV stance of the Fusion, this was only but expected. One grouch that may get buyers irritated is the omission of alloy wheels. Ford shouts out loud at the 7-spoked full wheel covers! Well, include the alloy wheels and your shout will be worth it, Ford.

The twin pod instrument cluster stares right in your face while the two-tone interior adds an air of luxury. The Fusion has array of good utility tools like the digital clock and the distance-to-empty indicator. A good feature that, when running on the last drops of diesel. The wide body contruction is said to be accomodating enough for five adults. We shall see.

More of a uniform feature now, the 60:40 rear split folding seats increase the loading bay volume to a humongous 1175 litre capacity which is way more than the 337 litre loading capacity that the boot comes with when the seats are kept erect. Ford claims to have given ten “innovative” storage ideas to enhance the interior space management.

Other usefull features on offer include the lights that come on when the car is unlocked using the remote key. This will make identifying your car in a crowded place all the more easy. Specific doors can be opened using the remote key. The forgetfull bunch of people can now rejoice! The battery saver switches the light off when it senses that it has been left switched on accidently.

Ford claims that such features will make you fall in love with the Fusion. Let us hope and wish it does. Amen!

Quick Links:
Ford Fusion TDCi Specifications and Features
Ford Fusion TDCi On-Road Prices


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  1. 15 Responses to “Ford Launches Fusion 1.4 TDCi Diesel in India”

  2. FOOLISH STEP taken by ford. Put little more money you can have Mahendra SCORPIO.More reliable then this ford car.

    Best of luck FORD FUSION

    By sanjeev sharma on Jul 18, 2007

  3. Fusion has always been too catchy to my eyes ever since it was launched. The never ending problem with FORD has been abnormal expensive spares with poor after sale service. All Service center of ford needs to be audited and the escalation matrix for things not getting solved should directly go to Ford Management and not the Service Center management.

    By and large the price is quite high for Fusion TDCI… Not sure how many numbers would hit the road with this price bracket.

    Must say car is superb compared to its size for a city drive. Easy to park. Fusion Petrol is excellent in performance and I assume it would be the same for Fusion TDCI….

    However I am convinced with this launch but After Sale Service needs to improve in a big way….

    By Anjan Roy on Jul 18, 2007

  4. Ford Fusion was always a fun car and now it is economical too. Welcome Fusion. Regarding Mr Sanjeev Sharma’s comment on Fusion I would advise him to compare the quality of Fusion with Scorpio and he wil get the answer. Certainly Scorpio does not stand any where near Fusion. Scorpio with its poor build quality is also not very popular with family man / executives like me. Comfort level , drive dynamics, safety are much higher in Fusion. Steering control of Scorpio is very poor and this is not a secret. Regarding spares cost it depends on many factors like economies of scale, product quality, indegenisation level etc. Regarding Ford service , I would say JD Power has rated customer satisfaction index ( CSI ) for Ford at no.2 after Maruti Udyog. In this survey Ford is much above Mahindra, Hyundai, Chevrolet, Toyota and Honda to name a few.

    By SANJEEV on Jul 19, 2007

  5. Yes Mr Sanjeev,

    Scorpio does not stand near Fusion and not very popular with family man / executives like you.

    Thats why still it is like show pieces in ford show room. Regarding JD power CSI, Ford is at no.2 only due to FORD FIESTA and if you check the sale of FUSION then …… I don’t know where ford stands. Anyway I agree its good car what pricewise its too high. Now Skoda fabia is coming soon, then just check where ford fusion stand. Nothing is personal sir, but I agree with Mr. sanjeev sharma regarding price and I also read his comments and suggestions for the improvement of ford Fusion.(Go through those in Launching of ford fusion if not read yet)

    If ford follow those things I am 100% sure they will beat every car in its segment.

    Happy Driving.

    By aksh on Jul 20, 2007

  6. They followed my suggestion or may be (already) this idea was in their mind.But price is not reduced.They reduced the size and installed Fiesta engine. PRICE……………..?

    See if you want to stay in market and want to gain profit you should look forward and also watch the opponents move. These days you can not fool your customers after all they are spending their own money for comfort.

    YES MR. SANJEEV YOU WERE NOT AGREE WITH ME REGARDING SCORPIO BUT ABOUT INNOVA HARDLY A DIFFERENCE OF FEW THOUSAND. ADVANTAGES YOU CAN SEE………

    These days Ford is promoting Fiesta(VERY GOOD CAR) thats why they are failed to conc. on their other products. Lots of new models and versions in FIESTA MODEL.

    PLZ FORD RETHINK.

    Best wishes to FORD.

    By sanjeev sharma on Jul 23, 2007

  7. Fusion is one of the best rated car in safety, handling and control. Some of the road test consider fusion better than most cars available in India. Fusion has NCAP safety rating of 4 stars which it shares with likes of CRV, Swift, mercedes etc.
    Most indian cars are not tested for safety that is why cars like scorpio are designed with poor road grip, high center of gravity and high body roll which is not researched by most customers. Ford has managed to prevent body roll in fusion despite having higher ground clearence than Innova, Sx4 etc is a remarkable thing to achieve.
    However FORD service is really bad and they tend to ignore customer responses, which is also true for all other major players. But ford’s poor service causes more harassment since it has limited service network as well as higher cost of spares and a customer feels helpless on this account. I agree that only if ford could address these issues - high cost of spares , service, it has best products in India.
    Many of maruti’s customers choose it mainly due to factors mentioned and not due to quality alone.

    By Jai on Jul 23, 2007

  8. Hi,

    I Have ridden the Fusion, just a couple of days back. I wanted to buy one, but but… Fiesta engine in Fusion…hmmm, reality is its totally under power. u need to change so many gears to move up. The interiors are ok.ok types, the 2 tone inside sometimes looks fake. Tyres are great 15″, groud clearance is good. looks cute though, something different. Overall not worth the pay, if they had tweaked the engine, i would have gone with the buy. I guess its a go for a jungle ride, slow and steady…

    By jimmy on Jul 24, 2007

  9. The concept is good to launch the cars in diesel engines in India.But the price tag is Very high because Indian market will compare this with maruti Swift VDI.
    For car care products
    Visit http://www.fuller-brush-products.com

    By Hari on Jul 30, 2007

  10. Hi,
    Fusion is a excellent car very safe & rigid.

    I have a petrol version DRIVEN FOR 1 YEAR.
    I love driving fusion on highways no other car can tough you (up to 1.8lts class).
    You can enjoy best utilities fitted in the car(even better than wagonr)
    Hope Price will come down for the diesel version by ford special offers.
    Atleast For 2 years we can manage the service cost(fewer breakdowns)
    Ford has a great experience & they havent fooled us .(escort to fiesta)
    I accept spares,car costs high & ford to improve service quality .

    my suggestion pls go for ford fusion .driving comforts & SAFETY is the key

    By sukumar on Jul 30, 2007

  11. Hi All there,

    You all have given me feast, food for thought. I have almost decided to go for Fusion Petrol. I drove both diesel and petrol one after another. I also took test drive of SX4 and Logan (diesel). Fusion rocks in both categories. Though Logan was little better in terms of linear pickup, Fusion was not bad too. If we compare the overall specs Fusion has a edge in terms of lot of features like ground clearance, better suspensions, better quality interiors etc.

    Petrol Fusion is just a cool, since I drove both one after another, I was completely sold on Petrol becoz of its pickup and smoothness and last but not least it is 1L less than its diesel sis. Also if what Ford claims for kmpl are correct it will work out better to choose Petrol Fusion instead of Diesel, offcourse if your card is doing less than 20000kms per year. But then you also need to shell out 1L more for diesel.

    By shantus on Jul 30, 2007

  12. Yes

    I hv test drived. Good city cum urban car. Good gr clearance and high sitting position. Looks sturdy and safty wise it is good.

    But interiors not for that catagory ( price tag of more than 7 lakh )

    I stongly feel, if they price it slightly less than 7 lakh and with some touch up like ss door opener, leather steering with leather viniyl seat with suitable colour it will be hit.

    Thanks

    By Ganesan RP on Jul 31, 2007

  13. hi I hav driven the car pick up is excellent features are good but it is overpriced ,ford company should drop the price .im looking forward to buy the diesel car provided it costs not more than 6.5 k.

    I own a petrol 1.4 fiesta no doubt ford cars are good but yes! over priced.

    By vivek on Aug 13, 2007

  14. Hi All,Recently i test drove a ford fusion deisel ,No dought i liked the fornt looks and its sturdy ,feel like speeding and i think its fuel efficient as well ,my research says it would give a mileage of 15 to 17 on an average which is fairly good enough for vehicle thatz bigger than swift[diesel].We already booked for one and desperatly waiting for it to arrive …

    By Vivek on Aug 20, 2007

  15. Hi,
    I took a test drive of Fusion 1.4 TDCI today & here is my review of the same:

    PROS:

    - Getting in & out of it is v easy. Seat height is at perfect level to get in & out.
    - Spacious from inside. Good headroom, legroom etc.
    - Rear seat split + rear seat complete foldable increasing boot space to 1175 L. I personally love this idea of complete foldable rear seats wherein 3-4 people can just sit in on the floor area & enjoy, maybe one can sleep also in so much space !!
    - AC is v effective; in just a few min I got chilled. Speed & acceleration hardly affected by AC at both 1st & 2nd air blower speed level.
    - Drivers view is v drive-friendly. Also sitting high gives u a better sense of control.
    - Big 15” tubeless tyres & great ground clearance, took bad roads & bumpy ones easily.
    - Same Fiesta 1.4L engine, so can expect good mileage. Even though power is 68PS, I could hardly feel lack of power as torque is extremely good.
    - Engine was so silent, I could not make out it’s a diesel engine at all !!
    - Distance to Empty (DTE) feature a great option (helps keep check of mileage).

    CONS:

    - No special features offered at this price. No airbags, no ABS, no climate control, no electric mirrors etc even as an option.
    - The bulge in the middle of the rear seat is definitely going to be uncomfortable for a 3rd passenger.
    - Pushed the car till 130 kmph with accelerator pressed fully - don’t think so it can go more than 150kmph (I know some people claim its top speed as 160kmph). But seriously this is fun to drive & safe, not meant for racing.
    - Ford’s service expensive – that’s what many people say.
    - Plenty of storage spaces (10 spaces), but not a single one to keep a 1L bottle !!

    Overall I’m very much satisfied by Fusion as compared to other cars. Anyone who can stretch their budget for Fusion, can certainly consider it !

    By Aditya on Sep 4, 2007

  16. oh ok..any idea about the new ford fiesta? read some good reviews about it, any suggestions?

    By pravin on Jun 23, 2008

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