2022 Ford Fusion

The Fusion is lifeless! Lengthy stay the Fusion! Or one thing to that impact. Whereas it is true that Ford now not makes the Fusion sedan, a automotive that lived an extended and wholesome life within the Prime 10 of our midsize sedan rankings, the identify will stay on in a brand new physique fashion we are able to greatest describe as wagon-y. With no data from Ford and solely pictures of closely camouflaged take a look at vehicles to go off of, we are able to solely supply an informed guess as to what you possibly can anticipate from the subsequent Fusion.

Within the vein of Subaru’s Outback, the brand new Fusion seems like a lifted wagon however with some styling cues pulled from the Mustang Mach-E. Ford may additionally name it the Fusion Lively, which is the best way the corporate manufacturers its extra active-lifestyle-looking variations of autos it sells in Europe. Engines are additionally unknown however, with a full vary of turbocharged four- and six-cylinder engines to select from, in addition to a hybrid, it is protected to say the brand new Fusion will get one thing from the Ford components bin. It is also more likely to are available in each front- and all-wheel-drive variations.

Though we had been unhappy to see the Fusion sedan go, we do love a great station wagon (despite the fact that Ford might be going to name it a crossover) and we’re wanting ahead to getting extra particulars concerning the upcoming 2023 Fusion. Stick with Edmunds for all the small print on the new-generation Fusion, in addition to our Professional Ranking as soon as the automobile goes on sale later this yr.

This story initially appeared within the Might 2020 difficulty of Automobile and Driver as a part of our 25 Automobiles Price Ready For package deal. Our sneak preview of probably the most thrilling vehicles coming within the subsequent few years attracts on data from leaked product-development plans, spy pictures, and loose-lipped insiders blended in with data that has already been formally launched. The reporting for this story was accomplished in February and early March, earlier than the auto business started feeling main results of the coronavirus pandemic. As many automakers at the moment are delaying or pausing improvement applications, the debut and on-sale dates reported right here could change.

Promoting a station wagon in an American automotive market infatuated with SUVs is a dangerous play for a producer. However as soon as Ford kills off the Fusion sedan later this yr or early subsequent yr, a lifted model of that stigmatized-yet-highly-practical kind of car will quickly be as shut as buyers will come to discovering a brand new household automotive in a Blue Oval showroom. Enter the Ford Fusion Lively.

Engineering the Lively shouldn’t be an enormous carry for Ford, as the corporate has lengthy provided a standard wagon variant of the Fusion’s European clone, the Mondeo. With that mannequin as a base, consider the Lively as a Subaru-ized long-roof model of the model’s mid-size sedan with all-wheel drive, a barely raised suspension, and a reputation that claims, “I am outdoorsy.”

2022 Ford Fusion Worth

Simply do not name it a station wagon, okay? That is why the Lively will probably be butched up with chunky decrease physique cladding for tackling the path to Costco. Energy ought to come from Ford’s turbo­charged 2.0-liter inline-four mated to an eight-speed automated transmission; a plug-in-hybrid variant is all however inevitable. Costs ought to vary from about $30,000 to $40,000.

The success of the Subaru Outback proves that there’s a market within the U.S. for a automobile just like the Fusion Lively. However establishing a cult-like following just like the Outback’s is one other matter completely. If buyers aren’t satisfied sufficient to think about the Lively as a crossover however reasonably a station wagon in cross-trainers, they will most likely keep away from it like week-old sushi. You may resolve for your self when the Lively hits showrooms probably late subsequent yr.