Roadrunner Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 Imagine this: Four dudes, one Fusion -- all compliments for the rear leg room. I've been hearing compliments on the interior room of the Fusion, but I know for the a fact that the 500 is just as good, if not better, to have some stretching room while riding. Here's my question: Did Ford make interior room a priority in its latest designs, or is it just a natural improvement? I swear that modern Fords have better interior room than anything they've built before, and are class leaders in this area. Your thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wescoent Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 Absolutely. The Five Hundred has the most rear-leg room of any car made today, with the exception of the Maybach 62, Rolls Royce Phantom, and Lincoln Town Car L. The Fusion was also widened and made taller compared to the Mazda 6 with the intent being more interior roominess. Sitting back to back in a Five Hundred and Taurus, there is simply NO comparison. Even the Focus was one of the first American vehicles to have the tall profile that small cars have nowadays, with the interest of making the interior more roomy. Makes for a huge advantage once you get customers into the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 Your comparing two very different cars. The Fusion is like a compact and the 500 is more like a full size. Try this. Put the two smallest "dudes" in the back. If that doesn't work, tell one of the "dudes" to get a bigger car. Fusion has about 3-4" less in the rear, total (head to foot) than the Five Hundred. IIRC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveler Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 When I test drove, the rear leg room didn't feel that much greater than the car I chose and I with my choice I gained superior interior width that I found noticeable. However, for its smaller exterior dimensions, the Five-Hundred is surprising laid out very well. Big trunk, good room for four adults with easy entry and not to mention a very safe automobile by all appearances. For the FWD crowd, I'm surprised it doesn't sell better than it does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 For the FWD crowd, I'm surprised it doesn't sell better than it does. It's holding its own. The segment is down, year over year. Better styling and a new engine should bump numbers a bit. Interestingly, Ford is slowing the line at Chicago this year, as opposed to pushing higher fleet volume. Because Toyota assembles the Avalon at the same plant as the Camry, the weakness that has appeared with that model doesn't require the line to be slowed. They just throw more "Camry" into the mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANTAUS Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 Can't say I've cared much about the opinion of my back seat riders. My philosophy has been, if you dont fit, or complain, get the F--K out... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noah Harbinger Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 Can't say I've cared much about the opinion of my back seat riders. My philosophy has been, if you dont fit, or complain, get the F--K out... Some people actually do care about other people :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swenson88 Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 Some people actually do care about other people :P Yeah, but if you fell in love with a car and the only shortcoming was poor backseat room, would that keep you from buying it? Wouldn't stop me. Hell, I drive a reg cab SuperDuty w/ NO backseat. How's that for not caring about passengers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ovaltine Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 After reading the accolades about Fusion interior room above (which is a very good thing!), and whether Ford expended any special effort in obtaining it, I couldn't help but wonder about how the Fusion stacked up against my KIA Spectra of the 'Competition' thread fame (j/k). I've ridden in two co-worker's Fusions over the past several months, and thought that it indeed was a marked step in the right direction for Ford. My co-worker's haven't had any problems either in about 5k miles. They are both pretty happy with their vehicles. Back to the topic of special attention paid to interior space then. My rides in the Fusion were enjoyable, but I didn't feel that the interior was extraordinarily spacious for the outside dimensions of the car. It was comfortable, don't get me wrong, but I wasn't surprised by the amount of room. In fact I got the feeling that my smaller exterior Spectra was almost as spacious. Well it appears that I was correct! The online specs (see below) for both cars compliments of automobilemag.com show that the 14 inch shorter Spectra has nearly identical interior specs to the Fusion! The wheelbase is also 5 inches shorter. I've read in several places that the "compact" Spectra has interior specs rated similar to a "mid-size". I guess that this analysis substantiates that claim. The bottom line is, it appears that all the automakers are starting to *finally* pay attention to making the interior of their cars a nicer place to be for us ever-expanding Americans and Europeans! :-) -Ovaltine Ford Fusion Internal dimensions: front headroom (inches): 38.7, rear headroom (inches): 37.8, front hip room (inches): 54, rear hip room (inches): 53.4, front leg room (inches): 42.3, rear leg room (inches): 37, front shoulder room (inches): 57.4, rear shoulder room (inches): 56.5 interior volume (cu ft): 100 External dimensions: overall length (inches): 190.2, overall width (inches): 72.2, overall height (inches): 57.2, wheelbase (inches): 107.4, front track (inches): 61.6, rear track (inches): 61.3 and curb to curb turning circle (feet): 38.7 -Weights: curb weight (lbs) 3,101 KIA Spectra Internal dimensions: front headroom (inches): 40, rear headroom (inches): 38.2, front hip room (inches): 52.4, rear hip room (inches): 53.9, front leg room (inches): 42.8, rear leg room (inches): 35.4, front shoulder room (inches): 55.1, rear shoulder room (inches): 53.9 interior volume (cu ft): 97 External dimensions: overall length (inches): 176.4, overall width (inches): 68.3, overall height (inches): 57.9, wheelbase (inches): 102.8, front track (inches): 58.9, rear track (inches): 58.5 and curb to curb turning circle (feet): 33.2 -Weights: curb weight (lbs) 2,892 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Greene Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 (edited) Our Montego is so roomy in back seat area, in trunk, and overall with rear seats folded down, that when wife decides she wants new car is a couple years, the Montego will replace my beater Explorer. The Explorer will just get passed down to another family member. With rear seats folded down, I can haul about anything in Montego/Five Hundread (that I'm likely to haul) that I can haul in Explorer. They are amazing vehicles and get 30 MPG on highway. 3.0 engine more than adequate for our use. If 3.5 was an option, I wouldn't get it. Free...It would be OK. That's how much this owner cares about more power in Montego...unlike those who don't have one and complain about power. And I'm an old drag racer who still enjoys muscle cars. Edited July 21, 2006 by Ralph Greene Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark B. Morrow Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 Imagine this: Four dudes, one Fusion -- all compliments for the rear leg room. I've been hearing compliments on the interior room of the Fusion, but I know for the a fact that the 500 is just as good, if not better, to have some stretching room while riding. Here's my question: Did Ford make interior room a priority in its latest designs, or is it just a natural improvement? I swear that modern Fords have better interior room than anything they've built before, and are class leaders in this area. Your thoughts? Ford has learned the lesson of the need for room for Americans after the Contour/Mystique. The rear seats in those cars was just too small to compete with the other offerings in the market at the time. I would argue that another 3-4 inches of rear seat room would have made all the difference in the sales. The 500 is substantially larger than the Fusion and has a great deal more useable rear seat and trunk room than the Taurus. The 500/Montego is probably the best size/value car on the market. Sure, I would like to see the 265 hp 3.5 added to the line or even the 221 from the Fusion, but 203 hp is still adaquate. My V-6 Explorer has 200 and it weighs more than a 500. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Greene Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 Ford has learned the lesson of the need for room for Americans after the Contour/Mystique. The rear seats in those cars was just too small to compete with the other offerings in the market at the time. I would argue that another 3-4 inches of rear seat room would have made all the difference in the sales. The 500 is substantially larger than the Fusion and has a great deal more useable rear seat and trunk room than the Taurus. The 500/Montego is probably the best size/value car on the market. Sure, I would like to see the 265 hp 3.5 added to the line or even the 221 from the Fusion, but 203 hp is still adaquate. My V-6 Explorer has 200 and it weighs more than a 500. Keep in mind the 203 HP version makes a tad more TQ than the 221 HP version used in Fusion/Milan. Maybe the lower HP version better suited to Montego/Five Hundred. Or maybe another 3.0 version with VVT and tuned for Tq would be even better. The smart 6 speed auto in our Montego keeps RPM's low which makes car feel a tad sluggish, but kick it in the butt and make it down shift a couple times, and it accelerates harder than same engine in 4 speed DOHC 3.0 taurus I have driven a lot. Our Montego is a lot quicker than a Vulcan 3.0 in Taurus, and will accelerate harder than recently owned 2002 4.6 Explorer. One just has to get used to the way the smart transmissions these days keep RPM low for fuel economy. We're not talking huge amounts of TQ here. The trans do the work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 (edited) -Weights: curb weight (lbs) 3,101 -Weights: curb weight (lbs) 2,892 Hmp. Comparable passenger space, at a savings of 209 lbs. Cool. Edited July 21, 2006 by RichardJensen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted July 22, 2006 Author Share Posted July 22, 2006 Kia vs. Fusion Yes but I wouldn't get people saying I have a nice car ("Even if it's American") if I was in the Kia... Your comparing two very different cars. The Fusion is like a compact and the 500 is more like a full size. Try this. Put the two smallest "dudes" in the back. If that doesn't work, tell one of the "dudes" to get a bigger car. I had regular-sized dudes in the back, and it worked fine. Your point about the 500 and Fusion being two different cars is well taken, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ovaltine Posted July 22, 2006 Share Posted July 22, 2006 (edited) Yes but I wouldn't get people saying I have a nice car ("Even if it's American") if I was in the Kia... Well... that may be true if the the people doing the riding work for any of the Big 3. In *reality*, I've had nearly everyone who rides in my Spectra look around at the interior, analyze the ride and low road noise, and then say.... "Did you say that this is a KIA???? Damn!" No bull. -Ovaltine Edited July 22, 2006 by Ovaltine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted July 23, 2006 Author Share Posted July 23, 2006 Well... that may be true if the the people doing the riding work for any of the Big 3. -Ovaltine Pfff - I don't know anyone who works in the auto industry. But I do know Gen Y people who are snobs and will fight to say that only the Japanese can make a good car - specifically Toyota and Honda, because that's all they've driven. It's a strong commonality among Generation Y. For an American car to break through such biases is remarkable, and it suggests Ford is in the right direction. But, I will completely say I was impressed by the 04 Hyundai Accent I rode in - much better than anything I expected from the Korean manufacturers. Mind you, that Kia interior looks like cheap plastic compared to the leather and soft plastics of the top-of-the-line Fusion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noah Harbinger Posted July 23, 2006 Share Posted July 23, 2006 Well... that may be true if the the people doing the riding work for any of the Big 3. In *reality*, I've had nearly everyone who rides in my Spectra look around at the interior, analyze the ride and low road noise, and then say.... "Did you say that this is a KIA???? Damn!" No bull. -Ovaltine Yeah, that's what I'd say... Maybe more along the lines of, "Are you sure this isn't a Taurus?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ovaltine Posted July 23, 2006 Share Posted July 23, 2006 (edited) ....Mind you, that Kia interior looks like cheap plastic compared to the leather and soft plastics of the top-of-the-line Fusion. Not to turn this in to a urinating contest.... but I just want to clarify a couple points to support my previous statements. 1. I didn't say the Spectra's interior design was superior to a Fusion's. I *was* refuting however the statement in an earlier post that no one would get into a KIA and ever make a positive statement about the design and interior materials quality. Is that clearer now? 2. My original point was to illustrate how a Focus-class car from another maker has nearly the same interior room as the Fusion's, a mid-size car. The original poster wondered if Ford took special measures to insure a larger interior, and I wanted to make a point that if they did, they probably could have made it even larger based on the specs of my car. Not a criticism... just an observation. 3. I disagree on the plastic's quality comment above. The Spectra's top dash panel, arm rests, and top door panels are all *padded*. Hard plastics is only used on lower surfaces. The Fusions I've sat in have at least a hard plastic top dash panel that doesn't have any better appearance to it than the Spectra IMHO. As far as a comment on "perceived quality" goes, the one thing I like about the Spectra's dash is that the passenger side airbag is complete hidden. There are no doors or exposed external seams showing where the airbag is. This is a feature that I"ve only seen on much higher end cars. I know that it can be argued that the door approach (ala Fusion - see below) is more economical to reload should the bag be deployed, but I'm guessing that in most cases where the bag deploys the car is toast anyway. NOTE: Of the two designs below I *do* find the Fusion's more appealing and attractive overall. These photos are to illustrate the point about the appeal of hidden passenger airbag seams. Fusion with airbag seams Spectra without airbag seams (Focus-class car) Here's a pic and link of the 2006.5's KIA Optima's interior.... the car closest to the Fusion spec-wise. High res link to a comparable black w/leather version of the above interior: http://www.automobilemag.com/auto_shows/na...terior_view.jpg -Ovaltine Edited July 23, 2006 by Ovaltine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Extreme4x4 Posted July 23, 2006 Share Posted July 23, 2006 Ovaltine, I understand that you like your car............ as you should.......... you bought it. However, when you come on almost every post that has to do with the Fusion, and pump up your Kia.............. it almost sounds like you are trying to convince yourself. Yes Kia has come a long way from where they were. They had to, as they had nowhere to go but up. However, when people are talking about the Fusion............. chances are good that they want to talk about the Fusion. Otherwise, they would have made a thread that says something like "do you think the Kia Spectra is as good as the Fusion?" Myself, I would buy the Fusion over the Kia in a second............. even if the Kia is less expensive. I require my vehicles be fun to drive. I have driven both. The Fusion is the drivers car, where the Kia is more along the lines of the Camry. This is not a bad thing........... just different. This is also something that makes Fusion and Camry comparisons a bit silly. The only thing these cars have in common is their size and relative price range............ where the important things (to me), put them in completely different catagories. Fun vs competant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Greene Posted July 23, 2006 Share Posted July 23, 2006 What I don't understand is why folks with non Ford automobiles wish to be on this site. Why hang out with us....Ford enthusiasts? I would think they would prefer...for example...to be on the Kia site....where they would find others who wish to enjoy and share their ownership experiences. I own a Honda Accord as well as my 3 Ford vehicles, but if I wished to praise it, I would go to the Honda forums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCK Posted July 23, 2006 Share Posted July 23, 2006 What I don't understand is why folks with non Ford automobiles wish to be on this site. Why hang out with us....Ford enthusiasts? I would think they would prefer...for example...to be on the Kia site....where they would find others who wish to enjoy and share their ownership experiences. I own a Honda Accord as well as my 3 Ford vehicles, but if I wished to praise it, I would go to the Honda forums. Because people are interested in ford future and wish to see them do well. It is better than the people here who have no brains and praise ford for leaving vehicles to die an rot on lots for 10 - 15 -20 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted July 23, 2006 Share Posted July 23, 2006 the people here who have no brains That is so childish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCK Posted July 23, 2006 Share Posted July 23, 2006 (edited) That is so childish. it was meant to be over the top...... :D :D Edited July 23, 2006 by DCK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted July 23, 2006 Share Posted July 23, 2006 it was meant to be over the top...... :D :D Mission accomplished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted July 25, 2006 Author Share Posted July 25, 2006 Not to turn this in to a urinating contest.... but I just want to clarify a couple points to support my previous statements. 1. I didn't say the Spectra's interior design was superior to a Fusion's. I *was* refuting however the statement in an earlier post that no one would get into a KIA and ever make a positive statement about the design and interior materials quality. Is that clearer now? Much clearer. I took the statement of "I couldn't help but wonder about how the Fusion stacked up against my KIA Spectra" as a statement of "let's compare the Kia Spectra vs. the Ford Fusion," cars which we both own. But it is true from my experience that the Kias/Hyundais have impressive interiors compared to their perceived quality of mechanical quality (mechanical quality is a major part of perception). However, as someone said, to say "Wow look at this Kia" is different than "Wow look at this GM" or "Wow look at this Ford" because I believe the starting point of one's opinion is at a lower peg. 2. My original point was to illustrate how a Focus-class car from another maker has nearly the same interior room as the Fusion's, a mid-size car. The original poster wondered if Ford took special measures to insure a larger interior, and I wanted to make a point that if they did, they probably could have made it even larger based on the specs of my car. Not a criticism... just an observation.I was the original poster, mate. But the idea of the Spectra being a compact car as a basis for comparison went right over my head. I'm not up on the lineup for Kias or Hyundais. 3. I disagree on the plastic's quality comment above. The Spectra's top dash panel, arm rests, and top door panels are all *padded*. Hard plastics is only used on lower surfaces. The Fusions I've sat in have at least a hard plastic top dash panel that doesn't have any better appearance to it than the Spectra IMHO.-Ovaltine Looking at the plastics used (note key objective word "looking," not "feeling" or "experiencing") they look cheaper than the Fusion SEL. Indeed, I believe the faceplate for the center console looks flatter and less appealing on the Kia. The passenger airbag doesn't concern me one way or the other. However, that Optima certainly looks like a step up ('natch - it's a midsize) for the interior, but a bit ungainly in fan positions. But as for interior, I'll have to sit in a Spectra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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