Ford Fusion Diesel TDCi For?

'Dieselisation' of India has been the mantra this year and a quite a few launches have been that of diesel powered cars. Ford's Fiesta has held its own in the Indian market and worked well for the American major. So, Ford went about plonking its engine under the bonnet of their 'Look-at-me-I-am-different' car - the Fusion - to er... boost up the sales. It's a good car this, but is it good enough? Banwari (Ban) and myself had quite a scuffle on this..

You know, I've always had that special something for her. Don't know why, though! I like the very 'different' attitude she exudes. I like her for being a rebel of sorts. I like the voluptuous body of her's. I like her snub nose and that tall stance which makes her stand out in a crowd. Hey, I am talking about the Ford Fusion TDCi here, no Yana Gupta, dirty mind! Both are pretty adorable. The automotive example making more sense than its hot and steamy human counterpart. As the American auto giant proudly puts it, Ford Fusion - The No Nonsense Car. No doubt that this car looks and feels different, but you cannot ignore the very Mondeo-ish styling at places. The chiseled wheel arches for example, they have Mondeo written all over it! Wish the car was anywhere close to the oh-so-seductive Mondeo. The name itself starts to do something to you. It sort of is a foreplay. You know.. that lovely back-side of her's, it gave you this.. and then Ban intervenes to help me get back to mother earth.

This car ain't no Mondeo. So it shall be treated like no Mondeo. You'll like the front end of the car. I quite like the nose section. And the chin gives that 'bearded' feel to its face. The peeled-back headlamps occupy the place of conceit and dominate the front end. But what happened to the Fusion's arse? It looks lardy to me. Thank the design gods at Ford to get inspired by the CRV's back 'coz the only respite when you are staring at the Fusion's behind come from the tail lamps, which look very CRV-ish.

Damn, the so-called inspiration! Overall I think the Fusion looks quirky yet cool somehow. And that 'cool' quotient would've shot towards the sky if at all this car came with a set of neat looking alloy wheels. The Fusion + had it, and a host of other goodies. Ford would've been better off by offering similar equipment levels. And I have only just started. It is a conscious effort for not sounding irritated, but how much can you tolerate? Equipment levels my ass! Okay, I have an interesting idea. How about the 'it-does-not-have' game? I ain't kidding you, mate. It does not have a sound system. It does not have ABS. It does not have Airbags. It does not have Alloy wheels. Not even as an option! Okay, lets leave such "oh, its a luxury car's offering" items from the list. But no rear door pockets? Come on! Door pockets at the rear is not asking for the sky! And what's with that buldge in the centre of the rear seats? Third passenger is surely a NO-NO!

Yeah, so now that you are fuming, let us cool you down a bit by sharing the good things about this car. Yes this car does have quite a few positives. The engine is a fine deal indeed. It is the same motor that powers the Fiesta diesel. The 1.4L TDCi unit is a civilized performer and the added 70 kilos of the diesel avatar over her petrol sibling is handled adequetly by the engine. The 157Nm of turning force proving its worth here. I was quite amazed at the acceleration runs. Ban too chipping in with his modest words "Quite a time she did!". 17 seconds to hundred. We're talking about a diesel here. That surely is a good time! Though not in the league of the Swift, the motor felt pretty tractable. But I have to accept this, she does not enjoy the act at high speeds. Her heart was throbbing hard and she was begging for mercy. But the 'bad-boy' that I am, I kept the act going. I pressed her hard and she ached in pain. And then she simply collapsed, refusing to go further. At 160. Yes, a hundred and sixty is certainly good, but the experience is torrid since the Fusion runs out of steam after 120kmph. And while at it, the coarse sound from her heart kept me goaded. That diesel jangle is surely irritating. She is by no means as silent as her 'booted' sibling, Fiesta. I liked her in-city performance though. That's her forte. The torque kicks in low and good. Dial in 1800 revs and you'll be in the thick of the things. You hit the sweet spot at about 2500 revs.This is sufficient for trundling around in the city confines.

And then we came up with another set of numbers. The mileage figures. To be honest, diesels have spoilt us. We expect every car to deliver 'it-should-go-till-the-end-of-this-world-in-a-tankful' kind of fuel efficiency. The Fusion surely does not disappoint. 15 kilometers-a-litre overall is pretty good, I say. Sounds sweet right? It'll be a comfortable sailing with her. Ah, that reminds me, interior in my view, is pretty good. That quality, that layout... everything has a tactile feel to it. The dash is pretty ergonomically laid out too. And it has some space to carry tit-bits to boot. That storage slot over the glove-compartment is a novel feature as is the flip-open box on the dashboard.