In the starting of the 20th century, Ford India started their vehicle venture in India. In 1995 the company came to the Indian shores in collaboration with the Indian manufacturer Mahindra and Mahindra. Since then with many great cars the company has seen a lot of success. One such car started the crossover trend in India, ‘Ford Fusion’.
Ford Fusion was among the first few cars from the company which had a lot of things to offer. The crossover from Ford was way ahead of its time, more than what people would have wished for. Let us take a tour, what all the American carmaker had in their arsenal with that crossover.
Ford Fusion | Insights
The car made its debut in India in the year 2004 as a high roof, five-door mini MPV suitable of carrying five people. Including India, this car was sold in entire Europe with some difference in specs here and there. Well, this is what the Ford came with which made it ahead of its time.
Powertrain and Transmission
During that era, the car came with petrol as well as diesel engines both of which were powerful for their time.
- The petrol motor was a 1.6-litre naturally-aspirated with DOHC tech which was capable of producing 101ps@6,500rpm of power and about 145Nm@3,400rpm of peak torque.
- On the other hand, the car also came with a diesel engine but it wasn’t as powerful as its petrol sibling. It was a 1.4-lire naturally aspirated Diesel motor producing just 68ps@4,000rpm of power and about 156Nm@3,400rpm of peak torque.
- Both of the engines came with a manual transmission and no option of automatic was available.
Features
This is where the car won with any other competitor hands down. Ford Fusion came with most of the segment-first or India’s first car to get those features.
Well for starter, Fusion came with a 4-star Euro-NCAP crash test rating making the car one of the safest at that price point.
- Power Folding mirrors
- Automatic and follow me home headlamps
- Automatic Wipers,
- Bluetooth connectivity with voice control
- Trip computer
- 2-Din, MP3 player with a good sound stage
- ESP (Electronic Stability Programme)
- Dual front airbags
- Alloy wheels
- A leather-wrapped steering wheel
Well considering the price, the car offered more than its rivals. Fords were the first to bring most of these features to the Indian automotive market.
Verdict
Ford started the trend of the crossover in India with its Fusion. The car was intended to rival the hatchbacks of the era like Maruti Suzuki Swift and Hyundai i20. Though there was no straight competition with those cars, as the Fusion was in its own league. The engine and the features it offered were top of the line and no one could think of such luxuries in a low-cost car, yet Ford did it in India. Well, it seems this was the reason the car didn’t last long on the road. But it surely does in our minds with a really good reputation for both the car as well as Ford which introduced the car to the Indian market.
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